Color Your World

Patek Philippe brings us something this year that tells of both complication and creation of beauty, of heart, mind and hand, of body and soul. Of something old, but not of something new.

The “new” World Time watch Ref. 5131 has been seen before, and is familiar to enthusiasts, collectors and the industry. Maybe though we should be clearer. It is well known mainly to extremely well-funded enthusiasts and collectors, and a very jealous industry. These watches began appearing over half a century ago, and when they have changed hands in auction since, prices generally start with seven figures.

The most immediately eye-catching detail you will notice on the Ref. 5131 is the artwork on the dial. It is a beautiful vision of the map of the world, in cloisonné enamel miniature. Cloisonné is a classic technique of decoration for important, historic and expensive pieces of artwork and craftsmanship. An obvious use for this would be timepieces, and the cloisonné enamelwork technique was often brought in as were two other enamel methods, those of Geneva enamel and champlevé enamel. Enamelwork allows the creation not only of a brilliance of color, but also of having that color last. As opposed to painting using pigment, enamel retains its luster for centuries.

Cloisonné comes from the French cloisons, or partition or cell, which refers to the shapes that ultimately contain and separate the different colors and areas of the final piece. Map miniatures are perfect for this, as they allow distinct borders on countries, land masses and so on. This geographic subject is obviously perfect as well for a matching with the world time complication, and the auction prices for world time cloisonné pieces from the forties and fifties have born this out.

The Calibre 240 HU 228

An original drawing by Louis Cottier of the dial of a World Time clock (project for Patek Philippe). Image courtesy of AntiquorumThe complication in this case is as stalwart as the world it moves. The Calibre 240 HU has developed directly from the original world time complication system dreamt up in the thirties by Geneva watchmaker Louis Cottier. His invention was first offered to Patek Philippe, who protected it with Swiss patent No. 340 191 in 1959. The Heure Universelle (the HU designation that specifies a world time watch) impact of Patek Philippe had begun to be felt as the watchmaker began producing increasingly complicated and sought after timepieces. The model Ref. 1415 produced from 1940 to 1950 and the Ref. 2523 from 1953 to 1966 have become particularly prized among collectors and enthusiasts. The example of Ref. 1415 shown here, Ref. 1415-1 HU, was produced in 1940 as a unique piece for Dr. P. Schmidt. It was auctioned by Antiquorum in 1994 for a then world record price of US$ 785, 714. Cottier incidentally also created another movement for Patek Philippe, a system able to display two time zones simultaneously that inspired the creation of the Calatrava Travel Time.

Development on the world time mechanism continued. In 1999, they took the system in use at the time, the Calibre 240 HU, and optimized it by isolating the world time mechanism from the going train of the timekeeping mechanism. This meant that when the mechanism was moved from one time zone to the next, the movement accuracy and the minute hand travel were not affected at all. This newly 01 patented solution went into the Ref. 5130 World Time watches that are available today, which replaced the Ref. 5110s as the new century came in.

Ref. 5131 uses the same Calibre 240 HU, a thin, self-winding complex mechanism that is surprisingly not complex to use. Local time is indicated by the hour and minute hand of the time zone aligned with 12 o’clock. The crown is used to set correct time in conjunction with the 24-hour ring so you can differentiate am from pm. This 24-hour disc moves counterclockwise. Outside it is another ring which bears the city names and which moves clockwise. With all these different indicators moving in different directions, it may be surprising that the time zone change is accomplished merely by pressing the pusher located at 10 o’clock on the watch case. Every time it is pressed, the hour hand will advance by one hour, the city ring will and the 24- hour ring will rotate by one hour or one time zone. Twenty four pushes will bring you back to your point of departure, a miniature circumnavigation of the world.

This new World Time watch offers a unique look at the world for those that either live while moving across it or those that wish they did. It provides both grounding and flight. It is in many ways a shame that this wristwatch may not be worn as much as it should be, as a quick look at history will show you the monetary values of its predecessors. The piece will at any rate cause many a thought to be put towards the question of what is of prime importance, the economic or the emotional.

It seems that, luckily, in this watch you have both.

PISCES: Open-face, keyless-winding dress-watch, with polychrome cloisonné enamel dial featuring fishes referring to the Pisces zodiac sign. Watch manufactured in 1940. Yellow gold, enamel, opals.

Cloisonné

A cloisonné enamel piece starts with a wafer of copper or gold. Contours are put in by hand, scored into the material. Lines are then retraced with very thin and flattened gold wire. This wire is bent using small tools in the shape of the contour, then it is secured. After this initial process, you will see a simple and empty outline of the desired piece. The empty spaces must then be filled with the colorful enamel, which is created by crushing and grinding fine glass until it is a powder. Different metal oxides are introduced to get the different colors required. After all the cloisons or spaces are filled, the work is fired in a special furnace to temperatures between 850 and 900 degrees.

The reverse side of the piece must also have been coated with a preventative buffer of enamel known as contre-email to avoid distortion on the artwork side. Several passings of the piece are usually required because the different metal oxides in the powder may all have different actuating temperatures, the points at which their colors will change. After all this, you will have the colorful motif of classic enamelwork, but which still has the gold wires protruding. These wires must be ground down to the level of the glass, after which the entire piece must be protected by a colorless, transparent layer of enamel known as fondant in a final firing process. Each one these firings requires a precisely controlled cooling phase to avoid the thermal stresses that would cause the already hard, fused glass to crack.

Circa 1640/1650: A Bassine-cased watch with “champlevé” enamel Movement signed by Nicolas de BaryEnamel and Watches

Miniature painting on enamel seems to have begun in France in the 1600s. The new process quickly gained appeal and interest, and the art of enamelling is said to have reached its peak within twenty years. It is attributed to Jean Toutin, a French goldsmith who developed the process in Blois, a city of second residence for the King and his court and therefore one in which the craftsmen would both have steady work and where they would gain attention. This new art form did, and soon moved to Paris and then even further afield. Enamelling became an important force in art and culture, but did so in a time of tempest in Europe. Enamel craftsmen, as did many other such groups and guilds, became associated with the Protestant faith that was developing. The enamelling trade became almost exclusively Protestant and was therefore practically banished from France in 1685. Many craftsmen who wished to continue their work in safety fled, and a likely place to go was neighboring Switzerland which provided an excellent support industry for the enamel craftsmen, that of watch production.

Geneva Enamel

Painting on enamel had become linked to supporting trades such as those of goldsmiths and watchmakers, who based themselves in Geneva workshops known as “fabrique.”

A technique was invented in 1760 which had a layer of transparent enamel covering the painting and creating a glow when the top layer enhanced the bright surfaces below.

The “World Time” Bonbonnière: A circular box engraved with the name of 53 places around the world, incorporating a watch with 24 hour revolving dial Movement attributed to Pierre Morand, GenevaEarly Genevese Watches

The Huguenots created Geneva’s watchmaking tradition between 1570 and 1675.

Calvin forbid the wearing of jewelry, but the watch was considered useful and therefore allowed. Many craftsmen moved from the disallowed jewelry and gold trades into watchmaking. Also, in 1572 Charles IX ordered the massacre of several thousand Protestants in Paris. An entire class of the population left, including the accomplished craftsmen. Geneva became the refuge for these for many of these artisans.