FabR[Senior Patek Moderator]
26166
To wrap up (for now), a few more useful details and pictures on a couple of very popular Rare Handcrafts, since Patek's official site might take a while to update on this part. Let's start with the amazing Ref. 5738/50G-025, “Snow-Covered Landscape”:
Jun 10, 2023,16:04 PM
From Patek's official material, only lightly edited (I believe this hasn't been published elsewhere):
Golden Ellipse wristwatch with dial in cloisonné enamel enriched with miniature painting on enamel. The decoration in Grand Feu cloisonné enamel on this limited edition of ten watches was created after a Japanese print depicting a bridge in a snow-covered Tokyo landscape.
To recreate every detail of the original work, with its trees and figures, the enameller laid down some 75 cm of gold wire (~0.51 g) measuring 0.10 x 0.40 mm and 0.05 x 0.40 mm in cross-section, cut into tiny segments and shaped by hand. The wintry atmosphere conjured up by the colors called for a palette of opaque, translucent, and semi-opaque enamels in 17 shades. Details were picked out with finishing touches in miniature painting on enamel.
Each dial underwent, on average, 40 firings at temperatures ranging from 780°C to 800°C. The white gold case, whose harmonious proportions were inspired by the ancient golden section, houses the iconic Caliber 240, with hours and minutes displayed by cheveu-style hands in white gold.
A closeup of this spectacular dial