Introducing: Patek Philippe Quadruple Complication Ref. 5308G-001



Patek Philippe shows off its horological prowess with this complicated watch

The Patek Philippe Quadruple Complication ref. 5308G-001 is a stunning-looking watch, but its price is way beyond the reach of most of us. Let’s take a look.

Today, the Quadruple Complication ref. 5308G-001 has made its way into Patek Philippe’s regular catalog. Initially, the Quadruple Complication was debuted as a limited edition platinum watch during the 2023 “Art of Watches” Tokyo exhibition. However, this new regular production version is made of white gold. It offers a minute repeater, a split-seconds chronograph with two patented mechanisms, and a perpetual calendar. The watch measures 42 mm, but comes with a price tag of over one million euros!

Patek Philippe presents a rather chunky but very good watch
The Patek Philippe Quadruple Complication ref. 5308G-001 is also noticeably chunky. At 17.71mm thick, it is chunky by any standards. The case features a concave bezel and skeletonized lugs. Interestingly, Patek Philippe says the watch will come with two interchangeable casebacks, one with a sapphire crystal to reveal the movement, and the other in solid white gold.

The case is not waterproof, but is resistant to moisture and dust, the brand says. All of the watch's exterior surfaces are hand-polished, as befits a watch of this caliber. The watch comes with a blue alligator leather strap and a white gold three-leaf folding clasp.

Patek Philippe Quadruple Complication
Patek Philippe has chosen an ice blue dial with a sunburst pattern. The dial features blued and white gold applied hour markers and is topped with dauphine hands. Patek Philippe says the dial needed to be designed with a focus on legibility given the number of complications. As part of this, the day, date and month windows of the perpetual calendar appear in an arc between 10 and 2 o'clock. Each window is framed in blued white gold, partly for contrast and better readability. Additional openings at 8 and 4 o'clock provide day/night indicators and the leap year cycle.

The Caliber R CHR 27 PS QI is housed in a 42mm case. It has 67 jewels and a power reserve of 38-48 hours. The 10-hour difference depends on how many complications are used. Patek Philippe says 80 additional components were added to the new movement for the split-seconds function, but these only add 1.93mm to the thickness. The total number of components in the movement is 799.

Conclusion
Patek says integrating the split-seconds chronograph function was a technical challenge. To offset the energy consumption required for this complication, Patek increased the torque of the barrel spring and used a platinum micro-rotor to improve winding efficiency. The chronograph is activated via a push-piece at 2 o'clock, which the wearer can also stop and reset. Another push-piece at 4 o'clock controls the split-seconds function. The minute repeater uses two gongs and is activated via a slide at 9 o'clock. Each strike is personally approved by Thierry Stern, as if to ensure the "Patek sound". Finally, the instantaneous perpetual calendar allows all displays to jump precisely 30 milliseconds. Two patented mechanisms ensure smooth transitions, even when only 10 hours of power reserve are left.

All in all, a highly complex but impressive watch from Patek Philippe! And, technically, the price is "on demand".