Since their first participation in Only Watch, Patek Philippe had only given away wristwatches. That's what they do, don't they ? So the piece they bestowed upon the 2021 edition left everyone puzzled. A desk clock ? Going 31 days and with perpetual calendar ? In that ornate style ? Not everybody knows that Patek Philippe has long edited clocks of various formats. It's mostly been a bespoke affair, as demonstrated by the ref 27001M's origin. It derives from a desk clock with similar functions built around 1922 for American automobile tycoon James Packard, ont of the great historical customers of the brand.
The clock collection bearing the ref.250xx, is just as intriguing. Patek Philippe regularly and discretely introduces them during their Fine Crafts exhibition tours or in their Geneva flagship. Mesuring 53 cm in diameter, these are mostly one-offs, featuring grand feu enamel of various types, flinqué or cloisonné.
One should also mention another kind of timepieces, although it would admittedly be a stretch. Every year, Patek Philippe showcases a selection of pocket watches, with enamel and/or engraved lids, paired with an exhibition stand designed along the same lines as the watch and themed accordingly. The latter is meant to hang on the former, and together, they feel like they're meant to be looked at, standing there, rather than the timepiece to be worn.
Of course, this whole article would be amiss if it didn't mention the Dome Clock, one of Patek Philippe's mainstays, albeit discrete, since its beginnings in 1950. These 22 cm high clocks feature the entire array of fine crafts the Maison masters, applied on very large surfaces : grand feu enamel, cloisonné enamel, paillonné enamel, miniature painting, leaf gilding... They're executed according to a wide variety of styles and motifs, which is something they have in common with the rest of the Fine Crafts collections. They're powered by a mechanical movement wound by an integrated battery-operated motor, which is rather original.
And there, the plot thickens. As we learn more and more about Patek's bespoke business, as unique pieces with unexpected specs keep popping up here and there, one can wonder what other marvels with incredible complications the brand may have built for its wealthiest and stealthiest patrons.
