Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Patek Philippe – Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300 White Gold


PATEK PHILIPPE Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300 White Gold 175th Anniversary Limited Edition NEW  
Patek Philippe, Geneva
Baselworld 2016


When grand complications become everyday challenges

With a totally novel and distinctive appearance, the highly complex new Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300
constitutes a genuine changing of the guard. For 15 years, the Sky Moon Tourbillon Ref. 6200 was the
most complicated wristwatch regularly produced by Patek Philippe. Now, it is ceding this rank to the
Ref. 6300: With 20 complications, among them five chiming functions, and a double-face case with a
patented reversing mechanism, it is one of the most complicated wristwatches of our era and with
certainty also the world's greatest mechanical strikework marvel for the wrist.

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In October 2014, on the occasion of the manufacture's 175th anniversary, Patek Philippe presented a
suite of limited-edition commemorative timepieces. The most spectacular one was the Grandmaster
Chime Ref. 5175. As the manufacture's first wristwatch with a Grande and a Petite Sonnerie, it was
crafted in a limited edition of seven pieces, each one with a gold case decorated with stunning,
manually executed engravings on all sides. Six of these watches were sold to collectors and
aficionados, and the seventh one can soon be admired at the Patek Philippe Museum.

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However, to keep its inner cosmos – the caliber GS AL 36-750 QIS FUS IRM – alive, it will henceforth strike the time, the date, and a settable alarm in the Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300. With a new and distinctive design, it is the most complicated and also the first wristwatch with a Grande Sonnerie in the regular Patek Philippe collection. This timepiece was created to be used on a daily basis. Because
production is limited due to its extreme complexity, the Ref. 6300 will remain a rarity for all time.

Extremely complicated, very simple, and highly sonorous

The Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300 is one of the most complicated watches in the world. Not only
because of its 20 complications, but also because of the nature of its horological challenges, among
them six patented innovations. Moreover, it is a double-face wristwatch that can be worn with either
dial facing up: the one that focuses on the time and the sonnerie, and the other that is dedicated to the
full instantaneous perpetual calendar. Reversing the face is very convenient thanks to an ingenious
mechanism between the lugs.

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It is easy to operate and securely locks the case in the selected position.
The most important information, such as the time and the date, is displayed on both dials. User-
friendliness is guaranteed by intelligent backup mechanisms that largely prevent inadvertent
manipulations and thus reliably protect the highly complex movement with its countless tiny parts.

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Each caliber consists of 1,366 parts and each case of 214 separate parts, bringing the total number of
components for each Grandmaster Chime to 1,580.

The sound makes the supercomplication

The array of acoustic complications includes a Grande and a Petite Sonnerie, a minute repeater, an
acoustic alarm with the indication of the preset alarm time, and a date repeater that strikes the date on
demand. The time chimes are struck on three gongs, producing a clear, voluminous, and easily
perceptible sound that has become a Patek Philippe trademark.

Grande and Petite Sonnerie

The Grande and Petite Sonnerie are functions that automatically strike the time every quarter hour: the
hour count at the top of every hour and then the hour count followed by the quarter-hour count on
every quarter (Grande Sonnerie) or just the quarter-hour count without the hours (Petite Sonnerie). A
separate double strikework spring barrel with a power reserve of 30 hours assures that these time
strikes can be executed for a whole day without requiring the watch to be rewound in shorter intervals.
Remarkably, this was accomplished even though the quarter-hours are sounded not on two but instead
on three gongs with different triple tone sequences. This requires 50 percent more energy for each
quarter-hour strike.

Minute repeater, alarm, and date repeater

The double strikework barrel also delivers the energy for the minute repeater, which on demand strikes
the hours and quarter-hours as well as the minutes that have elapsed since the last quarter-hour.
Connoisseurs automatically associate the clarity and volume of the sounds with Patek Philippe. The
alarm strikes the alarm time by reproducing the complete tone sequence of the minute repeater, with
exactly the same sound quality.

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This is a function never before integrated in a mechanical wristwatch.
The patented date repeater is all new as well. It is triggered with a pusher in the case flank. It sounds
ten-day intervals with a double high-low strike and the remaining days with a high strike: the 23rd of a
month is indicated with a ding-dong ding-dong followed by ding-ding-ding. 
 
Instantaneous perpetual calendar

The dial of the perpetual calendar features four subdials with analog displays grouped around the four-
digit year display in the middle. The month is indicated at 3 o'clock, the date and leap-year cycle at 6
o'clock and the day of the week at 9 o'clock. The time of day appears at 12 o'clock on the 24-hour and
60-minute subdial. With the exception of the four-digit year, the calendar displays switch
instantaneously and concurrently, so that the information for the date repeater is complete and
unambiguous even around midnight. Thanks to a patented mechanism, the four-digit year display can
easily be incremented or decremented with two correction push pieces in the case flank.

Local time and second time zone

When the crown of the watch points to the right, the owner sees the dial that indicates local time as
well as the time in a second time zone together with a day/night indication. The dial also features the
power-reserve indicators for the movement and strikework barrels, the position of the winding crown
(winding, alarm setting, handsetting), the selection of the strikework mode (Grande Sonnerie, Petite
Sonnerie, or Silence), a bell-shaped aperture for the alarm ON/OFF display and a small square window
for the strikework isolator (disabled/enabled) display. On the 24-hour dial at 12 o'clock, the desired
alarm time can be set in quarter-hour steps. The scale for the perpetual analog date at 6 o'clock frames
the moon-phase display.

