Patek Philippe's new Ref. 6301P Grande Sonnerie is the brand's first watch to "embrac the Grande Sonnerie in its purest form, as the epitome of horological complications", complemented by a petit sonnerie and a minute repeater, a combination that watch collectors have been waiting for.
To this end, Patek Philippe has developed a new movement as a derivative of the famous Grandmaster Chime calibre 300. The GS 36-750 PS IRM calibre consists of 703 parts and is relatively compact in terms of the features it offers (diameter: 37 mm; Height: 7.5 mm).
6 complications of the new 6301P 6301P Grand Sonnereu: Big Sonnery, Small Sonnerner, Minute Repeater, Movement Power Reserve Indicator, Chiming Power Reserve Indicator, Jumping Seconds.
Patek Philippe equips the GS 36-750 PS IRM calibre with two mainspring barrels connected in series, one for the travel train and the other for the striking mechanism. This configuration provides a 72-hour power reserve for the movement and a 24-hour power reserve for the striking mechanism. The two twin mainspring barrels are wound by pushing into the crown, which are wound by clockwise rotation for the travel wheel tie and counterclockwise for the striking mechanism. The four mainspring have anti-slip devices to avoid over-tensioning.
Patek Philippe has opted for three classic gongs – low, medium and high, which traditionally requires more energy than a system with two gongs. The hours are struck with a bass gong, and the quarter of a quarter is struck in a three-tone treble-alto sequence. The melody of the first quarter hour (15 minutes) is heard once, the melody of the second quarter hour (30 minutes) is heard twice, and the melody of the third quarter hour (45 minutes) is heard three times. Each quarter hour sequence is automatically preceded by the number of hours elapsed, followed by the number of quarter hours. Thanks to the energy stored in the twin mainspring barrels of the striking mechanism, a total of 1,056 chimes are achieved in 24 hours.
The owner can also choose the small sonnerie mode to tell the time; It announces the hour, but omits the repetition of the hour when striking the quarter. In silent mode, the automatic time signal is completely turned off.
The choice of striking mode is carried out by means of a slide switch at the 6 o'clock position of the case. This patented function, developed for the Patek Philippe Maestro Strings, allows the striking mode to be selected and activated with a single slide switch. On request, the minute repeater can be triggered by pressing the pusher at 3 o'clock in the crown.
One of the biggest challenges was to integrate a small jumping seconds display at 6 o'clock, something that a Grand Sonnerie had never done. According to Patek Philippe, based on four patents for the 175th anniversary model, the 6301P does not rely on jump springs as usual, but is equipped with wheels and release levers that instantly unlock the gear train every second, making energy consumption easier to regulate and control.