Patek Philippe Unveils Seven LEs In Milan, With A New Movement For The Platinum 5978P

Patek Philippe's Watch Art Grand Exhibition opens in Milan on October 2 and as it has done for every one of these shows, Patek made a batch of watches for the occasion. These are very limited editions, all allocated to the Italian market and made in small batches with a lot of Italian hints about them. But these aren't just color changes, even though they do that as well. For example, the 5978P gets a brand new movement.

So let's start with the 5978P-010. It is a hand-wound chronograph with a perpetual calendar. Yes, we've seen this combination before, but not with this calendar. Now it gets the instantaneous system Patek had previously kept for grand complications like the 5207, 5208 and 5308, which means that the day, date, month and leap year all change at once, in 30 milliseconds. The calendar is paired with the CH 29-535 PS, the column-wheel, horizontal-clutch chronograph from 2009, and the result is the new calibre CH 29-535 PS QI. The movement has 500 components, 33 jewels, a Gyromax balance with a Breguet overcoil at 4Hz (28,800 vph), and 55 to 65 hours of power reserve.

The case is fully polished platinum, 42mm wide and 14.2mm thick, with rectangular pushers, scalloped lugs, a concave bezel and the small diamonds Patek sets at six on every platinum watch. Water resistance is 30 meters. The navy dial has a textured middle and darkens to black at the edge, and the layout is familiar: day, date and month in windows across the top, leap year at four, moon at six, the 30-minute counter at three, small seconds at eight with a day/night indicator inside. The days and months are displayed in Italian. The watch comes on a navy composite with a textile motif, closed by a platinum triple-blade folding clasp. The 5978P-010 is limited to 120 pieces and priced at €318,100.

Moving on to the new 5531G duo. It's a world timer whose minute repeater chimes the local time of whichever city sits at 12 o'clock. It debuted as a New York exhibition watch in 2017 and joined the regular collection a year later. Milan gets two white gold versions. The 5531G-012 has a Grand Feu cloisonné enamel map of Milan in daylight at the center, while the 5531G-013 shows the same streets after dark. Around it are 24 city names in Italian, Milan done in red, and a 24-hour day/night ring. The case is 40.2mm wide and 11.49mm thick, with a lug-to-lug of 47.35mm, with openworked lugs and a Clous de Paris caseband that carries onto the repeater slide. Patek includes a solid back and a sapphire one. Inside is the self-winding calibre R 27 HU. The day version comes on light brown calfskin, the night version on midnight blue stitched in red. Each costs an incredible €794,600, and they are limited to 5 pieces in each color.

Then there's the Italian flag trio. These are three white gold Calatravas using the 38mm case of the 6007, with green, white and red lacquered dials, embossed with a carbon-fiber texture, applied white gold numerals and a tricolore detail on the alligator strap. Red is the 7047G-010, 10.24mm thick, using the self-winding calibre R 27 PS, which is a minute repeater with a small seconds. Limited to five pieces, and priced at €648,000. Green is the 7147G-010, using the perpetual calendar ultra-thin calibre 240 Q, making the watch just 9.72mm thick, with day, date, month, leap year, a 24-hour hand and moon at six, the calendar printed in Italian. This is limited to 100 pieces, priced at €129,600. White is the 7007G-010, a time-and-date Calatrava, 8.81mm thick, using the calibre 26 330 S C. Limited to 200 pieces at €44,800.

Last, and most affordable (if we dare use that word with Patek) is the Aquanaut 5167A-014. It is the standard steel three-hander, 40.8mm wide and 8.1mm thick, with a sunburst blue dial that darkens toward the edge, the embossed Aquanaut grid, white gold numerals and lumed baton hands. New is the red minute track and a red seconds hand. The movement is the calibre 26 330 S C, beating at 4Hz, with 35 to 45 hours of power reserve (what a range), and a 21K gold rotor behind a printed sapphire back. It comes on a composite strap in the same blue with a steel folding clasp. Limited to 250 pieces and priced at €41,200.

All seven are allocated to Patek Philippe retailers in Italy. See more on the Patek Philippe website.