Patek Philippe’s Rare Handcrafts exhibition has become an annual event that top collectors and watch enthusiasts around the world look forward to. Although you may not be able to appreciate it in person, it is still exciting to see the wonderful works one by one. The 2022 Patek Philippe Rare Handcrafts will be held at Patek Philippe’s Geneva Salon at 41 Rue du Rhône in Geneva from April 6 to 23. A total of 59 rare craft timepieces will be exhibited on site, including 15 dome table clocks, 9 pocket dome table clocks, 10 pocket watches, and 25 watches, combining grand feu cloisonné enamel, miniature enamel painting, hand-carved, hand-staggered decoration, gold leaf carved enamel, fine wood inlay, and Longueville enamel painting and other wonderful craftsmanship works, and the official website will open for online reservations on March 28.
In addition, this year’s Rare Crafts Exhibition will also go to Paris for the first time, and is expected to be held from May 14 to 22 at the Paris Art Museum Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré 85, which was renovated for this exhibition.
This exhibition is rich in exhibits, and Patek Philippe has also released two wonderful works first. The first piece, No. 20118M “Bol d’Or” cloisonné enamel dome clock, is based on the famous sailing event “Bol d’Or” held on the shores of Lake Geneva, showing the scene of ships bravely breaking through the waves. What is special is that the old president Philippe Stern has won seven championships in this event with his own boat, and the name of each winning boat is “Altaïr”. Therefore, the picture is based on these seven champion sailboats, and the victory year of the old president is marked. The word “Altaïr” can also be seen on the sails or hulls; the top of the clock is drawn with gold lines to draw the boat race route, and 13 stars are marked on the lake surface with gold inlaid enamel technology (Paillonné Enamel), which is even more shining.
The craftsman uses 13.8 meters of 24K gold line to outline the pattern, and uses 64 enamel glaze colors, combined with translucent, opaque and milky white enamel, with very rich color levels, showing the ever-changing lake surface and clouds in the sky. Each enamel plaque needs to be fired 8 to 10 times at about 820 degrees Celsius. The clock frame and the hour and minute dial are in the shape of cables, while the hour display ring is made of ebony. The 12 three-dimensional gold-plated hour markers are shaped like the mooring posts of ships, which further echoes the theme of the clock.
Another work that was first exposed is the No. 995/130G-001 “Swan” fine wood inlay pocket watch, which features the swans of Lake Geneva as the protagonist, symbolizing light, elegance, love and loyalty. In order to show the swan’s elegant slender neck and rich wings, the craftsman cut the required materials from 23 different woods, and then finely cut them into 223 tiny plaque components and 300 inlays. The black enamel surface is combined with hand-carved white gold leaf-shaped hands and a crown inlaid with 0.44 carats of manganese aluminum garnet.
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