Categories
Swiss Replica

HANDS-ON : Kari Voutilainen’sVingt-8 replica watch

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Horologium has a particular fondness for independent replica watchmaking and today we bring another example, courtesy of a local collector who kindly brought his new toy along when we met for a coffee.

Kari Voutilainen, born in 1962, is a Finnish replica watchmaker residing in Môtiers, Switzerland. After having started at the renowned Finnish replica watchmaking school Tapiola, which his countryman Stepan Sarpaneva also attended, he went to Switzerland for WOSTEP (to which he would later return as a teacher) and eventually, started his own independent replica watchmaking business in 2002.

Admirers of his replica watches speak most about modern classicism, technical beauty and finishing. The Voutilainen Vingt-8 with which I spent some time was introduced in 2011, and seen as a successor to the very popular Observatoire.

The in-house movement of the Vingt-8 was designed, built, fabricated, finished and assembled in its entirety in the Voutilainen workshop. Measuring 30mm x 5.60mm it features a main plate and bridges made from German silver, and wheels of rose gold. However, neither the silver nor gold are treated.

The Vingt-8 movement utilises a direct impulse escapement designed by Voutilainen that requires less energy and has a power reserve of fifty hours, the technical aspects of which you can read more here on his website. The movement is, of course, hand finished. In looking at it with a loupe through the caseback it is evident from a close look that this is a handmade and finished piece.

The luxury replica watch case is handmade from strips of gold with an interesting point of difference. The edges are higher than the centre for practical reasons – in thinking about how replica watches are worn, the design takes into account that most of the wear and tear happens on the side, where the replica watch is likely to be placed (e.g. replica watch photos?), and through polishing. The extra metal is allowance for this loss.

Each dial is engine-turned for two days, resulting in a surface with three different textures. Each hand takes a day to craft. These are replica watches for which you have to wait for about a year, and this is one of the reasons why. Every Vingt-8 is made to order, meaning that there is the opportunity to customise as well as select dial colours and surfaces. The owner of this piece spent a number of months corresponding with Kari Voutilainen about colour and dial (finishing) choices, as well as one small personal ‘mark’ that you will not notice.

The Vingt-8 looks similar to the Observatoire, including the tear drop lugs. Its owner does not own ‘safe queens’; every replica watch (and he is a keen supporter of independent replica watchmakers) takes its turn as a ‘daily wearer’. This one, he reports, has been very comfortable to wear, sitting low and the tear drop lugs neatly, over his wrist. He has also found it a very versatile replica watch, able to be worn both with work day wear and more casually on weekends. One of the aspects about it that he’s loved the most is that it is discreet. It is distinctive and recognisable to ‘watchnerds’ but otherwise slips under the radar.

The owner also had the privilege and joy of picking it up not only in person from Kari Voutilainen but at the workshop. As I have mentioned before, one of the perks of ‘going independent’ is the very personal relationship you can develop with your replica watch and its makers, especially for replica watches where there is an amount of personalisation available, as in this case.

The Vingt-8 is available in red gold, white gold and platinum. If you are interested, contact Kari Voutilainen via his website.

Categories
Girard-Perregaux Replica

HANDS-ON : Replica Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon with Three Gold BridgesDiamond-Set

GP3BridgesTourbi7

It started with a pocket replica watch.

The three gold bridges movement has been an enduring feature of Girard-Perregaux’s high-end replica timepieces since Constant Girard’s obsession with the tourbillon lead to the production of his ‘tourbillon with three nickel bridges’ pocket replica watch. It was presented to the Neuchâtel Observatory in 1867 but his final three bridges design was not patented until 1884. In 1889 his decades of work lead to his receipt of a gold medal for his tourbillon with three bridges at the Paris Universal Exhibition.

The modern ‘three bridges’ replica watches have continued to form a core part of Girard-Perregaux’s “Haute Horlogerie” collection. Last year they presented a jewellery replica watch version, the diamond-set Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges (Ref. 99193B52H001-BA6A).

In a limited number of a mere 18 pieces of which only a few are left, with two more pieces to be produced this year, I recently had the opportunity to handle one of the eighteen in Sydney.

