As heir to the great Genevan tradition, Patek Philippe has always placed particular importance on sharing its love of fine watchmaking, notably through exhibitions. In the years from 1970 to 1980, at the peak of the quartz crisis, the manufacture played a major role in the strong rebound of the mechanical watch, with traveling exhibitions on themes such as “The Creative Hand” and “The Watch as a Work of Art”. Fourteen years ago, Patek Philippe went a step further by launching a new concept of grand exhibitions open to the public, offering free admission and encouraging closer acquaintance with its creations, heritage, philosophy and breadth of expertise. In the course of the six editions organized to date these events have increased in size and scope, welcoming a total of some 225,000 visitors. After Dubai in 2012, Munich in 2013, London in 2015, New York in 2017, Singapore in 2019 and Tokyo in 2023, Patek Philippe chose Milan for its seventh grand exhibition.
Italy has always held a prominent position among the Manufacture’s key markets: a country of connoisseurs, treasuring rare handcrafts and able to appreciate all the technical excellence and painstaking workmanship contained in a timepiece. Raised in a culture that combines respect for both tradition and know-how, with a pronounced taste for design and fashion, and a truly pioneering spirit, Italian customers are also perfectly placed to understand the “tradition of innovation” that has guided Patek Philippe since 1839.
An exceptional decor
Open from Friday 2nd to Sunday 18th October 2026, the WATCH ARTTM Grand Exhibition - Milan 2026 is held, as were the previous exhibitions, in an emblematic place of the host city. This edition is taking place at CityOval, previously known as the Palazzo delle Scintille, at the very heart of the CityLife quarter.
Fully restored, this building is the last remaining vestige of the past of this exclusive, modernly designed district. Beneath a dome rising to 30 meters, the exhibition extends over an area of approximately 2,900 square meters. The fifteen themed areas present not only the current collection of watches and movements, but also a selection of historical timepieces specially chosen for this Italian edition, as well as limited-edition watches, including a technical innovation, creations of exceptional fine watchmaking inspired by Italian culture, and a new ladies’ collection presented in a world premiere. Finally, a new area traces the history of Patek Philippe through the wealth of material preserved in our historical archives.
The exhibition, divided into several themed areas, invites visitors on a journey of discovery into the Patek Philippe universe, including the brand’s landmark Geneva locations – the historic headquarters on the Rue du Rhône, the manufacture at Plan-les-Ouates and the Patek Philippe Museum.
The entire current collection and Rare Handcrafts collection
The WATCH ARTTM Grand Exhibition - Milan 2026 brings together more than 500 timepieces and objects illustrating a wealth of different types of expertise. In particular, visitors may admire the manufacture’s entire current collection, with its lavish choice of watch families and models for men and for women, spanning every watchmaking segment from the style icons to the most technically complex mechanisms.
The Rare Handcrafts (including miniature painting on enamel, cloisonné enamel, hand engraving, micro wood marquetry, hand-executed guilloché work and gemsetting) meticulously preserved by Patek Philippe, are also on show, with a splendid array of 25 one-of-a-kind pieces and limited editions (dome clocks, table clocks, pocket watches and wristwatches) inspired by Italian culture, with its rich artistic repertoire and ancestral skills, along with demonstrations by artisans before the visitor’s eyes.
Jewels from the Patek Philippe Museum
The exhibition also presents a selection of some 80 pieces belonging to the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva and exceptionally allowed to travel to Milan. Those from the “Antique Collection” (sixteenth to early nineteenth century) include some of the oldest watches in the world and numerous technical and aesthetic masterpieces illustrating the entire history of horology. The timepieces from the “Patek Philippe Collection”, tracing the manufacture’s rich heritage, feature the first known perpetual calendar wristwatch, launched by Patek Philippe in 1925 (No. P-72), the World Time wristwatch reference 1415 HU of 1948 (No. P-1026) and a pocket watch with minute repeater and 30-day power reserve from 1918 that had belonged to James Ward Packard (No. P-1703). A new section entitled “Historical Owners” invites visitors to admire a pendant watch presented to Queen Victoria at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 (No. P-24) and the 1901 pocket watch bearing the portrait of Pope Leo XIII (No. P-62), as well as other timepieces that once belonged to famous patrons.
An exceptional gathering of horological masterpieces
One room presents the vast collection of movements designed and built entirely by Patek Philippe, with an area devoted to the steps involved in producing watch parts and another to research and development. A generous place is dedicated to complicated watches, one of the manufacture’s strongholds, with a section exclusive to super-complications (such as the Calibre 89 and the Star Caliber 2000), and a space named “Master of Sound” showcasing chiming watches, including the most complex of all, the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime with 20 complications, and the Sky Moon Tourbillon Reference 6002R-001. Visitors also have the opportunity to meet Patek Philippe master watchmakers, as they carry out demonstrations on a variety of movements. And for the first time at a major exhibition, visitors and enthusiasts can immerse themselves in a space devoted entirely to treasures from the Manufacture’s historical archives.
A fine array of limited editions
As in previous editions, the WATCH ARTTM Grand Exhibition - Milan 2026 is hosting the launch of several limited editions in every segment of the Patek Philippe collection. Featuring among the seven new introductions are the new instantaneous perpetual calendar chronograph with aperture displays (Ref. 5978P-010); a trio of Calatrava models whose contemporary styling, inspired by Ref. 6007, echoes the colors of the Italian flag; a sporty minute repeater with a red lacquered dial and matching alligator leather strap (Ref. 7047G-010); a new perpetual calendar with a green dial and strap (Ref. 7147G-010); and a new Calatrava with a white dial and strap (Ref. 7007G-010). In addition, the Aquanaut Ref. 5167 comes in a new sporty version featuring a blue sunburst dial with a black-gradient, enhanced by a red transferred minute track. Finally, the World Time Minute Repeater is presented for Milan in two versions, with the middle of the dial in cloisonné enamel depicting central Milan by day on Ref. 5531G-012 and by night on Ref. 5531G-013.
patek.com/watchart2026
Under the patronage of the Region of Lombardia, the Municipality of Milan and the Swiss Consulate in Milano.
