jkingston
356
With All Respect This is Not So
A regular chrono can do everything this watch does.....and a lot more. A manual chrono does not "stop" after 30 minutes. If you want to keep the chrono running longer it is fine. Who cares if the minute counter is only 30 minutes, it will just run to the next 30 minutes. Of course this new debilitated Patek has no minute counter.
There may be an issue with horizontal clutch chronos as generally it is advised not to run the chrono continuously. This is because there is a change of amplitude between chrono running and chrono stopped and because fine triangular shaped teeth in the chrono gear train are more susceptible to wear than other forms of teeth. However, thiese are not issues with a vertical clutch.
But don't think of Patek as a pioneer here. They weren't the first to develop a vertical clutch (that was Seiko); they weren't the first to really perfect the vertical clutch (that was Blancpain). And they weren't even the first the join the bandwagon (JLC and Rolex beat them to it). And to put a fine point on it: their vertical clutch is not close to the best in the industry (its return to zero is harsh).
So what this watch offers mechanically is not unique, not pioneering, not original. Removing functionality simply put is not innovative. At the end of the day all it offers is a busy dial.