Every year, visitors to the Patek Philippe booth at Watches and Wonders Geneva linger around for as long as they can, not just to revel in the manufacture’s phenomenal technical novelties but also to take in the spectacular marvels of miniature art showcased at the Rare Handcrafts 2024 exhibit. This year will be no different, except that we can all expect to enjoy the beautiful timepieces at an even more convivial location: the Patek Philippe salon.

With a total of 82 timepieces set to be on display, this shall be the largest Rare Handcrafts collection ever presented by the manufacture. The exhibits range from pocket watches and wrist watches to everyone’s favorite Patek Philippe dome clocks, all of which incorporate rare and fine métiers d’arts spanning almost five centuries. It’s been no secret that Patek Philippe devotes itself actively to perpetuating all of these fine artistic crafts, so the manufacture also makes it a point to expand the limits of these ancestral skills.

As a result, Patek Philippe has been known to introduce techniques that are considered new to horology, such as micro wood marquetry and Longwy enamel on faience (a technique involving painted enamel in the cloisonné style atop ceramic), often to astonishing effect. And of course the quintessential, time-honored techniques are equally revered and on proud display: Grand Feu cloisonné enamel, miniature painting on enamel, grisaille enamel, flinqué enamel, paillonné enamel, champlevé enamel, hand-engraving, hand-executed guilloché work, and gemsetting

On exhibit from 13^th to 27^th April 2024 at the historic building along rue du Rhône, visitors will encounter the Rare Handcrafts 2024 collection across three enclaves. First, as you enter the salon, a suite of 12 Calatrava wristwatches will greet you, with dials decorated with the 12 zodiac constellations. Each of these are handcrafted in either grisaille enamel au blanc de Limoges, paillonné enamel, or cloisonné enamel.

Reference 995/143G-001 “Portrait of a White Egret”

Venture a little farther in and you will discover gorgeous timepieces highlighting the beauty of nature. Flora, fauna, gardens of the world and spa towns are all depicted with great finesse. Here is where you will see one of two new additions to the collection, the pocket watch Ref. 995/143G-001 “Portrait of a White Egret” which is an objet d’art par excellence.

Taking center stage is the timepiece’s case back in wood marquetry, portraying a majestic white egret with extraordinary detail. Its delicate plumage pristine and almost appearing soft to the touch, and its eye full of vitality. For this timepiece, the marquetry maker cut out and assembled 53 tiny veneer parts and 400 inlays, together spanning a palette of 18 species of wood of different colors, textures and veining.

On the opposite side, we find a dial in 18K gold, hand-guilloched with a sunburst motif redolent of the texture of the egret’s plumage, but painted in a rich blue translucent enamel, all in accordance to the traditional technique of flinqué enamel. The applied Breguet-style numerals and leaf-shaped hands are all in white gold, while an orange opal cabochon echoing the color of the bird’s bill embellishes the crown.

This pocket watch is accompanied by a handcrafted white gold stand decorated with a motif inspired by reeds, supported by an oval base in silver obsidian. It houses the caliber 17’’’ LEP PS manually wound movement with small seconds.

Next, make your way into the final selection in the Rare Handcrafts collection honoring legendary examples of human endeavor, including arts, traditions and sports. Yes, métiers d’art timepieces can be very contemporary in spirit too, as a cool suite of pieces dedicated to surfing will show.

Reference 5089G-129 “Morning on a Beach”

Here, you will see the second addition to Patek Philippe’s 2024 Rare Handcrafts collection, Ref. 5089G-129 “Morning on the beach” with its portrait of a surfer crafted in wood marquetry.

A 10-piece limited edition in white gold, this fascinating timepiece captures the mood and emotions of a day on the beach, waiting for the perfect wave — which is always the next one. To bring this little picture to life in all its finesse, from the play of light and shade on the young man to the outlines of the wavelets breaking on the shore, the marquetry maker cut out and assembled 100 tiny veneer parts, as well as 75 microscopic inlays, together spanning 23 species of wood of different colors, textures and veining. Lapping waves and salty seafoam all crafted in slivers of wood – such is the ingenuity of Patek Philippe’s craftspeople.

To obscure as little of this gorgeous dial as possible and still fulfil the watch’s mission of telling the time, Patek Philippe used Dauphine hands with a pierced center fillet for the hours and minutes. Powering this watch is the Patek Philippe ultra-thin micro-rotor movement caliber 240 visible through the sapphire crystal back protected by a hinged dust cover. Worn on a blue Cordura pattern-embossed calfskin strap with contrasting cream handstitching and a white gold prong buckle.

The Patek Philippe “Rare Handcrafts 2024” exhibition will be open to the public from 13^th to 27^th April 2024 in the Patek Philippe Salons in Geneva, at 41 rue du Rhône, every day except Sunday, from 1100hrs to 1800hrs (last entry at 1700hrs).

Click here to register online on the Patek Philippe website from March 28th, 2024.

After Geneva, the “Rare Handcrafts 2024” exhibition will be presented from 7^th to 16^th June 2024 at the newly renovated Patek Philippe Salons in Bond Street, London.