Patek Philippe Rare Handcrafts 5089G “Azulejos” (-062) enamel watch
- The art of eternity
- The art of eternity
Watchmaking in itself is an art. Especially when you are in the Haute Horlogerie department. But when you further dive in to Geneva’s great watchmaking you find the centuries old tradition of decoration of timepieces. Patek Philippe is one such brand, that upholds the old traditions and you find that in the rare handcrafts collection.
Is that a coincidence? Actually not. When you look at history, Geneva was the center of decorative arts at the moment Patek Philippe was established in 1839. And it was an established practice to engage the artisans in the decoration of watches. There is also some common ground in the way artisans and watchmakers are trained many years to obtain and perfect certain manual skills. So it is no coincidence that they were good at it at that moment.
World time ref 1415 produced in 1939.
Patek Philippe upholds these skills and raises awareness of its artisanal tradition by releasing unique pieces.
Enamelling
Some of the knowledge and two of the pictures are from Glaude 's article about enamel.
Basically enameling is a process in which a deposit of silica and oxides is heated to create a very robust surface. It gives a glossy even surface, which looks like porcelain. But it can easily crack or become uneven in the process, and therefore many of these dials have to be discarded.
The most common types of enameling are:
Champleve
The surface is carved, chiseled or decorated before the enamel is added, to make it possible to make intricate patterns.
Cloisonne
Raised tiny edges of the metal on the dial are made and then the enamel is added. For example in the world timers Patek 5131/5231.
Pailloné enamel
Shapes and patterns are added on top of the enamel fx shaped metal.
Grand Feu (“Grand fire”)
The enamel powder is burned in an oven at 800+ degree’s and multiple layers are given. Rejection rate is high. Gives a highly even and glossy surface.
Painted enamel
Liquidized enamel powder in different colors are used to paint the dial after the dial has been prepared with an enamel surface. Requires multiple drying/heating procedures and has a high rejection rate. Process is similar to the Grand Feu technique, but requires an artisan with painting skills also.
This is the way the reviewed watch was made.
The process shown by Patek Philippe, something similar was copied by the chinese maker:
Azulejos and the gen
Patek Philippe has made these rare handcraft enamel dials to pay tribute to the Azulejos in Geneve. It’s made by the same technique where the artist paints the motif layer by layer. The Azulejos is a centuries old artistry of Arabic origin, which gained widespread recognition in Portugal and Spain. It consists of multiple ceramic painted tiles which make up a painting, decorating the exterior and interior of buildings and monuments.
The Patek Philippe Calatrava “Azulejos” ref. 5089G
This reference was released in two limited edition versions, a 5089G-062 “The Porter” and 5089G-061 “The Barge” for Baselworld 2017.
Both had miniature painted enamel dials on a 18K gold plate. The backside of the plate was enameled with a “contres-email” process to prevent the metal from damage during the repeated heating processes.
Gen:
The case was “borrowed” from the 5296 so to speak, which is nothing negative, on the contrary! The movement was a caliber 240 with a off-center mini-rotor.
Gen measurements:
Case diameter: 38,60mm.
Case thickness: 9,17mm w/crystal, 9,0mm without.
Lug width: 21mm
The Patek Philippe Calatrava “Azulejos” 5089G-062 rep
Off course reps are about usable practical watches. We want them to be as close as possible to gen at a high build quality and with reliable movements. But reps are also about acquiring those dream watches, that just are a distant dream, unobtainable in reality. Because of a price we can’t pay or an AD who won’t sell, or as in this case all of that, plus an limitation in clientele.
This is the kind of rep we have at hands. Let’s analyze it!
Facts first
Case diameter: 38,4mm
Case thickness: 11,2mm w/crystal, 9,06mm without.
Lug/buckle width: 21/16mm
Strap: Not worth using words on.
Case, crystal and crown
The case has the same beautiful design as we know it from the 5296 with a polished bezel and beautifully curved lugs, thinning out at the end. A bit downward curved.
