Motion in Time, Inc.
Patek Philippe 5104P-001 Grand Complications Perpetual Calendar Minute Repeater Skeleton Platinum On Strap
EXTREMELY RARE DISCONTINUED MODEL
BUY IT NOW FOR $729,995
OR MAKE AN OFFER!!
Watch Description
Extremely Rare & Highly
Collectible!
This Watch Features:
The Ref. 5104 is unlike any other Patek Philippe wristwatch. It is the first Grande Complication with a totally transparent dial to showcase a number of elaborately crafted sub-mechanisms which ordinarily perform their tasks unseen: the perpetual calendar, the retrograde date, the minute repeater, the moon-age indication, and, of course, the wheel trains for the hours, minutes and seconds. A glance at these juxtaposed and superposed wheels, levers, springs, discs and hands readily reveals not only the intricacy but also the aesthetic beauty of these mechanisms. A number of very challenging problems had to be solved to afford this unprecedented view.
One of the greatest challenges was to legibly present on the transparent sapphire-crystal dial the four displays—the perpetual calendar, the subsidiary moon-age indication, and the hours and minutes—without obstructing the visibility of the fascinating mechanisms underneath. The solution was to make the subdials transparent. A retrograde hand moves along an arc on the periphery of the dial to indicate the date. The hour and minute hands are skeletonized. The days, months and current year in the leap-year cycle are imprinted on three circular zones of the transparent sapphire-crystal dial. Immediately beneath these zones, sapphire-crystal wafers rotate at their specific pace and position. Each of these wafers features a black rectangle providing the necessary contrast so that the day, month and year indications are clearly legible.
This clever solution created a totally new problem. How could these thin and delicate sapphire-crystal rounds be mounted on tiny steel arbors to assure perfect and durable positioning accuracy? Steel and sapphire crystal are very dissimilar materials. Sapphire crystal is brittle and cannot be press-fit on an arbor like a brass wheel. Any attempt to do this would cause the crystal to fracture into countless shards. Consequently, Patek Philippe had to develop a new manufacturing process especially for these transparent displays.
Sapphire crystal with steel – patent applied for by Patek Philippe
Preparation: In a first step, a central hole is drilled through the sapphire-crystal discs that are only 0.2 millimeters thick. The hole is slightly larger than the diameter of the pinion on which it is to be mounted. Because the smooth surface of the crystal hardly builds up enough friction for a mechanical connection, a small circular zone around the borehole must be roughened and metallized with a vacuum deposition process. Now, the sapphire-crystal disc has a bondable zone that can be coated with tin. The tin coating is drilled through the middle and shaped into a bushing that must be somewhat smaller than the pinion arbor. With that, the sapphire-crystal disc is ready to be press-fit on the pinion and aligned with the pinion leaves.
Alignment: When fitting the pinion into the sapphire-crystal disc, the watchmaker must align the disc with the leaves of the pinion as accurately as possible so that the black contrast rectangle is correctly positioned beneath the white day, month and year indications. Because of the danger of fracturing, the latitude for corrections is very limited.
Brazing: As the final step, the pinion with the aligned sapphire-crystal disc is heated in a furnace to 240°C. At this temperature, the tin bushing is brazed to the pinion arbor. After slow and careful cooling, the parts are now concentric and firmly connected at just the right angle.
A moving view: both sides of a complicated movement
The acclaimed self-winding Patek Philippe caliber R 27 PS QR movement with a minute repeater, small seconds, and moon-age display at 6 o'clock, as well as a perpetual calendar and a retrograde date display, lies at the heart of this transparent masterpiece. For this new prestige version, it has been modified with decorative elements and design changes. The plate for the additional mechanisms is plated with red gold 5N. The mini rotor in 22K red gold 5N is recessed in the plate and features a floral pattern with inside surfaces hammered to a flat gloss and then rhodiumed. The Calatrava-cross cover of the centrifugal governor and the lateral slide for the minute repeater are crafted in red gold as well. Of course, the movement is hallmarked with the Geneva Seal as an official certification of the ultimate in craftsmanship. Finally, the view of the dial side of the movement shows all of the details that must be observed to comply with the criteria behind this rare and coveted seal of quality. All steel parts have straight-grained, carefully beveled flanks. The edges are chamfered at 45° and polished. Even on linear components, this is not a trivial operation and only the most experienced specialists can perform it on complicated parts with hard-to-reach interior angles. Another special feature of this caliber is that the calendar wheel train bridge and the large lever are skeletonized to reveal more details. It takes two entire days for an experienced craftsman to skeletonize these two parts alone. Another uniquely decorative element is the gold wheel for the moon-age display. With its curved spokes, it has the same shape as the third wheel in the manufacture’s famous tourbillon watches. Aficionados will notice that the retrograde date indication is inverted and now sweeps a 270° arc along the bottom half of the dial.
