On June 23, 2004, Patek Philippe had the opportunity to acquaint cosmopolitan Muscovites with exclusive treasures that revived reminiscences of times long past in the Russian capital. The event was hosted by Mercury, the Russian Patek Philippe distributor and owner of a chain of boutiques in Moscow and St. Petersburg where high-end watches and jewelry are sold. At its most important point of sale on Tretyakovsky Passage in Moscow, Mercury operates a separate Patek Philippe corner. Here, in his capacity as a senior executive and son of the owner of Patek Philippe, Thierry Stern had the exquisite pleasure of showcasing some of the most precious timepieces ever crafted by the distinguished Geneva manufacture: the Ref. 5101P 10 Day Tourbillon men’s wristwatch, a complete set of four supercomplicated Star Caliber 2000 pocket watches, and three Twenty 4® Haute Joaillerie ladies’ wristwatches lavishly adorned with diamonds.
There are good reasons why the presentation of “merely” eight horological masterpieces attracted no fewer than 360 guests, 20 journalists, and four television stations. Patek Philippe looks back on a long tradition in Russia; soon after the Geneva workshops were inaugurated in 1839, members of the Russian nobility as well as Russian artists and intellectuals became good customers. And today, constituents of the social elite have rediscovered their passion for complex horological mechanisms and the exalted haute joaillerie creations of the Swiss manufacture.

A comeback and a homecoming
Patek Philippe’s growing presence in Russia is not only a delightful trend, it is also a logical one. Founded in 1997, the Mercury organization gives the manufacture access to six elegant points of sale in Moscow and one in St. Petersburg, each staffed by highly competent and knowledgeable professionals. In 1999, Patek Philippe garnered spontaneous acclaim for a sculpture collection created explicitly for Russia. But what makes the Russian market even more interesting for a watch manufacturer is the extensive affinity of Russian customers with technological achievements, a penchant expressed by their great enthusiasm for mechanical timepieces and horological complications. Their preference for exquisitely crafted jewelry is widespread as well, as evidenced by a growing interest in haute joaillerie creations at the very top of the quality pyramid.

From grand complications ...
To capture the hearts of watch-loving Russians, Thierry Stern traveled to Moscow with a number of the most coveted Patek Philippe timepieces ever made. He presented the Ref. 5101P 10 Day Tourbillon, a wristwatch from the Grandes Complications segment that fascinates the beholder not only with its complex inner life but also with its elegant design. Its rectangular, gently curved platinum case in the art deco style accommodates a manually wound movement with a power reserve of 10 days and the intricate tourbillon complication that compensates for the gravity-induced balance wheel rate errors that occur in vertical positions. This fascinating mechanism is composed of 72 parts yet weighs a scant 0.3 grams, suggesting how extremely delicate its individual components must be. The result is an exceptionally high rate accuracy officially confirmed by the C.O.S.C chronometer certificate. It is a masterpiece that mesmerizes every Russian watch aficionado.

... to supercomplications ...
The true star of the Patek Philippe presentation in Moscow was the set of four Star Caliber 2000 pocket watches in a display case made of Madagascan ebony. To celebrate the new millennium, the manufacture had crafted five quadruple sets of this supercomplicated pocket watch. Four sets contained four watches each, with cases crafted from 18K yellow, white, and rose gold as well as platinum. The fifth set contained four Star Caliber 2000 pocket watches with platinum cases. These twenty watches – available exclusively in sets of four – are no doubt among the world’s rarest and most sought-after timepieces.
The Star Caliber 2000 is a half-hunter-cased pocket watch with a double-faced movement. In addition to displaying the hours, minutes, and seconds, it features 21 complications, taking the third rank in the list of the most complicated timepieces ever made. The Patek Philippe Calibre 89 (33 complications) tops the list, followed by the Graves pocket watch by Patek Philippe (24 complications). The front dial of the Star Caliber 2000 indicates mean solar time in hours, minutes, and seconds; has a running equation of time; a perpetual calendar (day of the week, date, month, leap year, and season); a display of sunrise and sunset times; a 24-hour dial; and power reserve indicators for the movement and for the chime. The other dial shows the apparent motion of the cosmos and tracks the orbit of the moon, also showing the moon phases. The gongs of the Star Caliber 2000 cannot be seen, but they are indeed heard with delight. It is the first pocket watch in the world that strikes the original Westminster sequence of tones as tolled by Big Ben in London.

... and Haute Joaillerie
Thierry Stern dedicated the third, very glamorous surprise to the Russian ladies: three Twenty 4® jeweled wristwatches in white gold. Their cases, bracelets, and dials are lavishly embellished with flawless Top Wesselton diamonds – depending on the model, the hundreds of baguettes and hand-picked brilliants weigh between 44 and 49 carats. These watches, a breathtaking extravaganza of masterfully set precious stones, had already awed the visitors of this year’s Baselworld watch and jewelry show in Switzerland; now, they have drawn enthusiastic praise from an exclusive audience in Moscow.
page 3 As a manufacture with eastern European roots – company founder Norbert de Patek was a nobleman born in Poland – Patek Philippe is observing the development of the countries in this region with great interest and is delighted with the famous brand’s reassuring progress in the Russian marketplace.

Source: Patek Philippe Press Release

www.patek.com

(Please Credit europastar.com)