Adhering to tradition has been the greatest strength of Patek Philippe, and it's a key reason why Thierry Stern has upheld the practices of his father and forefathers since he assumed control of the company three years ago. Stern is the fourth-generation head of Patek Philippe and he firmly believes that his 'duty is to create continuity' for the company.
'We are about maintaining the quality of our existing collections such as Calatrava, Golden Ellipse and Nautilus,' the company's president adds. 'The most important value I need to preserve from my father's era is the respect for people around you. Patek Philippe is a family business and we really need to respect our staff, retailers and clients. My father says that I should always be humble and meet the clients and retailers.'
The BaselWorld 2012 novelties - Ref. 5940 ultra-thin self-winding perpetual calendar, Ref. 5204 split-seconds chronograph with perpetual calendar and Ref. 7140 Ladies First Perpetual Calendar - prove that complications remain Patek Philippe's focus.
Contained in an 18ct yellow gold and cambered sapphire glass cushion-shaped case with a length of 44.6mm and a width of 37mm, the Ref. 5940 ultra-thin self-winding perpetual calendar sports a cream-coloured, grained dial with leaf-shaped hour and minute hands in 18ct yellow gold and 24-hour and leap-year-cycle hands in blued steel. The art-deco style inspires the case's fluid lines. The timepiece houses the ultra-thin self-winding mechanical movement Caliber 240 Q. Comprising 275 parts and 27 jewels, the movement has a power reserve of 48 hours and
a frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour. The watch comes with a matte black hand-stitched alligator strap with square scales and a prong buckle in 18ct yellow gold.
With a 40mm 950 platinum case as its residence, Ref. 5204 split-seconds chronograph with perpetual calendar has an 18ct gold silvery opalescent dial with 12 applied hour markers in black-oxidised gold and counterbalanced sweep chronograph and split-seconds hands in black-oxidised steel. The watch is equipped with subsidiary dials with a circular guilloche pattern and the Caliber CHR 29-535 PS Q.