A new double-face case with a hobnail design

The Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300 reveals at first sight that it is a new, distinctive creation. Its
prominent white-gold case is decorated with a manually guilloched hobnail pattern seen only rarely in
Patek Philippe's grand complication watches, even though this motif has been a trademark of the
manufacture ever since the Ref. 96D was launched in 1934. The aesthetic exterior elements, from the
mechanically elaborate case and the dials to the clasp reflect artisanal perfection and true engineering
artistry. The reversing mechanism between the lugs is a technical masterpiece in its own right; it
guarantees that the watch can be worn with either dial facing up at any time.

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The center of the black shimmering white-gold dial is decorated with a manually guilloched hobnail
motif. The applied Breguet numerals in white gold, white printed scales, and white-gold hands assure
optimized legibility. Although with opposite contrasts, this also applies to the opaline white dial of the
perpetual calendar which groups four black subsidiary dials with black-oxidized steel hands around the
centered four-digit year display in its discreet white-gold frame.

A user-friendly detail: The push pieces in the case flank are labeled with self-explanatory engravings.
The function displays on the black dial (strikework mode, crown position, alarm mode, strikework
isolator, power reserves of movement and strikework barrels) also provide clear and well-organized
information concerning the individual functions and the selected modes of the watch. This proves that
even a mechanical supercomplication can be a “smart watch” – an intelligent, easy-to-use timepiece.
Coordinated with the black/white duality of its dials, the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300
in 18K white gold is worn on a shiny black alligator strap with large square scales and hand-stitched
contrast seams secured by an 18K white-gold fold-over clasp.

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Technical Specifications

Model: Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300

Movement 
Caliber GS AL 36-750 QIS FUS IRM.
Manually wound mechanical movement, 20 complications, chiming mechanism with 3 gongs and 5 different time strikes (Grande and Petite Sonnerie, minute repeater, alarm with time strike, date repeater); second time zone with day/night indicator; instantaneous perpetual calendar (date on both sides, day of week, month, leap-year cycle, four-digit year display, 24-hour and minute subdial, moon phases, strikework mode display, strikework isolator display, alarm ON/OFF, crown position indicator, and power reserve indicators for the movement and the strikework

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Diameter: 37 mm
Height: 10.7 mm
Number of parts: 1366
Number of jewels: 108
Number of bridges: 32
Movement power reserve:  Min. 72 hours
Strikework power reserve:  30 hours
Balance:  Gyromax ®
Frequency:  25,200 semi-oscillations per hour (3.5 Hz)
Balance spring:  Spiromax ®
Functions
3-position crown
   • Pushed home To wind the movement clockwise; to wind the
   strikework counterclockwise
   • Pulled halfway out: To set the alarm time
   • Pulled all the way out: To set the time
   • Strikework mode selector at 9 o'clock
Time dial displays
Local time in hours and minutes, hours in a second time zone, alarm time, analog perpetual date, moon phases, strikework power-reserve indicator, movement power-reserve indicator, strikework mode display, crown  position  indicator,  strikework  isolator  display  (chimes enabled/disabled), alarm ON/OFF
Calendar dial displays
24-hour and minute subdial, four-digit year display, three calendar subdials with analog indications for the day, month, date, and leap- year cycle
Pushers:  Pushers for the second time zone ("+" and "-"), alarm, minute repeater
Correction push pieces:  Year display ("+" and "-"), date, month, day, moon phases
Hallmark:   Patek Philippe Seal

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Case
Round, with patented reversing mechanism on the axis from 12 to 6 o'clock, 18K white gold, 214 parts, sapphire crystals on both sides, protected against dust and moisture, not water-resistant Caseband with hand-guilloched hobnail pattern Manually engraved function lettering and symbols on the caseband and pushers
Case dimensions:  Diameter (10 to 4 o'clock): 47.4 mm
Thickness (crystal to crystal): 16.1 mm
Time side dial
8K gold, ebony black opaline, center with hand-guilloched hobnail pattern, applied Breguet numerals in 18K white gold
Local time hour and minute hands in 18K white gold, hour hand for second time zone in 18K white gold
Hands for alarm time, movement and strikework power-reserve indicators, strikework mode and crown position in 18K white gold
Calendar side dial
18K gold, white opaline, center with polished gold frame for the four- digit year display
Subsidiary dials for the 24-hour display, day, month, date, and leap-year cycle with black printed scales and black nickel-plated steel hands 
Strap
Alligator leather with large square scales, shiny black, hand-stitched white contrast seams, fold-over clasp in 18K white gold

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Press Release 2016
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The 20 complications
1 Grande Sonnerie
2 Petite Sonnerie
3 Minute repeater
4 Strikework mode display (Silence/Grand Sonnerie/Petite Sonnerie)
5 Alarm with time strike
6 Date repeater
7 Movement power-reserve indicator
8 Strikework power-reserve indicator
9 Strikework isolator display
10 Second time zone
11 Second time zone day/night indicator
12 Instantaneous perpetual calendar
13 Day-of-week display
14 Month display
15 Date display (on both dials)
16 Leap year cycle
17 Four-digit year display
18 24-hour and minute subdial
19 Moon phase
20 Crown position indicator (RAH)
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