Historical watches, rare Japanese handcrafts and new limited editions at Patek Philippe’s grand exhibition in Tokyo

The date Jun 10 holds special significance for Japan – it marks the anniversary of time, also known as Toki no Kinenbi, or “Time Day” to locals. According to Japanese history, the first water clock was introduced for use in the country on June 10, 671. And in 1920, Time Day was officially established as a day to remind the Japanese of the importance of time.

This year, Jun 10 also marked a special day for Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe, as it celebrated the much-anticipated opening of its Watch Art Grand Exhibition in Tokyo. This marks the sixth edition of the epic exhibition – and the first post-pandemic – following previous editions in Dubai in 2012, Munich in 2013, London in 2015, New York in 2017 and Singapore in 2019.

Held at the triangular plaza of the Sumitomo Sankaku Hiroba building, located in the city’s Nishi-Shinjuku business district, the exhibition is open to the public from now till Jun 25. The Tokyo event is the largest edition yet, stretching across 2,500 sq m. Divided into several themed areas, it invites visitors on a voyage of discovery through the Patek Philippe universe right from the entrance, which features a recreation of Geneva’s famous flower clock. Inside, visitors will be immersed in all the brand’s most renowned sites in its home city – the historic headquarters in the rue du Rhone, the manufacture at Plan-les-Oates and the Patek Philippe Museum.

HISTORICAL PIECES TO MODERN CREATIONS

More than 500 timepieces and objects are showcased, including 190 pieces belonging to the Patek Philippe Museum. Visitors also have a chance to meet and speak with Patek Philippe master watchmakers and artisans, including renowned enamel artist Anita Porchet, who will carry out demonstrations.

Highlights include the Historical Owners’ room, where visitors can admire timepieces owned by some of Patek’s most famous patrons. These include watches owned by royalty, such as a pocket watch belonging to Rama V, the King of Siam, and a pendant watch presented to Queen Victoria at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. There’s also a timepiece owned by jazz royalty – the Ref 1563 Chronograph from the 1940s, owned by famed American pianist Duke Ellington.

At the Japanese Collectors’ room, visitors can admire creations on loan from Patek Philippe owners in the country. The Current Collection room, presented in a reproduction of the Patek Philippe salons in Geneva, showcases a large selection of the modern day Patek Philippe collection, including the new 2023 models. These include everything from the Nautilus to the Aquanaut, Gondolo, Calatrava and more.

In the Supercomplications room, visitors will find three of the most impressive watches ever created by Patek – the Caliber 89, made to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the brand in 1989, the Star Caliber 2000 made to celebrate the new millennium and the Grandmaster Chime, made to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Patek Philippe.

RARE JAPANESE HANDCRAFTS

A must-visit at any of Patek’s grand exhibitions is always the Rare Handcrafts room, where the brand’s one-of-a-kind artisanal masterpieces – from pocket watches to wristwatches and dome clocks – are showcased. These masterpieces are truly objects of desire, created using rare specialist artistic techniques.

In this room, visitors can discover a collection of 40 specially commissioned pieces inspired by Japanese culture. Highlights include dome clocks inspired by Japanese calligraphy and Hanami, the Japanese custom of admiring the cherry blossom trees in bloom. On the Japanese Stamps dome clock, the images of old stamps were engraved by hand in line engraving, then coated with translucent brown enamels to create an effect of shadows and patina.

To honour Tokyo as the host city, Patek also created a table clock in Grand Feu cloisonne enamel entitled Tokyo as the Crow Flies, featuring a stylised bird’s eye view of the centre of Japan’s capital city from the sky.

The Shizouka and Mount Fuji pocket watch is another stunning creation. The watch was created through a mixture of techniques – the tea plantations were created in cloisonne enamel, while the sky is illuminated by a hand-guilloched sunburst beneath translucent enamel. Hand-executed relief engraving was used for the mountain and the train.

SIX LIMITED EDITION WRISTWATCHES

As with every grand exhibition, the Tokyo event was accompanied by the launch of six limited edition wristwatches. But getting your hands on them will, of course, be almost impossible – these watches are available only to the Japanese market. Featured among these six new introductions are two technical two world-firsts – the new self-winding Quadruple Complication and the first World Time watch equipped with a date display synchronised with local time.

Limited to only 15 pieces, the Quadruple Complication Ref 5308P-010 Limited Edition Tokyo 2023 is a self-winding model combining a minute repeater, a split-seconds chronograph and an instantaneous perpetual calendar in apertures. It is the most technically complex watch released for the exhibition, featuring a platinum case along with a striking rose-gilt opaline dial.

The watch that garnered the most fanfare, however, was the new World Time Ref 5330G-010 Limited Edition Tokyo 2023, issued in a limited edition of 300 watches. The timepiece is endowed with a patented world’s first; a date display synchronised with local time. A new movement, the ultra-thin self-winding caliber 240 HU C, was developed, featuring an innovative, patented differential system (70 parts) that enables it to manage the date of the local time.

The plum-coloured dial is embellished with a hand-guilloched centre, while the date is displayed on the beveled flange of the dial by a centre hand in glass with a red tip. The name “Tokyo” appears in red on the city disk. On the 24-hour disk, which is subdivided into day and night zones, a red rising sun, Japan’s national emblem, replaces the classic sun symbol. An ingenious mechanism patented in 1999 enables the user to correct all the World Time displays, including the date, simultaneously in one-hour steps, by a simple pressure on the pusher located at 10 o'clock. 

Limited to 15 watches, the World Time Minute Repeater Ref 5531R-014 Limited Edition Tokyo 2023 is characterised by a dial adorned with a tiny masterpiece of rare handcraftsmanship – a Grand Feu cloisonne enamel decoration representing the historic Chuo district in the centre of Tokyo.

The ladies’ Moon-Phase Ref 7121/200G-010 Limited Edition Tokyo 2023, a new version of the model launched in 2022, is a limited edition of 200 watches recognisable by an elegant pearl grey shade gracing the dial, complete with an alligator-leather strap. The dial shimmers with a sunburst beneath applied Breguet numerals and poire-style hands in white gold. 

Two new Calatravas – the men’s Ref 6127G-010 and the ladies’ Ref 7127G-010 – wrap up the limited edition offerings. Both models have with an entirely new Calatrava case featuring two-tier fluted and beveled lugs. The Ref 6127G features a dial in light-blue lacquer and a matching alligator-leather strap. The dial and strap of the ladies Ref 7127G are in a delicate lilac shade. As with all the six limited editions, the backs of the Calatravas are adorned with the engraved inscription “Patek Philippe – Tokyo”. A special inscription to mark a special event indeed.

The Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition Tokyo edition is open from now till Jun 25, at the Sumitomo Sankaku Hiroba. For more information, visit https://watchart.patek.com/