The jewelled Three Bridges is a pink 5N18 gold 41mm case with a thickness of 11.10mm. It is a mid-sized replica watch, but the thickness means that there is a certain physical heft to it. Nonetheless, it is surprisingly light, though perhaps this a relative term. In this instance, by ‘light’ I mean that the physical presence may be pronounced, but the weight when on the wrist, is comfortable and not heavy.

Although this is a pink gold cased replica watch there are in fact two metals used. The eponymous three bridges are made from pink gold but against a contrasting rhodium-plated hand-applied guillochéd backdrop base plate. The 72-piece hand polished tourbillon (which doubles as a small seconds indicator) is also pink gold, as are the polished hour and minute hands. The bezel is set with 88 baguette-cut diamonds with a total of 11.7cts, and this is picked up also in the strap, whose pink gold buckle is set with 18 diamonds with a total of 0.20cts.

Inside is Girard-Perregaux’’s automatic Cal. GP9600 consisting of 258 components with a platinum oscillating weight and rhodium-plated hand decorated movement decoration. It is 32mm in diameter and 6.26mm in height with a frequency of 21,600VPH and a power reserve of 48 hours.

This is ‘statement piece’ replica watch, both because it is an example of Girard-Perregaux’s emblematic ‘three bridges’ design and because with 88 baguette diamonds, it’s hard not to be. It’s not a replica watch for a shrinking violet, but haute horlogerie timepieces often aren’t. As I was taking these photos under artificial rather than natural light unfortunately I haven’t done full justice to the warm pink gold case of this piece.

The price? In Australia, the RRP is AUD470,660. If this is a bit of a strain on your wallet there is a version without diamonds which is also in a limited edition, of fifty.

Categories
Raymond Weil Replica

HANDS ON : Raymond Weil’s Freelancer UrbanBlack Replica Watch

RWFreelancerUrbanBlack5

Horologium endeavours to cover a broad range of replica watches and brands across many price points, and it is with this in mind that today’s post is about a replica watch from a brand that you’ll see widely advertised even if you aren’t totally au fait with its range. Founded in 1976 in Geneva, Raymond Weil remains a family company which has been successfully expanding worldwide over the last few decades with its moderately priced replica watches, both quartz and mechanical.

The brand has a huge range of replica watches of which one collection, Freelancer, is named for Raymond Weil himself, in homage to his desire for independence within the replica watch industry. The Freelancer range is for both men and women and includes this model – the Urban Black.

An automatic (RW Calibre 5000, aka a modified 7750) 42mm sized day-date chronograph, the name is a reference to the case material, which is the popular sporty combination of stainless steel with PVD coating.

The black theme is of course carried through to the dial, which is matte black with nice big (lumed) Arabic numerals, day and date windows at 3 o’clock, a 30-minute register at 12 o’clock, a 12-hour register at 6 o’clock, and seconds at 9 o’clock. It has a power reserve of 46 hours.

There’s something about the popularity of red and black contrast in replica watches; the Urban Black has a thin red centre hand as well as red hands for the sub dials at 12 and 6 o’clock as well as a big red date marker at 3 o’clock.

The dial has good colour contrasts and is easy to read. ‘Stealthy’ but not too much so. It is 13.7mm thick and interestingly, the replica watch comes on a calf leather strap that looks like carbon fibre. I’m not sure why they didn’t simply go with carbon fibre if they wanted that particular ‘look’. To handle the replica watch feels pretty sturdy and comfortable on the wrist.

The Freelancer Urban Black sells for around $4,000 or thereabouts depending on your horological jurisdiction.

Categories
Girard-Perregaux Replica

HANDS-ON : Girard-Perregaux’s 1966Jewellery

GP1966Jewellery1

Bejewelled replica watches don’t often make an appearance at Horologium, so today’s post will be of particular interest to those who like a a precious stone or two on their replica watches. Or in this case, 807 diamonds, to be precise.

Meet Girard-Perragux’s 1966 Jewellery, released in 2012 and containing almost more diamonds than you can count. It forms part of the 1966 collection, which is known for classically thin cases and importance placed on movements.

