BaselWorld 2012: Patek Philippe Ref. 5101J

A little more affordable. The Patek Philippe Ref. 5101J announced at BaselWorld 2012 is not an all new design, having been preceded by the Ref. 5101P, R and G. The difference between the two is that the Ref. 5101J has a case made of yellow gold, the previous models had case made of platinum ("P"), rose gold ("R") and white gold ("G"). This should make the Ref. 5101 a little more affordable since Patek prices its yellow gold watches a little bit less than its rose and white gold variants, and a lot less than platinum versions. Still given that the rose gold and white versions of this watch retailed at almost US$400,000, I doubt if any buyers will be truly concerned about the price.

Patek Philippe Ref. 5101J.  What merits the high asking price is not the precious metals that Patek builds most of their watches from but the intricate movement inside. The Ref. 5101 uses Patek's manual winding Caliber TO 28-20 REC 10J PS IRM movement which combines the tourbillon complication with a long ten day power reserve. The combination of these two complications is designed to provide accuracy in timekeeping.

The tourbillon was invented in 1795 by Abraham-Louis Breguet. Mechanical timepieces are affected by gravity. Gravity results in uneven wear on the movement of a watch. In order to counter the effects of gravity, Abraham-Louis Breguet built a watch that counteracted gravity by rotating the balance wheel of a watch or clock through 360 degrees. This is called a tourbillon. This is accomplished by mounting the escapement in a rotating frame, called a "carriage" which turns at regular intervals, usually once a minute. This rotation reduces distributes the effect of gravity on the escapement and minimizes uneven wear on the movement causing inaccuracy.

Complementing this is the ten day power reserve. As a watch reaches the end of its power reserve, the torque that drives the movement decreases as the mainspring winds down, leading to a loss a reduction in the accuracy of a movement. Giving the watch long ten day power reserve minimizes the effect of the reduction in torque.

On the dial of the Ref. 5101 is a power reserve indicator, which has a red marker to inform the user of when it is time  to wind the watch again. Keeping the watch's reserve power above the red marker will also insure that accuracy it maintained.

About Patek Philippe. Patek Philippe and Co. was founded in Switzerland in 1851. It is acknowledged as one of the finest watchmaking companies in the world.