Welcome to our series highlighting the exceptional watches that are available through PERPETUAL, Phillips’ boutique service offering immediate access to the world’s rarest and most desirable timepieces. You can view all currently available watches by visiting our London headquarters at 30 Berkeley Square, or by visiting Phillips PERPETUAL online.
– By James Marks
In 2023, Patek Philippe discreetly launched an exclusive series of Calatrava wristwatches featuring dials in both Cloisonné Enamel and Grisaille Enamel Au Blanc De Limoges. These three unique references, limited to ten pieces each, cased in 18ct White Gold, gave centre stage to three of the most famous French Lighthouses, depicted during a raging storm - the Breton lighthouse of La Jument (5089G-120) and La Vielle (5089G-121) in cloisonné enamel and the Cassis Lighthouse in Provence (5089G-131) in grisaille enamel using the white enamel known as “Blanc de Limoges”.
For many years, Patek Philippe has been admired by collectors for its rare handcrafts series that have depicted scenes from across the globe. It is hard, though, to imagine the visual impact of this truly incredible and rare series - just two examples of the 5090G-121 have ever been publicly offered - until held in the hand with the perfect natural light.
The dials in Grand Feu cloisonné enamel required 42 to 44cm of gold wire (0.19 to 0.20g) measuring 0.05 x 0.40mm in cross section, together with opaque, semi-opaque, translucent, and opalescent enamels in up to 32 colours, as well as miniature paintings on enamel in up to six colours for the finishing touches. Our example in particular, La Vielle, went even further and featured embedded silver leaf to illuminate the scene. From design to production, the level of detail required must have been painstaking and reserved only for Patek’s most revered craftsmen and women who would have fired each dial around 8 times at temperatures of 800c.
And yet Patek, as with most of its enamel series, did not stop at just the dial. The White Gold cases are endowed with a sapphire case back protected by a hinged dust cover affording a personal and private view of the fabled ultra-thin calibre 240 self-winding movement. That calibre is a modern masterpiece perfectly juxtaposed against the traditional production methods of the dial, all taking centre stage on the wrist. Since we first launched Perpetual in 2019, we have been fortunate to handle many of the world’s finest complications. The reference 5089G will, however, live long in our memory for its simple beauty. Because life is complicated enough.
About Phillips PERPETUAL
Phillips PERPETUAL offers a boutique experience to clients for both the sale and purchase of fine and rare watches, in London’s Berkeley Square and the Gstaad Palace, in Switzerland.
Visit Phillips PERPETUAL /
30 Berkeley Square, London, United Kingdom, W1J 6EX (map)
Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM – 17:30 PM
Contact & Consignment Enquiries /
00 44 207 901 7916
perpetual@phillips.com
@phillipsperpetual