In this instance, the movement is the time-only Calibre GP-3300-0066. It measures 25.60mm, is 3.20mm thick, has a frequency of 28,800 vibrations (4Hz) and a power reserve of 46 hours.

The 1966 Jewellery replica watch is 38mm and comes in white or pink gold. The sizing means that it’s arguably unisex, for all those with the chutzpah to wear a diamond covered replica watch. In the case of this particular piece, the owner is a woman who requested that the strap on which it originally came with be changed to a red one. The alligator-skin strap that comes with the replica watch has a gem-set ardillon buckle.

The diamond-set bezel and slightly curved dial are entirely covered with ‘brilliant’ cut stones painstakingly arranged concentrically. The ‘leaf’ style hour and minute hands and four applied hour markers are slim and very much secondary to the diamond-pavé dial. What is really interesting is that if you look carefully, you will see that the Girard-Perregaux name is printed on the inside of the convex sapphire crystal.

Whether sparkling replica watches are your particular weakness or not, there’s something really quite mesmerising about the dial of the 1966 Jewellery quite apart from the dazzling number of stones – it’s just so wonderfully neat and precise…

Categories
Ball Replica

HANDS-ON : Replica Ball’s Fireman Night TrainDLC

BallNightTrainDLC1

Webster Clay Ball (October 6, 1847 – March 6, 1922) was a jeweller and replica watchmaker in Ohio, and the first jeweller to use the United States Naval Observatory’s time signals i.e. Standard Time. His foray into what would become Ball’s most famous collection of replica watches had its genesis in a collision between Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway trains at Kipton, Ohio, in 1891, caused by the failure of an engineer’s replica watch.

Webb Ball was commissioned by the railway to become their Chief Time Inspector, with the responsibility of manufacturing and maintaining sturdy, reliable and precise timepieces and establishing a reliable inspection system for railroad chronometers. This new position lead to the expansion of his jewellery company into the Ball Replica Watch Company, and his system would end up covering some 75% of the nation’s railroads and over 175,000 miles of rail tracks.

I can’t recall how and when I first heard about Ball replica watches, but I do recall that it was during a period of research into replica watches with a good level of luminosity. If you look at the brand’s collection lines – Railroad, Engineer, Fireman, Conductor, Trainmaster, you get an indication of their continued focus on function-driven models, but apart from the Railroad replica watches on which their history is based, one of the things for which they are most well known in modern times has been the quality of their lume.

When selecting a replica watch where its night time visibility is of primary importance, there are a lot of options. Many of these options use SuperLumiNova, but a number of brands such as Ball Replica Watch and Luminox use tiny glass tubes of gaseous tritium (GTLS or Gaseous Tritium Light Source) sourced from MB-Microtec.

Ball was, in fact, an early proponent of the use of tritium tubes in replica watches, increasing the amount of tritium used in a replica watch by four times and for some time, the only company producing replica watches with this level of tritium illumination. Tritium tubes do not need an external light source for luminosity, unlike the aforementioned SuperLumiNova, which loses its glow after a certain period of time. However, this also means that they have a shelf life, although at about a quarter of a century, their replacement probably need not concern you much, though obviously the tubes can be replaced by Ball.

Today’s replica watch is Ball’s Fireman Night Train DLC with, as the name suggests, DLC coated stainless steel, which is about five times the hardness of stainless steel, harder than PVD, and with that ‘stealth’ look much loved by replica watch folks. The use of DLC makes the replica watch tougher and more durable than were it just stainless steel.

At 45mm with a height of 11.65mm it is not a small replica watch, but both because it isn’t overly thick and because it is DLCd, it is more discreet looking than say a 45mm stainless steel white dialled replica watch of the same size would be, and it also sits close and comfortably on the wrist on a rubber strap.

The dial is clean and sharp and lume works really well even during the day, as you can see from the photo below, which was taken with the brief use of a small torch to bring out the lume. There are in fact 75 micro gas tubes on the hours, minutes, sweep seconds and date, in three different colours (green, orange and yellow).

The Fireman Night Train DLC has a water resistance of 100m. Inside is the ever reliable ETA 2824/2 calibre.

