Minute Repeater

Minute Repeater. Rare Handcrafts. 5078G

A new dial in black enamel, in the grand tradition of the rare handcrafts

For its debut in 2005, the self-winding minute repeater Ref. 5078 sported a dial adorned with Roman numerals, followed up, in 2017, by Breguet numerals on a cream enameled ground. This year, it presents a new face: a white-gold version framing a black enameled dial. The 18K gold dial, fashioned with meticulous care by one of the manufacture’s master craftsmen, features a unique decor of scrolling arabesques, whose subtle contrasts of matt and polished surfaces create a play of light. Further refinements include the lozenge-shaped applied hour markers in white gold with their two facets, and the slender leaf-shaped hands, also in white gold. A small seconds hand turns discreetly on its subsidiary dial at 6 o’clock.

Within this masterpiece of beauty and finesse beats a caliber R 27 PS self-winding movement of 342 parts, with a finely decorated minirotor in 22K gold. The striking mechanism for the minute repeater has two classic gongs.Activated by the slide piece into the left flank of the case, the watch strikes the hours, quarters and minutes on demand with the legendary sonority of the Patek Philippe minute repeaters – each of which is tested individually by the president of the manufacture.

The new Ref. 5078G-010 in white gold comes with two interchangeable case backs, one in sapphire crystal, the other in solid white gold. It is worn on a shiny-black hand-stitched alligator strap with large square scales and a fold-over clasp. This model joins the existing Ref. 5078G-001 in white gold with a cream enameled dial and applied Breguet numerals.

With this new grand complication wristwatch uniting fine watchmaking with rare handcraftsmanship Patek Philippe enriches its fine  array of chiming watches – the largest collection of minute-repeater wristwatches in regular production.