www.bahrainthismonth.com November 2013 163 Energy for more than a week For Ref 5200 Gondolo 8 Days, Day & Date Indication, the Genevan workshops developed a new calibre. The new Gondolo contains innovative Silinvar components from the Patek Philippe Advanced Research think tank. The result is a fetching form movement with a genuine eight-day power-reserve display. Its date by hand and large aperture for the day of the week — both instantaneously switching — and an aesthetic personality cannot fail to delight watch enthusiasts. The calibre is accommodated in an anatomically curved rectangular case that celebrates the Art Deco style. It is an impressive example of Patek Philippe’s competence in designing and building extraordinary timepiece cases. True craftsmanship There are many men among connoisseurs and aficionados of high-end horology who deliberately choose a manually wound timepiece. This is not just a predilection; it has some incontestable technical advantages. A watch that is wound by hand at regular intervals is very precisely adjustable because the declining torque of the gradually relaxing mainspring can be taken into account in the poising process. Conversely, in a self-winding watch, the tension of the mainspring varies with the intensity of the movements of the wrist while it is worn. Another argument in favour of manually wound timepieces is the tactile experience of turning the crown between fingertips and feeling the smooth action of the winding train. It is like a recurring ritual that strengthens the relationship between the watch and its owner. With the Ref 5200 Gondolo 8 Days, Day & Date Indication, this procedure takes place every eight days and requires 134 revolutions of the crown each time. A role model of energy efficiency The rectangular calibre form movement enriches the Patek Philippe collection of currently produced manually wound movements. It was developed explicitly for this model. In twin in-line barrels, it stores the power needed to guarantee that it will run non-stop for 192 hours. This doesn’t mean that the watch will then stand still. Instead, it has the power reserve required to safeguard the steady amplitude of the balance and its rate accuracy up to and including the eighth day. This is remarkable especially because the calendar is an instantaneously switching mechanism in which the day and the date switch forward simultaneously at midnight, within three milliseconds — faster than the blink of an eye. In the process, the large disk of the prominent day-of-week display has to be advanced by one increment as well. Indeed, a power reserve of this magnitude is quite remarkable, given the eight lightning-fast calendar switching cycles. This innovation can be admired through the sapphirecrystal case back.
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