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Patek Philippe Launches New Grandmaster Chime Timepiece
Swiss luxury watchmake Patek Philippe has unveiled the new Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300, billed as the most complicated watch in the brand’s history.
The latest Grandmaster Chime features a striking 18-karat white-gold case with a hand-guilloched hobnail pattern and a reversing mechanism integrated between the strap lugs.
It strikes the time on three gongs, either automatically every quarter-hour with the Grande or Petite Sonnerie, accurate to the minute with the minute repeater, as an alarm that strikes the preset alarm time, or – for greater time intervals – with the date repeater that acoustically indicates the date on demand.
The modes of these functions are displayed on the front dial, which also indicates the time, a second time zone, the moon phases, the date, and the power-reserve of the movement and strikework spring barrels.
The opposite side is dedicated to the perpetual calendar. Its centre is a four-digit year display surrounded by four subsidiary dials: the analogue date with the leap year cycle at 6 o’clock, the day of the week at 9 o’clock, the month at 3 o’clock, and the 24-hour time indication at 12 o’clock.
The manually wound caliber GS AL 36-750 QIS FUS IRM, composed of 1366 parts, ticks between the two solid-gold dials. Its energy is stored in two double spring barrels. One keeps the movement running for 72 hours, while the other powers the strikework for 30 hours.
Founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1851, Patek Philippe has grown to become one of the world’s most recognised watch brands.