Photo Report: The Artistry On Display At Patek Philippe’s 2025 Rare Handcrafts Exhibition in Geneva
During the hectic week of Watches and Wonders, there are always dozens of other events going on across Geneva, and cumulatively, well over 100 new releases are being shown. But that’s not counting Patek Philippe, which released well over 100 watches alone, and most of them you likely haven’t seen yet. Offsite, at the brand’s historic Patek Philippe Salon, the maison put on a display of their Rare Handcraft releases for the year, showing the best of their gemsetting, enameling, guilloché, and a world premiere in marquetry for the brand. The exhibition runs for a few more weeks and features wrist watches, pocket watches, and – as you’ll see – a whole lot of clocks.
The fourth floor of the Patek Philippe Salon.
While these pieces, blending high art and horology (many of them unique), included music and location-specific motifs (like London, New York, Geneva, and the broader Swiss landscape), nature was the predominant theme across the Rare Handcrafts exhibition. Some watches were more abstract, while others had incredibly realistic renderings of some fine feathered friends and more. I commented to a few members of the Patek Philippe team about a distinct lack of puppies and kittens that I think would make amazing watches – in case Mr. Thierry Stern is listening.
The ref. 5077/212G-001 “Macaw on a blue ground,” a 10-piece limited edition Calatrava wristwatch in white gold. The dial is made of 64 cm of gold wire with 38 translucent, opaque, and semi-opaque layers of enamel. The watch features bezel, lugs, and prong buckle clasp set with 70 blue topazes (0.72 ct), 50 blue sapphire (0.63 ct), 11 yellow sapphires (0.13 ct), and 10 diamonds (0.02 ct), powered by the caliber 240 movement. The stones follow the color gradient of the enamel.
The Patek Philippe Rare Handcrafts Exhibition is open to visitors (free upon registration) from April 5th to 26th, from 11 am to 6 pm daily except Sundays, Friday the 18th, and Monday the 21st. This, alongside a visit to the Patek Philippe museum, is a “must-do” activity, in my book, and just like the museum, there’s only so much you can absorb in one visit. There are even live demonstrations of some of the techniques. Even for the pieces that didn’t suit my personal taste, it was hard not to come away completely impressed by the talent and sheer volume of talent on display.
For those that can’t make it to Geneva, I’ve photographed a few of my favorite pieces from the exhibition as well as some other notable works that seemed to garner a lot of attention. I skipped a few pieces that you can see on Patek’s website, like the Dome Clock dedicated to Swiss travel and skiing, the enameled Ellipse with cockatiel dial, the 5278/500G-001 “Horse” minute repeater, or a pocket watch with a recreation of Genevois painter Louis Baudit’s “Lake Geneva Barque.” I’ve also listed all the reference numbers for those who see something they’re interested in – whether to research more or maybe even buy (if you’re lucky). You can find out more and register for the exhibition here.
Patek Philippe’s Calatravas with grisaille enamel au blanc de Limoges, cloisonné, and paillonné enamel with Zodiac water signs. The models are ref. 5177G-041, ref. 5177G-045, and ref. 5177-049.
I focused on my sign, the ref. 5177G-041 for Cancer, with a lobster (though most often it’s associated with a crab).
If you want a Nautilus from Patek Philippe, here it is. The 20171M-001 “Nautilus” dome table clock inspired by the novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea” by Jules Verne.
One of the most vibrant dome clocks in the display, this one features 41 colors of enamel and miniature painting in 8 colors.
Though if you’re afraid of the sea, maybe this clock – like the book – isn’t for you.
The ref. 992/183G-001 “Provence,” a pocket watch in cloisonné and flinqué enamel, Longwy enamel on faience, paillonné and gemset Fauré enamel, with miniature painting on enamel, with 0.86 grams of gold wire for the cloisonné and 45 translucent, opaque, semi-opaque, or opalescent enamel colors. The stand is adorned with lavender in charoite crystal and a hand-engraved bee in yellow gold, while the back (not shown) features a bee drinking from flowers.
The ref. 10044m-001 “Gilded volutes on a purple ground,” a small dome table clock in cloisonné and paillonné enamel, with a Clous de Paris hour circle with Arabic numerals in black enamel. This is a limited edition of five pieces.
A display of a variety of enameling techniques and resulting dials (and cufflinks).
The Grand Feu enamel dial of the ref. 6002R Sky Moon Tourbillon.
The dial for the Patek Philippe ref. 5178G Rare Handcrafts Minute Repeater with flinqué blue Grand Feu enamel dial.
Maybe one of the most unexpected and incredible releases of Watches and Wonders, the desk clock of ref. 27000M-001, cased in sterling silver. The price is $1,178,350 and the watch features a brand new movement with 912 components, which led to nine patent applications. For optimum performance, engineers designed a “precision regulator” at the heart of the movement.
The guilloched, green enameled panels (flinqué enamel).
Vermeil decorative elements (yellow-gilt silver)
The Caliber 86‑135 PEND S IRM Q SE. The functions are the perpetual calendar with day, month, leap year, and day/night indication displayed in apertures. The movement has a 31-day power reserve, +/- 1 second per day rate accuracy
The date is indicated by hand while the week number is indicated by a mobile frame. There’s also moon phases and hours and minutes displayed in a subsidiary dial, with a large central seconds hand (jumping seconds), and a central power reserve indication by hand.