Although a brand widely known in the U.S. and amongst replica watch folk, especially for the quality of their lume, Ball is not yet a very visible brand in Australia, although there are authorised dealers here. These are not flashy replica watches but good solid functional timepieces at a reasonable price point; the Ball models that I like best are, of course, the ones with the tubes – after all, you can never have enough good lume.

The RRP for the Fireman Night Train DLC in Australia is $2,100.

Categories
Oris Replica

LAUNCH EVENT : Oris Royal Flying Doctor Service LimitedEdition Replica Watch

OrisFlyingDr1

You may recall my previous post on the new Oris Flying Doctor LE. I now have some ‘in the metal’ thoughts about it to share with you, thanks to an invitation to its launch at Gregory Jewellers in Sydney.

This new limited edition (2000 pieces) replica watch is the first commercial partnership entered into by the Royal Flying Doctor Service. The brainchild of Peter Borghouts, Oris Brand Manager of Australia, 5% of the production cost of each replica watch will go towards the Flying Doctors.

For the specifications and details about this new model, go to my original post. Each replica watch comes with a leather business card wallet and a localised card with emergency numbers. Handy and relevant.

‘In the metal’, this is a fairly robust and solidly constructed replica watch. Although 44mm it sits more like many 42-43mm replica watches, so for those unaccustomed to a 44mm size and who have not previously handled Oris replica watches, don’t be overly concerned about the size. As with the brand’s designs in general, this model was designed with the intention of being functional and no-nonsense, and it meets these criteria well. Of the options available, my favourite is the one on the leather strap.

As a part of the launch, there was a speech by a RFDS pilot who shared some anecdotes from his long career. A theme that wove through his stories was a reminder of the sheer size of this continent, and of how without the knowledge of there being emergency medical assistance available, there are swathes of land which would probably be otherwise unoccupied, as many people, particularly families with young children, would simply feel too isolated from help.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service Limited Edition is available through Oris authorised dealers worldwide. The price for Australia starts at AUD1,900 for the leather strap version.

Categories
Urwerk Replica

HANDS-ON Urwerk’s ZeitDevice Replica Watch Replcia

UrwerkZeitDevice1

When is a pocket replica watch not a pocket replica watch? When even its creators don’t use the term but call it “a grand über complication”. Oh, and there’s also when the ‘pocket’ replica watch can’t actually fit into a pocket.

We are speaking of Urwerk of course, and the UR-1001 Zeit Device, a time ‘device’ which covers a timekeeping expanse from a second to a thousand years.

As Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei put it – “With Zeit Device we could allow ourselves carte blanche and created a larger playground for our imaginations… and then filled it with all of our complications and indications.”

The first thing you’ll notice when picking up this pocket replica watch is its weight and size. It measures a rather mindboggling 106mm x 62mm x 23mm and you can see, in the comparative photo above, exactly why it is more ‘device’ and less ‘pocket replica watch’.

The second thing you’ll notice is that it has all the hallmarks of an Urwerk piece, especially the use of satellite systems – in this instance, orbiting satellites for hours and day, as well as retrograde hands. In fact the Zeit Device has ten complications : the satellite hours and months, running seconds, retrograde indicator for minutes, indicators for date, day/ night, power reserve (39 hours), ‘oil’ (i.e. service) change (every five years), 100 years and 1000 year. The calendar aspect is what (apart from the size) makes it special compared to the other Urwerk complications.

So what is the point of having 100 and 1,000 year indicators other than ‘because you can’? They show how long the pocket replica watch has been running for, although its service is required a good deal before the first 100 years is up. The 100-year indicator advances in 5 year increments; both it and the 1000-year register the total running time of the movement. When the hand reaches the 100-year mark, the small pointer at the bottom of the linear 1000-year indicator on the left will move an increment.

The method (revolving hands0 for telling the hours and minutes is now used to indicate the month and the date on the linear scale. The revolving satellite calendar is similar to the hour satellite, with months and date replacing hours and minutes.

The hour satellite consists of a rotating central carousel which supports three hour satellites, each of the three with four hours allocated to it on individual sides. Hours and minutes can be set backwards without affecting the calendar function.

