As heir to a great Genevan tradition, Patek Philippe has always been intent on preserving and advancing the artistic crafts associated with the embellishment of timepieces. And so it is that every year the manufacture unveils a new collection of unique pieces and limited editions that constantly push back the frontiers of what is possible and draw on ever more varied sources of inspiration.
The “Rare Handcrafts 2025” collection (a total of 78 pieces, comprising 23 dome table clocks and small dome table clocks, 1 desk clock, 10 pocket watches and 44 Calatrava and Golden Ellipse wristwatches) once again called into play a vast range of outstanding skills, including Grand Feu cloisonné enamel, miniature painting on enamel, grisaille enamel, flinqué enamel, paillonné enamel, Fauré enamel, hand engraving, hand-executed guilloché work and gemsetting), raised to new heights of excellence. Patek Philippe also showcased several techniques that are innovating in horology, such as Longwy enamel on faience and wood micromarquetry – the latter gracing a dome table clock for the first time. And not forgetting the growing number of what are known as “mixed techniques” pieces, uniting, for example, cloisonné enamel and paillonné enamel, or miniature painting on enamel and hand engraving. These 78 pieces with their ever-more original and astonishing decorations were presented to great effect in an elegant, specially devised decor divided into three areas.
Visitors were greeted in the central area by an extraordinary new group of twelve Calatrava wristwatches, their bezels adorned with Clous de Paris or hobnail guilloché work and their dials with grisaille enamel au blanc de Limoges, Grand Feu cloisonné enamel and paillonné enamel representing the constellations associated with the different signs of the zodiac. The salon overlooking the lake, with a splendid view of Geneva harbor, brings together the pieces celebrating the beauties of nature –flora, fauna, landscapes –in very refined decorations.
The Rare Handcrafts 2025 collection again gives an important place to birds, notably on the Golden Ellipse Reference 5738/50J-011 Yellow-Crested Cockatoo, its dial in cloisonné enamel enriched with miniature painting on enamel, and on the Calatrava wristwatches 5077/100R-071 “White Swan” and 5738/50G-029 “Bald Eagle”, depicted with great finesse in wood marquetry, enriched with gold leaf for the swan.
The plant world and its amazing repertory of shapes and colors inspired an entire group of dome table clocks and small dome table clock representing a variety of techniques (cloisonné enamel; Longwy enamel on faience; paillonné and gemset Fauré enamel, grisaille enamel au blanc de Limoges), with decorations ranging from the natural charm of wildflowers –poppies, ox-eye daisies, cornflowers – to floral motifs of Japanese or Indian inspiration. The salon facing the rue du Rhône honors legendary examples of human endeavor (painting, music, literature, architecture, traditions, sports), by varying and combining techniques with complete freedom.
Two authors of major historical importance represent literature: Jules Verne and Cervantes. The dome table clock 20171M-001 “Nautilus” in cloisonné enamel and grisaille enamel enriched with miniature painting on enamel drew inspiration from the famous adventure novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas”. Meanwhile, the Spanish author Cervantes is honored on two pocket watches portraying Don Quixote charging at windmills, in two different color palettes, one representing daytime, the other, night.
The “Rare Handcrafts 2025” collection pays a splendid tribute to the ancestral art of wine-growing, with six works featuring highly refined decorations. Music and other entertainments also featured, on three dome table clocks and a pocket watch celebrating swing and jazz, as well as vintage funfairs and Central Park in New York.
