Simply Abu Dhabi XXX

1 8 2 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I T his is an insanely complicated watch, of which a small book could be written about. In concise terms, Patek Philippe’s engineers took on the horological challenge of integrating two functional complications—a world time mechanism and a minute repeater—and created the Patek Philippe Ref. 5531R World Time Minute Repeater. The movement is the R 27 HU, comprised of 462 individual components, each crafted to the highest degree of precision and carefully finished in compliance with the directives of the Patek Philippe Seal and assembled with a steady hand in order for the calibre R 27 HU to perform its functions dependably, sonorously, and precisely. Patek Philippe’s premise is that aesthetic immaculacy must be paired with superb legibility and to that end they have triumphed. An immaculate miniature work of art graces the centre of the dial and pays tribute to the heritage of Patek Philippe World Time watches: an artistic cloisonné enamel depiction of the Lavaux winegrowing region—a UNESCO World Heritage site—with a lateen-rigged boat which has just set sail. The craftsman requires a fortnight to complete enamelling this quaint image with its soft colour nuances. The dial is fired in a special kiln at about 850°C and the artist has to anticipate how the high temperatures will alter the colour of the enamel. Thus, opaque, translucent and transparent enamel mixtures are applied coat after coat and consecutively fired until the depiction is complete: a quintessential Léman scene. The brand says of the new timepiece, ‘The owners of a World Time Minute Repeater want more than to see the time in all of the world’s 24 time zones at a glance. They also want a highly legible reading of the time at their current location, on demand also acoustically with the incomparable sound of a Patek Philippe minute repeater. This goal has now been achieved by the manufacture for the first time in horological history.’ To be clear about this achievement, in the past there have been watches that conjoin the world time complication with a minute repeater, but these timepieces did not have the striking works P a t e k P h i l i p p e Ref. 5531R World Time Minute Repeater coordinated with the world time complication, which means that the repeater would only strike home time, and not the local time. Patek connoisseurs will know that the Ref. 5531 is the first and only Patek Philippe minute repeater decorated with cloisonné enamel and that the shape of the hour hand is reserved for World Time watches only. Carefully pierced, it traces the silhouette of the Southern Cross constellation. The watch is worn on a hand-stitched shiny chocolate brown alligator strap with large square scales, secured with an 18ct rose-gold fold-over clasp. The 5531RWorld Time Minute Repeater is part of the regular collection but has a very limited production and it priced at $498,000.