Patek Philippe, why is it the “watch king”?
Relying on strength and complicated table.
This year, Patek Philippe has two “big things”.
The first is that Patek Philippe decided to discontinue production of the Nautilus 5711A steel case.
The second thing is that Patek Philippe has launched a new “Yi Xian Tian” perpetual calendar 5236P.
Patek Philippe “A Line of Sky” Perpetual Calendar 5236P
One of the reasons why Patek Philippe wants to discontinue the steel case Nautilus 5711A is that the popularity of the Nautilus 5711A has become “abnormal”, so that people only pay attention to the Nautilus and completely ignore other Patek Philippe watches. Seriously affect Patek Philippe’s brand value with complex watches as the core. Therefore, Patek Philippe, by discontinuing the 5711A, must return the complex watch to its most important and core position. The “One-line Sky” perpetual calendar 5236P is the most important complex watch for Patek Philippe this year.
What is a “one-line sky” perpetual calendar?
We can see that on the top of the plate of Patek Philippe’s new 5236P, the three windows of the week, calendar, and month are connected in a straight line, so it is commonly called “a line of sky.” At the same time, experienced players will know that this kind of window-based perpetual calendar is also called “American” perpetual calendar. This is because, for a period in history, Patek Philippe used the United States as its main market. Americans liked this simple and direct window display. In the 1940s and 1960s, almost all of the window-type perpetual calendars produced by Patek Philippe were sold. I went to the United States, so I got the name “American” perpetual calendar.
Patek Philippe’s “one-line sky” perpetual calendar pocket cheap watches.
The general perpetual calendar is usually in the form of pointers with multiple small dials. For example, the perpetual calendars of Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet are based on the Jaeger-LeCoultre 920 movement and add a perpetual calendar module (Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet, both have the copyright of the 920 movement), so the perpetual calendars of Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet look similar. In terms of technology, the technical level of Patek Philippe’s new “One-line Sky” perpetual calendar is undoubtedly the highest. This “one-line sky” perpetual calendar 5236P is a unique existence among mainstream watches. There is no similar product in the market.
Why is the Patek Philippe “One-line Sky” perpetual calendar 5236P so awesome?
The perpetual calendar is one of the essence of Patek Philippe. Patek Philippe’s new “One-line Sky” perpetual calendar 5236P combines two famous Patek Philippe perpetual calendar designs.
- Patek Philippe’s 725 perpetual calendar pocket watch: produced from 1940 to 1964, the perpetual calendar is displayed using the “line of sky” window.
- Patek Philippe 3448 perpetual calendar watch: launched in 1962, the world’s first automatic perpetual calendar watch.
Patek Philippe’s new “One-line Sky” perpetual calendar 5236P’s “One-line Sky” window display mode is from the copy Patek Philippe 725 pocket watch, and the exterior case shape is from the Patek Philippe 3448.
Since Patek Philippe produced the “one-line sky” perpetual calendar from the 1940s to the 1960s, why is the technical difficulty of the new 5236P so high? This is because in the past, the Patek Philippe “One-line Sky” perpetual calendar 725 was a pocket watch. The size was very large, 46 mm, and there was enough space to arrange the week, calendar, month, and 3 turntables. The size of the new 5236P is 41.3 mm, the thickness is 11.07 mm, and the size is smaller. Patek Philippe said that according to the original method to arrange the week, calendar, and month dials, it is necessary to reduce the calendar dial. The calendar numbers are too small and difficult to read. , It’s not pretty. So it needs to be modified.
Patek Philippe 5236P’s “line of sky” window is composed of 4 turntables.
From the movement of Patek Philippe 5236P, you can see 4 turntables, of which Patek Philippe uses two turntables to form a date number (middle position). In this way, the date number can be relatively large, put together with the week and month, and have the same size. In order to make the four turntables on the same level, the heights are consistent, and the rotation is stable, Patek Philippe uses ball bearings on the turntables to ensure that the turntables will not touch each other.
On the board layout, the week, date, and month are arranged in a line below 12 o’clock on the board. The “Yi Xian Tian” pocket watch uses toffee needles, which are replaced with rod-shaped pointers on the new 5236P, which will not block the “Yi Xian Tian” window too much. Below the dial are the small seconds and moon phase dial. The 8 o’clock on the left is the day and night display, and the 4 o’clock on the right is the flat leap year display. The layout of the board inherits the “charm” of the 3448 perpetual calendar in Patek Philippe’s history, and is highly balanced, which is truly “perfect” in the perpetual calendar.
Patek Philippe 5236P small seconds, the small dot on the left is the day and night display, and the right is the flat leap year.
The new 5236P is a platinum case, the case shape also continues the historical style of 3448, the bezel, lugs and 3448 are similar. Coupled with the track scale on the disk, the overall style of the 5236P is biased towards retro.
The appearance of Patek Philippe 5236P is retro.
The “Yi Xian Tian” perpetual calendar 5236P uses the Patek Philippe 31-260 automatic movement and the pearl tuo. This movement was used by Patek Philippe on the 5235 calendar launched in 2011 (it is the standard pointer watch of Patek Philippe). This time it is used on the 5236P “Yi Xian Tian” perpetual calendar, which has also been improved. In order to drive these four turntables, Patek Philippe replaced the pearl tuo of the 31-260 movement from the original 22K gold to heavier platinum, thereby increasing the torque of the mainspring by 20%. The movement frequency has been increased from 23040 times/hour to 28800 times/hour. The movement is powered for 48 hours.
The 31-260 automatic movement used by Patek Philippe 5236P.
The “Yi Xian Tian” perpetual calendar is also a separate module, installed on the 31-260 movement. The perpetual calendar module is connected to the hour wheel (hour gear) of the 31-260 movement. The perpetual calendar module has 118 parts, including the 4 turntables. The board path of the 31-260 movement is very beautiful. The mainspring and the second wheel share the same splint, and the third, fourth, and escape wheel all have independent splints, which is very aesthetically like a classic movement. The lower plywood of the movement is decorated with pearl patterns, the upper plywood is decorated with Geneva stripes, and all plywoods are chamfered and polished. The Patek Philippe seal proves that the movement has the most sophisticated decoration.
At present, the “Yi Xian Tian” perpetual calendar 5236P is only available in platinum, and the strap is equipped with a lantern buckle.
“Yi Xian Tian” 5236P is currently Patek Philippe’s most expensive perpetual calendar (refers to a single perpetual calendar), of course, 5236P is a “Yi Xian Tian” complex design, the other is a platinum watch, the platinum case also has a certain bonus inside.
“Yi Xian Tian” 5236P is a unique existence in the current market, from the appearance of the dial to the movement design, it is the pinnacle of the watch. The status of Patek Philippe’s fake watch king is not based on speculation of a certain watch, but has been established by a hundred years of complicated watches one by one.