The ref. 992/191J-001 “Jazz Quartet” with flinqué, cloisonné, and paillonné enamel the Caliber 17”’ LEP PS movement powers the watch.
For other musical stylings, you can check out the dome table clock ref. 20195M-001, with cloisonné enamel and miniature painting on enamel in 44 colors.
A rose engine machine for guilloché.
A guillochéd dome for flinqué enamel.
A dial being turned for guilloché.
The ref. 20182M-001 “Mongolia” dome table clock in cloisonné enamel and miniature painting on enamel. This is a unique piece featuring, among other things, yaks, yurts, and eagle hunts, with an hour circle in brown lacquer, with 28 colors for the miniature painting. There is approximately 38.4 meters of gold wire for the cloisonné, and the clock is powered by the 17 ” PEND mechanical movement rewound by an electric motor.
The ref. 5738/50J-001 “Burmese Albino Python” Golden Ellipse wristwatch cloisonné and flinqué enamel with miniature painting.
The Calatrava references ref. 5077/100G-079 and 5077/100G-070 “Feathers” (left and center) and the 5077/100G-081 “Cracked Candles,” each limited to ten pieces and set with 112 diamonds with 29 diamonds on the buckle per watch.
The 5077/100G-081 “Cracked Candles.”
The ref. 5077/100G-079 “Feathers” – possibly my favorite enamel from Patek Philippe this year.
The ref. 5077/100R-053 “Lavender and Dry-Stone Huts,” the ref. 5098G-107 “Olive Groves and Alpilles,” and ref. 5089G-106 “Vines and Village of Gordes.” Each is limited to 10 pieces with cloisonné enamel dial.
The ref. 5089G-106 “Vines and Village of Gordes.”
Some of the sample enameling on display
More sample enameling.
The wood marquetry-dialed ref. 5738/50G-029 Golden Ellipse “Bald Eagle,” or what I called the “Bald Eaglellipse.” The brand was particularly proud of this watch, choosing to highlight as one of the watches on the giant three story video screen near their booth.
The ref. 995/125G-001 “Jaguar” pocket watch. The caseback was hand-engraved on four levels with a jaguar rendered in miniature painting on enamel. Foliage is in relief. The crown has a peridot cabochon.
The stand has a liana and another peridot cabochon on an oval base made in British Columbian jade.
There’s also a chain decorated with a ball in British Columbian jade.
An artist working on the cloisonné gold wire framework for the Patek Philippe ref. 6002R Sky Moon Tourbillon with brown Grand Feu enamel dial.
That dial in completed form.
The ref. 5077/215G “Macaw on a green ground” limited to 10 watches.
I just wanted to show a few bits of the enameling work on the clocks. This is the ref. 20139M-001 “Indian Flowers.”
A closeup of the clock.
The ref. 20198M-001 “Birds on a Red Ground” in Longwy enamel.
So much vibrant color.
This clock is the only one I didn’t get the reference information for, but I’m sharing it if for no other reason than the fact that the depth of the Grand Feu enamel is so incredible.
A wonderful contrast between the gold and yellow enamel and red background.
The ref. 992/138G-001 pocket watch “Zhangjiajie National Park Forest,” ref. 20178M-001 “Bell of the Stag” dome table clock, and 20189M-001 “Forest of Silver Birch.”
The ref. 20178M-001 “Bell of the Stag” dome table clock.
The ref. 20189M-001 “Forest of Silver Birch.”
The first of the ref. 5738G “Forest in the Mist” in grisaille enamel au blanc de Limoges, this one limited to 10 pieces with a bear motif.
The other ref. 5738G “Forest in the Mist” in grisaille enamel au blanc de Limoges, this one limited to 10 pieces with a stag.
The unique piece ref. 20188M-001 “Amazon Rainforest” table clock.
The clock features 17.46m of wire with 59 enamel colors and Caliber 17”’ PEND movement.
The first ever Patek Philippe dome table clock done with wood marquetry, the unique piece 21000M-001 “Geneva Harbor.” The piece features 1,991 veneer parts and 200 tiny inlays made from 41 species of wood. I decided I would give you as close a view as I could so you could see all the work that went into it, and the familiar scenes for those who visit Geneva.
One of the artisans from the brand demonstrated the kind of marquetry techniques that were used in making this clock and other pieces.
A jaguar rendered in marquetry.
One of the most interesting parts about watching the artist work was the fact that the work was done standing and using a foot pedal to manually move the small saw.
Two more models of the Golden Ellipse, this time the new models on bracelet, in white or rose gold. Limited to ten watches in each material, they’re the 5738/150G-001 and 5738/150R-001 called “Blue Leaves.”
My personal favorite small dome table clock from Patek Philippe this year was the ref. 10043M-001 “Central Park” in cloisonné enamel and miniature enamel.
This is a limited edition of five clocks showing a view of the New York City skyline as viewed from Central Park.
Maybe the most bold design from the brand, the ref. 5738/50G-033 “Horological Gear Trains.” The dial features cloisonné enamel and grisaillé enamel au blanc de Limoges with miniature painting, with a white gold case.
A few members of the press and others pose in a photo booth at the end of the cocktail. Who says Rare Handcrafts has to be so serious?
For more information, visit Patek Philippe.
Hodinkee
