The Genevan manufacture refreshes its Rare Handcrafts tradition with creative and technical prowess.

Once a year in conjunction with its novelties launch, Patek Philippe generates great excitement among high horology connoisseurs and enthusiasts in the unveiling of its new Rare Handcrafts collection. As per established practice, the Manufacture exhibited its Rare Handcrafts 2023 collection at its Salons in Geneva from April 1 to 15, 2023. Complementing the presentation were demonstrations by the craftsmen to showcase their rare artisanal skills in creating the one-of-a-kind timepieces and limited series.

Those who were privileged to view the 67 Rare Handcrafts creations &mdash; 22 dome clocks and miniature dome clocks, 3 table clocks, 12 pocket watches and 30 wristwatches &mdash; at the Patek Philippe historic headquarters on Rue du Rh&ocirc;ne would have been privy to close to five centuries of fine crafts legacy associated with the lavish decoration of these pieces in combining technical prowess and unlimited creativity.
This year&rsquo;s tour de force has certainly taken these ancestral techniques: manual engraving, manual guilloching, gem- setting and the various ancestral forms of enamelling, such as Grand Feu cloisonn&eacute; enamel, miniature painting on enamel, paillonn&eacute; enamel, flinqu&eacute; enamel, champlev&eacute; enamel and grisaille enamel to new heights of virtuosity. Close at hand were also several innovative skills in watchmaking, the likes of wood micromarquetry and Longwy enamel on faience.

Notably, there was an increase in the number of &ldquo;mixed technique&rdquo; pieces which juxtaposed, for example, cloisonn&eacute; enamel and manual guilloching or manual engraving and wood micromarquetry.
Propelled by Patek Philippe&rsquo;s free rein in inventiveness and creativity, the 2023 Rare Handcrafts creations have benefited from embellishments of even greater originality and exclusivity. As a result, the exhibition scenography was driven by two main themes of inspiration: firstly, nature&rsquo;s fascinating flora and fauna, and secondly, legendary human adventure (arts, traditions, culture) with a focus dedicated to motor racing.

Amidst the timepieces galvanised by the beauties and curiosities of nature are lifelike portraits of terrestrial animals such as that seen on the &ldquo;Leopard&rdquo; pocket watch Reference 995/137J-001, a jewel of mixed techniques fusing wood marquetry (363 tiny parts and 50 inlays spanning 21 different species of wood), hand-engraving and champlev&eacute; enamelling. Crossing over from land to sea, marine life is represented by a Calatrava wristwatch Reference 5077/100R-064, &ldquo;Manta Rays on a Sand-Colored Ground&rdquo;. Its yellow gold dial is hand-engraved with small undulating lines to evoke ripples in the sand, and coated with Grand Feu cloisonn&eacute; enamel: translucent for the sea and opaque for the fish. The oceanic menagerie ensues to include a school of stylised rays rendered in a geometric pattern; a flying fish soaring above a hand- engraved sea; and a variety of Asian fish, such as the Lionhead and the koi carp.
Feathered creatures are not left out with the Golden Ellipse wristwatch Reference 5738/50G-026, &ldquo;White Egrets&rdquo;, which features a cloisonn&eacute; enamel dial created after a Japanese print from the 1920s; and a wristwatch bearing the visual of a penguin in a split view of blurred and sharply focused effects in the name of striking realism. Dome clocks are illustrated with the splendour and glory of the flora from the five continents next to creations showcasing flowers combined with butterflies or birds. The seasonal landscapes of Chinese terraced rice fields in Yuanyan embellish a set of four Calatrava wristwatches with dials in cloisonn&eacute; enamel over hand-executed guilloch&eacute; work.

Motor racing is no stranger to horology but for Patek Philippe, this liaison is a freshly minted one for its 2023 Rare Handcrafts collection. A set of Calatrava wristwatches Reference 5189G-001 &ldquo;1948 Nations Grand Prix&rdquo; and Reference 5189G-011 &ldquo;1956 Alpine Rally&rdquo; are endowed with dials uniting cloisonn&eacute; and paillonn&eacute; enamel to portray the cars in the foreground and miniature painting on enamel for the background landscapes. Giving a unique automobile perspective is the dome table clock Reference 20149M-001 &ldquo;Racing Cars&rdquo; in cloisonn&eacute; enamel where the dial depicts an hour circle resembling a steering&nbsp;wheel, crafted in amboyna burl; an engine-turned dashboard; and a glimpse of a seat sheathed in genuine leather.

Next up, the exotic romance of travel kick-starts a journey from India, with the Calatrava wristwatch with minute repeater and tourbillon Reference 5538G-018 &ldquo;Jungle in Bengal&rdquo;, expressed in miniature painting on enamel; to Japan with the pocket watch Reference 995/119G-001 &ldquo;Japanese Night&rdquo;, with hand-engraved vegetation in low relief, a star-studded sky in miniature painting on enamel and a brook in hand-engraved mother-of-pearl. The collection is then transported to Africa with the pocket watch Reference 992/177J-001 &ldquo;View of Mount Kilimanjaro&rdquo; and a dome table clock evoking the pyramids and the Great Sphinx of Giza. America and Europe are far from absent with timepieces flaunting scenes from the Far West: &ldquo;Rooftops of Paris&rdquo; and &ldquo;Ch&acirc;teau de Gruy&egrave;res&rdquo;. Old sailing boats and French lighthousehb. s continue the wanderlust theme, along with Indian and Chinese cultural depictions and artistic influences from the Middle Ages to the 1970s.
In company with the annual Rare Handcrafts collection, Patek Philippe demonstrates its commitment to cultivating these precious crafts with a space dedicated to them in its new manufacturing building in Plan-les-Ouates, inaugurated in 2020. A tradition that the Manufacture has impressively cultivated side by side with its Genevan watchmaking heritage since being founded in 1839.

Exceptional 2023 Rare Handcrafts collection from Patek Philippe

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