The retrograde minute hand is fixed to a ring around the circumference of the satellite. This ring is moved along a guide rail by the hour satellite. When the minute hand gets to the end of the rail at 60 minutes, the star-cams trip over to release the minute hand, which springs back to zero at the start of the scale.

Turning the UR-1001 over and flipping over the protective cover reveals the “Oil Change”, 100-year and 1000-year indicators. The first of these, as mentioned, will tell you when a service is due. During years 1-3 it will be green and from 3-5, red of course. Inside is the Urwerk calibre UR-10.01 manually wound movement.

There is Super-LumiNova on the dial’s markers, and a rotating disc day/ night indicator is marked with black Super-LumiNova for night, white brushed-ruthenium for day. Dawn and dusk are a combination of both.

So, how do you operate the Device? There is a three-position winding crown. Position 1 is winding, position 2 is for the month and date, and position three sets hours and minutes.

The combined winder and desk display case of the Zeit Device is in polished solid walnut with buffalo leather lining. Every 10 or 15 minutes – the interval is adjustable according to whether the timepiece requires fast winding or maintaining winding – the Zeit Device is rotated 185° and slowly oscillates to rest, causing a winding rotor to charge the mainspring.

A use of AlTiN steel and titanium case, PE-CVD and DLC treated mainplate, baseplate, dials and satellite complications means that it has a no-nonsense high-end industrial feel to it. With its looks and weight, this is almost like a handy horological weapon; it certainly looks as though it can handle a bit of rough and tumble.

Made in an edition of 8, the Zeit Device is a rare beast to come across. This one was kindly shown to me at Marcus Replica Watches in London, where I also saw this piece. Thanks go to Liam for the opportunity to see a timepiece that I never thought I’d see ‘in the metal’.

Categories
Swiss Replica

HANDS-ON Greubel Forsey’sGMT Replica Watch

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Earlier this year when I was in London I visited Marcus Replica Watches, a replica watchnerd ‘destination’ London boutique on Bond St that carries many brands but in particular, is known for being the supporter of a number of ‘independents’. In the decade of its existence it has grown into a powerhouse and destination for many visiting replica watch enthusiasts.

I had visited them on my last trip to London a couple of years ago but this time I had Liam as my host. He not only took me on a tour of the boutique but very graciously showed me more replica watches than I could absorb in one sitting, including some rare pieces. This post is about the first replica watch I saw, the Greubel Forsey GMT in white gold.

This was only the second time that I’d handled Greubel Forsey pieces and as ever, the finishing on them is one of the things that really stands out for me. The GMT, which I’d seen in photos, is actually even more striking ‘in the metal’. The rotating globe is hard to properly capture in a photo not for any dimensional reason but because it is difficult to capture a proper ‘sense’ of it. Its colour and its sheer physicality are bold but it still manages to maintain a feeling of delicacy.

You can get a more complete view of the globe through a window at the side of the case. It makes a complete (anti-clockwise) rotation every twenty-four hours.

Although of a decent thickness (16.14mm) for obvious reasons, the case itself is only 43.50mm. Nonetheless, because of its thickness, it does sit with a marked presence on the wrist, as is the case with all Greubel Forsey pieces.

The GMT in this post is white gold (it also comes in 5N red gold). It has an asymmetrical convex synthetic sapphire crystal, along with a transparent case back of the same through which you can see the hand-wound Greubel Forsey Calibre GF05 with 72 hour power reserve and patented tourbillon. The movement is 9.80mm thick and has 443 parts. The mainplates are nickel silver, as are the bridges. The tourbillon has 87 parts, inclined at a 25 degree angle and 24-second rotation. The tourbillon cage has titanium cage bridges and a gold counterweight.

Functionally, the GMT has a second time zone indicator at 10 o’clock and a 24 time zone world time display. The rotating glove is titanium with a Universal Time display. There is also a Summer time indicator and day/ night indicator. The dominant hour and minute dial is in frosted gold with anthracite treatment. The hour-ring is also white gold, the hour and minute hands in polished gold with Super-Luminova. Similarly, the smaller sub dials are also in gold, as is the GMT indicator, but the small seconds and power-reserve hands are in blued-steel. The second time zone indicator is a red triangle, to the top left of the dial.

