Patek Philippe Milan Watch Art is located in the CityOval Pavilion in CityLife District. The historical buildings contrast with the modern city skyline.
Patek Philippe’s 7th Watch Art Grand Exhibition was held in Milan on the 2nd. This time it was chosen to be held in Italy, which has a deep relationship with the brand. It is actually based on historical and geographical relations, because as early as the early days of the brand’s establishment, the founder had sold timepieces to Italian customers. After the Stern family took over the brand in 1932, they continued to maintain close relations with the local market.
The exhibition is located at the City Oval, a city core landmark with a century-old history. The exhibition area exceeds 2,900 square meters, and the scale is also the largest in history. This Watch Art event is very "Italian". Before you even enter the door, a painted Fiat car has already greeted you. When you walk into the museum, you can encounter Italy everywhere, from the new instantaneous perpetual calendar timepiece to the rare craft timepieces depicting Amalfi, Florence and Naples.
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A total of 15 themed exhibition areas are planned, with more than 500 timepieces and works on display. The atrium uses 2,028 translucent water drop-shaped components to create a 9-meter-high installation that reproduces the Jet d’Eau fountain on the shores of Lake Geneva. It is made of the glass craftsmanship of Murano glass island in Italy. In addition to recreating the bell tower of the Patek Philippe Geneva Salon, a “Historical Database Exhibition Room” is set up for the first time to open the brand’s archives, including the 1845 Antoine Norbert de Patek's historical letter to Jean Adrien Philippe traces the brand's development trajectory.
The large-scale installation recreates the Jet d'Eau fountain on Lake Geneva, bringing the urban image of the brand's hometown to Milan.
For the first time, the exhibition hall has a brand history database exhibition room, which uses documents to trace the starting point of the cooperation between Patek and Philippe. (Photo by reporter Yu Chonghui)
Exquisitely presented in the Italian limited edition, the first instantaneous perpetual calendar function
Watch Art Grand Exhibition simultaneously launched 7 Italian limited timepieces. Among them, 5978P-010 reinterprets the perpetual calendar timing tradition established by the brand since Ref. 1518 in 1941. For the first time, the CH 29-535 chronograph movement is combined with an instantaneous perpetual calendar function. The day, date, month and leap year displays can jump simultaneously in about 30 milliseconds. The Italian calendar and red chronograph hands also echo the limited status of the watch.
5978P-010 instantaneous perpetual calendar chronograph watch, equipped with CH 29-535 PS QI hand-wound movement, platinum case, navy blue sunray gradient black dial, with chronograph, instantaneous perpetual calendar, moon phase, day and night and leap year display, case diameter 42mm, waterproof depth 30 meters, 10,517,800 yuan, limited to 120 pieces.
5978P-010 instantaneous perpetual calendar chronograph watch, equipped with CH 29-535 PS QI hand-wound movement, platinum case, navy blue sunray gradient black dial, with chronograph, instantaneous perpetual calendar, moon phase, day and night and leap year display, case diameter 42mm, waterproof depth 30 meters, 10,517,800 yuan, limited to 120 pieces.
The red, white and green colors of the Italian flag have been disassembled into three Calatrava models, inspired by the Ref. 6007, using 38mm white gold cases, but each equipped with different functions: the red 7047G-010 is equipped with a minute repeater, only 5 pieces are produced, the green 7147G-010 is equipped with a perpetual calendar, and the white 7007G-010 uses a date and central seconds hand to present a purely time-reading appearance.
Calatrava 7047G-010 minute repeater watch, equipped with R 27 PS self-winding minute repeater movement, 18K white gold case, red lacquer dial decorated with carbon fiber style pattern, 38mm diameter, 30 meters waterproof, 21,561,000 yuan, limited to 5 pieces.
Calatrava 7047G-010 minute repeater watch, equipped with R 27 PS self-winding minute repeater movement, 18K white gold case, red lacquer dial decorated with carbon fiber style pattern, 38mm diameter, 30 meters waterproof, 21,561,000 yuan, limited to 5 pieces.
Calatrava 7147G-010 perpetual calendar watch, equipped with 240 Q ultra-thin self-winding movement, 18K white gold case, green lacquered dial decorated with carbon fiber style patterns, with perpetual calendar and moon phase display, 38mm diameter, 30 meters waterproof, 4,285,000 yuan, limited to 100 pieces.
Calatrava 7007G-010 watch, equipped with 26-330 S C self-winding movement, 18K white gold case, white lacquered dial decorated with carbon fiber style patterns, time, central second hand and date display, case diameter 38mm, waterproof depth 30 meters, 1,480,300 yuan, limited to 200 pieces.
The one that excites sports watch fans is the Aquanaut 5167A-014, which breaks the dark blue tone with red minute scales and central seconds hand. The sapphire crystal bottom cover is printed with the exclusive words "Patek Philippe Milano 2026". The other two world time minute repeater watches, 5531G-012 and 5531G-013, use cloisonné enamel dials to depict the day view and night of Milan respectively. The world time city ring is also marked with "Milan" in red, which is more commemorative. The watch is equipped with an R27 HU self-winding movement, which allows the minute repeater to ring the local time in the selected time zone, showing Patek Philippe's rare craftsmanship and watchmaking technology in every detail.