The case has the same thickness as the gen. Although the crystal is domed in the center and makes the watch measure thick in the middle. In the sides it’s the same thickness with the crystal as the gen!
It seems to me like a good quality crystal and is pretty clear, giving a good view of the dial without reflecting much or clouding.
Caseback: The rep lacks a hinged cover on the back.
Crown is not as thin as the gen and has a smaller Calatrava cross on it. They should've made the crown like the ZF Calatrava 5296.
Gen:
Hands
This is a time only piece with a minute and hour hand. It has dauphine formed blue-coated hands like the gen, and beautifully finished. The center pinion of the hands is silver like the gen, which is a nice feature.
Movement
The movement is a modified Miyota. It is beautiful and very pleasing to have a mini-rotor movement in the collection. The decoration is very nice. The small engravings have some minor spelling mistakes like fx “isochronish” “fiye” instead of isochronism and five respectively. And there is a lack of spacing between “andfivepositions” and “twenty-seven27jewels”. But these are barely visible with the naked eye in normal lighting.
The mini-rotor has a gold-plated disc mounted on it, in my opinion the whole mini-rotor should’ve been gold-plated. This bothers me a bit.
Dial
The dial is exquisite! I am out of words. Where to begin?
The surface is glossy and porcelain like and catches light very beautifully. The artistry is fantastic. The detailing as well. Like the gen they have painted the motif in small “tiles”. Which is such an amazing feature. The color is correct as it changes to a proper blue in dark lighting to a lighter azure blue in bright light. Like you find on pictures of the gen.
The logo is smooth and crisply painted.
I have spent time comparing the dial to pictures of the gen, and yes, it has small differences in detail, but every one of these dials are handprinted. Therefore there are no two Patek dials that are the same!
Flaws:
- Lack of hinged cover on the back
- The watch is same thickness as the gen, apart from the crystal which is domed giving almost 2mm excess thickness in the center
- The small engravings on the movement lacks spacing and there are two minor spelling mistakes.
- Mini-rotor has gold-plated disc on it instead of being gold-plated as a whole.
The gen crystal is also domed, although it's not so protruding as the rep:
Strap
I feel that the strap i've put the watch on, deserves special mention. The gen comes with a shiny black, which I found a bit boring. This watch deserves the best of straps! I therefore ordered a handcrafted navy-blue shiny alligator strap from Camille Fournet. I chose the same color code of blue shiny that Patek Philippe use in their watches.
I asked them for stitching with platinum thread! And it was possible to do so. The result is amazing and suits the watch in my opinion.
On the wrist and concluding remarks
This watch has all the elegance of an ordinary Calatrava and adds the sophistication of artistry and spark of blue color.
There just is something special about enamel dials. Something indeed very special. And It's not just the beauty of it. It's not the work put in it. It's not only that you feel part of a century’s old tradition. Neither is it the artistry and skills put into it. No, it's more than that!
Like diamonds are forever. In watchmaking, enamels are forever.
There is a lot of evidence out there in form of enamel pocket watches from the 19th century. In a watch case they can last almost forever and the color will be as vivid and lively as when first made. It’s this feeling of having eternity right there at your wrist. It's that which is what such an exquisite piece is all about. It's the knowledge that this piece of art will exist even when the movement has long stopped beating. Eternal beauty even when the candle is lit no more.
This watch you probably won’t use very often. But this rep will let you live the dream of having an unobtainable piece, that is only offered to an exclusive limited clientele. At the same time, it’s such an incredible piece of art to have on the wrist. Presented in the iconic 5296 case, which so many of us love, it is understated, yet so refined. There is no drama, no “look at me”, no screaming 100k+, instead it presents beauty in a sophisticated way. It’s the gentleman’s way. It exudes appreciation of art, sophistication and elegance.
Even if others don’t notice it, you will look at it often and appreciate the artistry, the branding Patek Philippe on it and it will put a smile on your lips – deliberately didn’t wrote “put a smile on your face” (!).
-------- A special mention to a fellow collector and good friend for letting us know about this watch m1994 -------
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