Brad Pitt recently purchased a Patek Philippe Minute Repeater for his future bride Angelina Jolie. The $390,000 watch, from one of the most expensive timepiece brands in the world, was specially designed for the celebrity couple. The gold dial and oyster shell
luxury watch took over two years to make, and was personally checked and supervised by the member of the Philippe family. The family-owned Swiss company was founded by a Polish businessman named Antoni Patek and a watchmaker by the name Francois Czapek. The company was initially known as Patek, Czapek & Cie in Geneva.
The minute repeater watches chime three different sounds. The hour is generally signaled by a low tone. A sequence of two tones symbolize the quarter-hour, while the high tones signal the minute. The watch consists of small steel hammers that strike the gongs differently. It is a complex piece of engineering. The technology originated in the 17th century, and has evolved over the years. The original watches chimed only the top of the hour. The newer watches chime at hours, quarters, half-quarters and five-minute repeaters. Assembling the minute repeater is a complicated process as well. Typical processes take 200 to 300 hours of work, even for a watchmaker with decades of experience. Careful analysis of the sound quality concludes the process.
In spite of producing hundreds of watches, each
Patek Philippe Minute Repeater is unique. Each watch sounds different. Each metal case will be slightly different as well. The complications and expenses involved in the production of minute repeaters led to their demise in the 1960s. Most manufacturers removed them from their collections. Patek Philippe, however, revived the tradition and reintroduced it in 1989 for the company’s 150th anniversary. Extensive research and development led to the creation of small, efficient and elegant minute repeaters.
Minute repeaters are often believed to the symbols of high-quality watchmaking. They are complicated and cannot be mass produced.
Patek Philippe Minute Repeater watches are the most commonly available minute repeaters in the market. You may also customize the watches. Although, there is two year wait time, you will own a timepiece that can pass through generations and still carry the awe and fancy associated with a fine designer watch. The President of the company checks each customized watch carefully. Brad Pitt lowered his wait time by two months due to his celebrity status. The custom-made watch is one of the finest and technologically advanced watches made in the world.