Aquanaut 5167A-014 date and central seconds watch, equipped with 26-330 S C automatic winding movement, stainless steel case, date and central seconds display, watch diameter 40.8mm, waterproof depth 30 meters, 1,363,400 yuan, limited to 250 pieces worldwide.
25 rare craft timepieces, 4 perspectives to read and write Italy
If the seven limited-edition watches demonstrate Patek Philippe’s watchmaking capabilities, then the 25 rare handcrafted timepieces specially created for the Italian market on the exhibition floor are more like a love letter to Italy. The works include vaulted clocks, table clocks, pocket watches and wristwatches, etc., and are developed with four major themes: Italian regions and cities, traditional Italian craftsmanship, Italian painting and Italian arts and crafts.
When traveling in Italy, four Calatrava "Cinquecento car tours" lead the way to discover the pleasant scenery. The classic car drives to Amalfi, Puglia, Chianti and Lake Como. The city scenery is condensed in the 25028M-001 "Milan City" clock, which uses cloisonné enamel to outline the Milan Cathedral and city map, paying tribute to the extremely beautiful area. The Italian craftsmanship is dominated by a minute repeater watch and two vaulted table clocks, which express the traditional Italian use of stone, mosaic and glass craftsmanship. For example, the unique 7040/250G-011 "Florence Mosaic Craftsmanship" minute repeater watch uses enamel to simulate 17th-century hard stone inlays, and the delicate brushwork embellishes the natural mineral effect. The floral composition is inspired by ancient Florentine tables.
25028M-001 "Milan City" clock, depicting the city map of Milan in cloisonné enamel, integrated into the outline of Milan Cathedral, with blue, green and turquoise tones extending to the curved sides, 8,624,400 yuan, limited to 3 pieces.
7040/250G-011 "Florence Mosaic Craftsmanship" Calatrava minute repeater watch, equipped with R 27 PS self-winding minute repeater movement, 18K white gold case, large fire filigree and micro-painted enamel dial that reproduces the Florentine hard stone inlay craftsmanship, bezel inlaid with 168 diamonds, 21,561,000 yuan, a unique piece.
The 995/151G-001 "Dante" white gold cloisonné enamel pocket watch is a work that shows the theme of Italian painting. It is based on Botticelli's portrait of Dante around 1495. The craftsman used micro-painting enamel techniques to reproduce the painting on the pocket watch with transparent and opaque enamel glaze colors. When gold powder is decorated with stars on a dark blue background, the outline of the poet is particularly prominent. As for the works with the theme of Italian arts and crafts, they show the traditional characteristics of sculpture, lace crafts and architectural decoration. The 995/148G-001 "Italian stucco decoration" pocket watch comes from the decoration of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The transparent enamel process allows the pattern to be visible under the green translucent enamel, and the engraving craftsman realistically reproduces the three-dimensional effect of the stucco scrolls and shell decorations. From cities, travels, crafts to paintings, Patek Philippe revisits Italy in different forms of timepieces, each of which is an art masterpiece worth savoring. Italian limited timepieces are only sold locally.
995/151G-001 "Dante" pocket watch, 18K white gold case, inspired by the portrait of Dante created by Sandro Botticelli around 1495, combined with cloisonné enamel, micro-painted enamel, gold powder and hand-carved craftsmanship, 25,481,200 yuan, a unique piece.
Patek Philippe President: Rare craftsmanship should remain classic
Patek Philippe President Thierry Stern also attended the Watch Art Exhibition in Milan this time. As the fourth generation of the family, Stern succeeded his father Philippe Stern as president in 2009. Heritage is particularly important to him.
In an interview, he talked about the importance of the Watch Art Grand Exhibition in Milan. It can put the current series, rare watchmaking craftsmanship, museum collections and historical archives into the same space, showing the special significance of Watch Art. He said bluntly: "I hope the younger generation can understand how difficult it is to make a watch."
Thierry Stern, President of Patek Philippe.
He also said that just for a new complex function movement, from the initial conception to the official launch, not only the investment of engineers, watchmakers and polishers, but also the research and development may take 4 to 12 years; in addition, antique watch restoration and rare handicrafts must also be preserved. These delicate processes are increasingly difficult to imagine for the young generation who are accustomed to downloading software in a few seconds. Therefore, he hopes that through the Watch Art site, visitors can actually see the complex process behind the birth of a watch.
Facing young collectors, he is also optimistic that youthfulness does not mean that tradition needs to be changed. "Rare craftsmanship should remain classic and dignified." In his view, this exhibition is not only about displaying timepieces, but more importantly, it allows the next generation to understand the appearance and value of time behind craftsmanship.