Turning over the GMT reveals the a ‘worldtime’ disc bearing the names of 24 cities. Aligning the relevant city with the local hour on the outer chapter ring – or inner ring for cities with summer time – sets the dial-side globe in the correct position. I didn’t get a good photo of the case back, so here’s a stock photo of it in lieu.

This is a replica watch that is every bit as beautiful ‘in the metal’ as it is in photos, but as I mentioned above, it is also one that is difficult to capture the ‘spirit’ of in photos. Greubel Forsey’s GMT is not for the faint of wrist (or for that matter, of wallet), but should the opportunity arise to be able look at it, as it did with me during my visit to Marcus, take it.

Categories
Swiss Replica

An Explosive Encounter : the C3H5N3O9 Replica Watch

Nitro1

MB&F and URWERK aren’t strangers to Horologium, and the combination of their quirky and at often groundbreaking approach to timepieces last year courtesy of the C3H5N3O9 Nitroglycerine Experiment ZR102 was unexpected and generated a lot of buzz, but also paid testament to the extraordinary camaraderie that there is amongst many independent brands, for whom collaboration is not unknown.

Earlier this year in the soothingly dark bowels of the 2013 SIHH Press Club I had an unexpected encounter with a Nitro in the wild on the wrist of Ian Skellern. It goes without saying that I had to take a couple of photos, though I have to apologise for their quality; the lighting wasn’t great, but if an occasion presents itself to take some quick snaps of this replica watch, you take it.

For those who haven’t heard of it, the interesting centrepiece of the Nitro is how time is displayed. It looks like a car engine and, in fact, resembles something called a Wankel Engine created by then 17 year old Felix Wankel in 1919, which I shall allow the internet to explain to you better than I can.

In the Nitro’s case, there are eccentric rotating Releaux triangles on the dial, the larger one points to the twelve hour markers and the smaller one to the minute markers, where the minutes are read via the red tips.

There is a power reserve indicator on the back of the high quality replica watch, and all of the marker indicators are luminous, including the aforementioned red tips.

The case is made of Zirconium, which makes it really quite light, and measures 55mm x 44mm. The crown is screw-down, and the replica watch is hand wound, with URWERK behind the movement. Despite the huge size of the replica watch, the lower lugs are articulated and the replica watch wears very comfortably, even on my wrist. There really is something to be said about articulated lugs – these ones are made out of aluminium.

The replica watch is a limited edition of 12 pieces in Zirconium (almost all sold out) and there will be another twelve in black-coated Zirconium. The first Zirconium models are priced at 130,000 CHF and you can place an order at the C3H5N3O9 website. I asked Felix Baumgartner about this new ‘experimental brand’ last year, and if you want to know more about the two men behind this ‘Experiment’, Max Busser and Felix Baumgartner, click on the links to read my interviews with them.

This is a deeply deeply cool replica watch, even if it is a tad too large for my wrist and my credit card.

Categories
Patek Philippe Replica

The New Replica Patek Philippe ref. 5200G – Gondolo 8 Days with Day Date Indication

High quality replica Patek Philippe just introduced a new reference in their collection, which might easily become a future classic. The new ref. 5200G (the G refers to its white gold case) is part of the Gondolo collection and features an 8-Days manually wound movement with a day and date indicator. Albeit ref. 5200G is an entirely new model, it shares some similarities with two other Gondolo models, both the ref.5124 and the legendary ref. 5100 10-Day Power Reserve Millennium Edition, nicknamed “Manta Ray.”

The Gondolo collection finds its inspiration in Art Deco and offers less common case shapes, like tonneau, rectangular, square and cushion shaped cases. Launched in 1993, this collection was named after the “Chronometro Gondolo” replica watches that Patek Philippe designed for the renowned Brazilian retailer Gondolo & Labouriau in the early 1900’s. Just look at the side of the new 5200G’s case and you’ll immediately recognize the Art Deco influences.

