Patek Philippe

Hi 👋 all, Landed in the afternoon today in Geneva after a long journey with a connecting flight, and it was totally worth it because of a GTG with Anita Porchet, THE enamel queen ! 👸

Links to previous GTG with Anita that explained her journey.

www.watchprosite.com

Knowing that I will be paying enamel homage, naturally I was double-wristed with her babies while traveling. After arriving hotel and then a quick shower to get refreshed, I headed over to Palexpo to see Anita who had had to meet big collectors and brands. We had a relaxing chat regarding personal and horological topics over non-alcoholic drinks. She generously shared her history with Patek and views on the enamel industry.

Her relationship with Patek started around 1994 with Mr. Philippe Stern engaged her for a specific project. She mentioned that Mr. P. Stern had always wanted to preserve rare handcrafts from the distance past. Prior to their business relationship, the famed enameler Suzanne Rohr made many amazing enamel pieces for Mr. Stern. Based on articles I read, quite a few of Ms. Rohr's pieces went to his private collection and/or the Patek museum. He is truly an adamant supporter of rare handcrafts.

In terms of artistic creation, Mr. Stern gave her a lot of freedom. Since Thierry took over control, he has continued with the same philosophy as his father. Enamel Queen said that she enjoys working with Patek the most !

For the Rousseau enamel lion, a rare handcrafts staff at Patek, who is a big fan of Henri Rousseau, suggested that Basel 2017 should have limited editions based on his paintings. Anita then did her own research and came up with 4 themes from two of his paintings. Here is the link to my original post about this series. www.watchprosite.com

On the horological enamel industry, Anita feels that the art is unfortunately being replaced by some brands via high tech and machines. She gave an example for Flinqué enamel which involves guilloche then enameling. The traditional way for her is to apply the enamel liquid by hand after manually making the liquid. Thereafter she puts the dial in the kiln to bake and timing is based on her experience. Sometimes dials are wasted due to manual labor. Imperfections are also an integral part of the beauty of handmade enamel dials and she is proud of the results. Nowadays some brands use machines to mix the liquid based on technical formulae, have machines to apply the liquid to the dial, and utilize engineering to time the firings in the kiln. Resulting dials are perfect with wastage minimized which is great for commercial reasons. However, to Anita, these machine made enamel dials have no soul and I totally agree with her ! I could see sadness on her face and hear disappointment from her voice as she showed her disapproval.

After hearing this unfortunate trend, I felt very fortunate to have her enamel babies with imperfections ! On my 5131G and P, under the loupe I can see and appreciate them. On the lion dial which is more complicated in terms of details vs 5131G and P, I could hardly find any. With Lion at only 8 pieces with dial signed “AP”, the workmanship is at another level and simply amazing.

What do you think about the stories and thoughts/opinion from Anita ?

Tomorrow I will go to the Patek Salon to view rare handcrafts. Anita told me that two of her creations will be there. More to come !

Watch by Patek Philippe, 175th collection, Handcrafts Collection, 5089, 5089G-128

Patek 5089G-052

Patek 5131G

Hi 👋 all, Landed in the afternoon today in Geneva after a long journey with a connecting flight, and it was totally worth it because of a GTG with Anita Porchet, THE enamel queen ! 👸

Hi 👋 all, Landed in the afternoon today in Geneva after a long journey with a connecting flight, and it was totally worth it because of a GTG with Anita Porchet, THE enamel queen ! 👸

😚🤌🧡

Glad you like this post !

I look forward to your posts about the exhibition

Rare handcrafts

Very cool!

Which ones

Hello Gordon

Hi NautNut, Anita Porchet confirmed that she was

Thank you so much for the news and follow up Gordon albeit not what I wanted to hear. I guess I will just have to keep trying:)

Looking forward the report

Need to create the post after our

What an absolutely wonderful evening! Meeting the legendary Anita Porchet ...

Thanks Bill !

Congratulations! What a wonderful experience it must be to know that the creator of your beloved work of art is still alive and you have the opportunity to visit her and hear her speak!

And I'm impressed with your initiative in going to the trouble to make it happen.

It was an ABSOLUTE

Yes shun-san ! The GTG was an

This is great to meet the artisan. Looking forward to more reporting!

coming soon !

What’s her wrist game

She did

Wow!

Good luck with your 5231 !

Thanks for sharing this experience, Gordon.

Hi Emmanuel, thanks for your kind comments !

Love your post Gordon. Full of passion on your end. Meeting Anita was a gem of an encounter. A true artist she is. Happy for you. 😊

Thanks geross for your kind comments !

Had the pleasure of spending some time with AP a few years ago. Her extraordinairy talent is matched by her sweet and humble nature.

Thanks Patekova ! Anita is a TRUE

Fantastic write-up. Thank you. Do you know by any chance

Glad you had a good read ! Anita and her team did

shortcuts in enamel dials

Based on what Anita told me, my understanding is that Patek

thanks...

Hi Peter, your enamel dial on 5231J is similar to 5131R

thanks for referring to your posting...

Best of luck with your decision between RH or 5088/100P-001 ! The RH is