A case as complex as its inner life
At Patek Philippe, the art of complications is not restricted to the intricate inner workings of its timepieces. The degrees of difficulty involved in crafting the case of the Ref. 5104 are impressive as well. It picks up on the floral theme of the skeletonized hands and the rotor decoration. The flanks of the platinum case are embellished with red gold 5N intarsia work and even the lugs exhibit delicate red gold inlays. It takes infinite patience and countless hours of work to create the recesses in the hard platinum case in which solid red-gold form pieces are inserted. Even the smallest slip of the burin would ruin the case and render the work done useless. Thus, each case takes shape with the same passion and commitment lavished on the movement. To emphasize the transparence of this exclusive timepiece, the case features a display back with a sapphire-crystal inset to present, as in a show window, the magnificent caliber with its warm red-gold accents, carefully applied striping and perlage, the large Patek Philippe Gyromax balance, and the small beveled hammers and the gongs of the minute repeater. The exceptional watch is worn on a blue, large-scaled alligator strap secured with a 950 platinum prong buckle.
Patek Philippe’s Ref. 5104 Grande Complication pulls out all the stops and challenges to the limit the capabilities of the manufacture’s talented designers, watchmakers and casemakers. It takes two years just to craft the parts, assemble the movement, and adjust its rate to perfection. For this reason, the workshops can only complete eight to 10 of these intrinsically rare timepieces per year.
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Motion in Time is not affiliated with Patek Philippe & is not an official Patek Philippe Dealer.
Motion in Time, Inc. is not affiliated with Patek Philippe, or any other watch company, and is not an official Patek Philippe Jeweler. Patek Philippe warranty no longer attaches. Motion in Time, Inc. is the sole warrantor of these watches. Motion in Time, Inc. is not affiliated with any watch maker. All watches and watch items sold are preowned.
We do not ship to Indonesia or Malaysia.
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Why Buy From Us?
BID WITH CONFIDENCE!
* Motion in Time is a full-service watch and jewelry store located at 56 West 47 Street, New York, NY 10036 (Between 5th & 6th Avenues).
* Be confident when buying from us ~ We are wholesalers of the world’s finest preowned wristwatches and sell brands ranging from Patek Philippe to Movado.
* We are members of the International Watch & Jewelry Guild (IWJG)
* We give an extended two-year warranty on all watches purchased.
* We are located in the
Heart of the New York Diamond District in Manhattan. Our main goal is a simple
one: "Treat our clients as we would like to be treated
ourselves"
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Payment Methods:
Credit Cards AND PayPal: We accept Visa/MasterCard, American Express
All International Buyers must inquire with us prior to bidding.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to give us a call or eBay message us, we will be more than happy to assist you.
(If paying with Credit Card, you must be within the United States and your billing and ship to address must be the same) - Photo ID is required to process payment
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Payments: We will only ship to the PayPal confirmed address. It is a requirement of PayPal in order to meet their protection policy. By adhering to their safety regulations, we are able to conduct safer business and as a result sell our items at lower prices.
All items shipped within New York State will incur an 8.875% sales tax.
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Import duties, taxes, and charges are NOT INCLUDED in the item price or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding / buying. These charges are normally collected by the delivering freight (shipping) company or when you pick the item up; do not confuse them for additional shipping charges. We do not mark merchandise values below value or mark items as "gifts". U.S. and International government regulations prohibit such behavior.
We reserve the right to use the most secure shipping method and/or company to ship your purchase. Calculated shipping and insurance is an estimate only and may not reflect the actual cost of shipping and insurance. Once we have your shipping address, we can give you an exact cost for shipping and insurance. If you would like this information prior to bidding, please contact us.
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Return Policy
All sales are final. Please check to make sure that the watch you are purchasing is the make and model which you are looking for. We are here to assist you in your buying process! Under special circumstances and we agree to accept the return of the item purchased, there will be a 10% restocking fee.
The customer is responsible for all freight charges for items returned back to us. We recommend a carrier with a tracking number to verify package delivery. Insurance is highly recommended for the return package.
All returns not accepted will be mailed back to the customer, at the customer's expense, via fully insured overnight shipping.
The shipping charges both ways is covered by the purchaser.
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Under certain circumstances, an advertised item may be out of stock. Please Call or Email for Availability. Please note that some watches are on memo or offered to us from other dealers.