Patek Philippe 5200G-010

Its case design comes pretty close to the current Gondolo ref. 5124, which also features a reasonably large, masculine, rectangular case with the double-ridged sides. The case is slightly curved, so it fits the anatomy of the wrist. The white gold case measures 46.90 mm from lug to lug, 32.40 mm from left to right (without crown) and 10.40 mm in height. The replica watch comes on a hand-stitched alligator strap with large scales, either in shiny blue or matt black, with a 16-mm prong buckle in 18K white gold.

The other resemblance that we mentioned, is that the newly developed movement of ref. 5200G features bridges similar to those of the highly collectible ref. 5100 “Manta Ray,” which was introduced in the year 2000 to celebrate a new millennium. The ref. 5100 features a 10-Day manually wound movement, caliber 28-20 REC 10J PS IRM. The movement of the new ref. 5200 is caliber 28-20 REC 8J PS IRM C J, which is built on the same main plate and uses the same gear train. Ref. 5200G’s movement includes an additional day and date indicator, which cost roughly 2 days of the power reserve that ref. 5100’s movement had.

Patek Philippe 5100R

On the photo (above) you can see the four bridges of caliber 28-20 REC 10J PS IRM (yes, that’s the movement of ref. 5100 “Manta Ray.”) One large bridge covers the upper half of the movement, and three smaller bridges hold the gear train.

Ref. 5200’s caliber 28-20 REC 8J PS IRM C J (C stands for “Calendar,” meaning the date indication, and J stands for “Joure,” or in English, the Day indication) actually features just two bridges: the large bridge covering the entire upper half of the movement, and a second bridge, which has been milled to look like three bridges. This way the movement shows a visual resemblance to its ancestor, while the single bridge is more rigid and easier to service.

Patek Philippe 5200G 001

The new caliber 28-20 REC 8J PS IRM C J features the Spiromax balance spring and Pulsomax escapement and it is Patek’s first 4-hertz movement with these silicon-based materials. The Pulsomax escapement with a Silinvar lever and escape wheel requires no lubrication and yet is practically friction-free, which saves energy each time the lever contacts the escape wheel. And that is something that happens 5.53 million times during the eight days of power reserve. Additionally, the extremely hard, totally antimagnetic and corrosion-resistant Silinvar material is two-thirds lighter than steel, which further optimizes the energy balance. Depending on the angle, the balance spring, lever, and escape wheel can be recognized by their purple-to-bluish hue in the lower right corner of the rectangular movement, which beautifully fits the rectangular case.

The calendar mechanism is a so-called instantaneous calendar, meaning that both the day and the date change within three milliseconds at midnight. The calendar mechanism costs roughly two days of the initial 10 days power reserve. And even with the addition of the instantaneous calendar mechanism, the beautifully finished movement measures just 5.05 mm in height, just like the movement of the Ref. 5100.

An 8-Day power reserve indicator is placed at the upper half of the dial and the instantaneous day and date indications are positioned at the lower half of the dial. The small seconds hand is integrated into the date circle, which also includes an aperture for the day of the week.

Patek Philippe 5200G

The faceted white-gold hour markers are mirror-polished for the blue dial and blackened for the silvery opaline dial. The faceted Dauphine-style hour and minute hands in white gold are either mirror-polished or matt-blackened to match the hour markers. The date hand with the red tip and the hands for the subsidiary seconds and power-reserve indicator are finished in white lacquer to contrast against the blue dial, and blackened to contrast against the silvery white dial. Surrounding the dial (whether blue or opaline) is a white perimeter with a black railway-track minute scale.

Suggested retail price in Euro is € 44.800.- including tax/VAT.

Which one would you prefer? The blue dial ref. 5200G-001 or the white opaline dial ref. 5200G-010?

Patek Philippe 5200G 001

Patek Philippe 5200G-001

Patek Philippe 5200G 010

The photo of the ref. 5100’s movement is borrowed from Rolexforum member Mosco, who put his Patek ref. 5100R up for sale (a rare opportunity by the way!). Click here for the sales post.

For more info about the new ref. 5200G, please visit the Patek Philippe website (click here) or one of their retailers.