In the early 2000s, Patek Philippe created the Advanced Research department with the goal of finding innovative timekeeping and engineering solutions intended to advance the field of watchmaking into the 21st century. Working with the CSEM research lab and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, researchers originally focused on “new materials”, “new manufacturing technologies” and a “new conceptual fundamentals”. Out of this came Silinvar®, a patented mono-crystal silicon. The material is unaffected by temperature change, is very lightweight, requires no lubrication and is corrosion resistant. Patek Philippe’s first watch to use this new material was the reference 5250 Annual Calendar Advanced Research with Silinvar® escape wheel, and it was followed by 3 more models (5350, 5450 and 5550) which saw incremental application of the technology to the hairspring, escape anchor, and eventually balance wheel, finally achieving a full escapement in silicon.

Reference 5650G can be considered an archetypal result of the AR department. Inspired by the company’s heritage (the first travel time reference - ref. 2597 - dates back to the 1950s) Patek Philippe engineers found a novel way to construct Louis Cottier’s invention of a jumping hour hand. Using technologies unimaginable until a few years ago, the travel time system, originally constructed as an “old school” ensemble of hinged steel bridges and screws, was redesigned to be a single piece sporting flexible steel blades. This solution eliminates any hinged part from the system, thus enormously increasing its precision, resilience, and lifetime. The window cut into the dial of the watch allows the wearer to admire the entire system in action.

Produced in a limited edition of 500 timepieces, the model is currently one of the most heatedly sought-after modern Patek Philippe pieces.