The release of the Patek Philippe ref. 5104 in 2007 was a total revelation for many. Stepping away from traditional boundaries, it is the first time a Patek Philippe Grande Complication reveals its inner workings through an unusual transparent dial. Extremely rare and complicated, the reference was discontinued in 2013 with an estimated production of no more than 10 pieces annually, with less than 100 examples of the reference produced in total.

One of the most exclusive Grand Complication references released in recent times, the Patek Philippe ref. 5104 features two of the firm’s most celebrated complications, the perpetual calendar and the minute repeater. The reference is unlike any other that came before, exuding a contemporary appeal through its transparent sapphire dial, the feature allows the wearer to admire the mechanically impressive movement architecture of the self-winding cal. R 27 PS QR composed of 515 components. One of the challenges of the feature was to achieve the highest possible legibility of the dial. By incorporating a retrograde date feature indicated via an additional red-tipped crescent hand along the periphery of the dial, the four transparent registers indicating leap years, months, moon phases and day are made legible with white texts and graphics with a black metallized rectangle indicating the correct day, month and leap year.

Encased in an elegant 43mm diameter platinum case, the casebands and lug sides are decorated with 18K pink gold hollowed inlays that provide a completely refreshed appeal to the reference further separating itself from other Grand Complication models. With a crisp and loud chime, achieved by the beautiful construction of the case, the ref. 5104 is dubbed by many as one of the most impressive minute repeating timepieces launched by Patek in the 21st century. In 2014, Patek Philippe replaced the reference with the new ref. 5304R similarly with a transparent sapphire dial. With a short-lived production of five years ending in 2019, the firm once again shocked the community with the special limited edition ref. 5303R-010 made for the Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition in 2019 with only 12 examples produced.

Preserved in excellent overall condition and accompanied by a Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming the production of the present timepiece in 2012, this is truly a fantastic opportunity to acquire arguably one of the most important pivotal Grand Complication models by Patek Philippe.