Welcome to our series highlighting the exceptional watches 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 stopping in at our London headquarters at 30 Berkeley Square, or by visiting Phillips PERPETUAL online. Our new "Buy Now" button makes acquiring the watch of your dreams easier than ever.
– ˜By Logan Baker
The Patek Philippe Ref. 6301P speaks for itself.
It’s a watch that chimes the hours and quarters as they pass, bringing the sound of time to your wrist. It also marks a milestone for Patek Philippe as its first standalone grande and petite sonnerie wristwatch, equipped with a minute repeater and built around a movement that reflects decades of development.
At first glance, the 6301P looks like a classic Patek Philippe. The platinum case feels substantial but balanced. The black Grand Feu enamel dial has a quiet depth, while the white gold applied Breguet numerals catch the light without shouting for attention. But you only understand what makes this watch special when you hear it in action.
Why a Grande Sonnerie Matters
A grande sonnerie is the pinnacle of acoustic watchmaking. It automatically strikes the hours and quarters as time passes – en passant – while a petite sonnerie mode sounds only the hours. It’s a perpetual dance of hammers and gongs, requiring extraordinary mechanical energy management and precision. Add a minute repeater that chimes on demand, and you have a wristwatch capable of 1,056 precise strikes every 24 hours.
Before Philippe Dufour debuted the first grande sonnerie wristwatch in 1992, the complication lived only in pocket watches. Even today, only a handful of brands dare to make them.
They remain rare, costly, and deeply personal statements of what mechanical watchmaking can achieve.
The Design
The Ref. 6301P draws aesthetic cues from the Patek Philippe 5370P split-seconds chronograph. The platinum case has recessed, brushed casebands, a concave bezel that visually slims its profile, and rounded lugs. Despite its near 45mm width, the watch sits just 12mm high – remarkably thin for a grande sonnerie and surprisingly wearable.
A single diamond between the lugs at 12 o’clock signals the platinum case, while a discreet slide between the lower lugs selects between grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie, and silent mode.
Press the pusher in the crown, and the minute repeater sings on demand, striking the hours, quarters, and minutes with clarity despite the platinum case’s density.
The Dial
Black Grand Feu enamel provides a deep, glossy backdrop for the applied white gold Breguet numerals. Leaf-shaped hands carry a touch of Super-LumiNova – a nod to modern practicality without sacrificing elegance.
Two power reserve indicators balance the dial: one at three o’clock for the sonnerie mechanism, another at nine o’clock for the movement. A deadbeat running seconds sub-dial at six o’clock quietly reminds you this is a mechanical marvel, jumping in crisp one-second intervals.
The Movement: GS 36-750 PS IRM
At the heart of the Ref. 6301P lies the caliber GS 36-750 PS IRM, derived from the Grandmaster Chime’s movement but stripped down to focus purely on time and sound. Built from 703 components, the movement features four barrels: two for timekeeping (72-hour reserve) and two for the striking mechanism (24-hour reserve in grande sonnerie mode). Winding the crown clockwise charges the going train, while turning it counterclockwise winds the striking train.
Three gongs – tuned to low, medium, and high notes – replace the standard two, creating a carillon strike that plays a triple note for the quarters while hours strike on the low gong. Each quarter-hour, the grande sonnerie chimes the hour count followed by the appropriate quarter strikes.
A centrifugal silent governor regulates the striking speed, while silicon technology quietly advances tradition within the movement, including Patek's proprietary Spiromax hairspring for stable performance and silicon components for the deadbeat seconds mechanism.
The movement is beautifully finished. Geneva stripes, black-polished hammers, and hand-applied anglage highlight Patek Philippe’s commitment to traditional craft.
Under magnification, you’ll see consistent finishing even on minor components, from perlage on the base plate to the sharp inward angles on bridge bevels. These details matter. They reveal a watch made for connoisseurs who value what lies beneath the dial.
Why This Watch Matters
The Ref. 6301P is not a showpiece of flamboyance like the Grandmaster Chime. It’s focused. It distills Patek Philippe’s expertise in chiming complications into a wearable format while maintaining a classical aesthetic. It proves that Patek Philippe doesn’t need a dozen complications to impress; it only needs to do one thing, extraordinarily well.
The Ref. 6301P delivers clear, warm chimes that meet the brand’s exacting standards. Each piece is personally listened to and approved by Patek Philippe President Thierry Stern before it leaves Geneva, ensuring the acoustic quality matches the mechanical excellence within.
In a world of complicated watches and loud designs, the Ref. 6301P holds back until the moment you need it. When it speaks, it does so with clarity and warmth. It shows what Patek Philippe can achieve when it focuses on one goal.
The pictured example is available for immediate purchase through Phillips Perpetual. It comes with its Patek Philippe Certificate of Origin, a second solid caseback, hang tag, leather wallet, leather folder with instruction manual, product literature, photograph, presentation box, and outer packaging.
To inquire about this watch, please reach out to Jonathan Siu (jonathansiu@phillips.com).
Phillips PERPETUAL offers a boutique experience to clients for both the sale and purchase of fine and rare watches, in London’s Berkeley Square, Hong Kong's Pedder Arcade, and the Gstaad Palace, in Switzerland.
About Logan Baker
Logan has spent the past decade reporting on every aspect of the watch business. He joined Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo at the start of 2023 as the department's Senior Editorial Manager. He's based in Geneva.
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