Press Release - March 2009

BASELWORLD 2009

True style: Patek Philippe Chronometro Gondolo Ref. 5098 in rose gold

In 2007, Patek Philippe relaunched a legendary collection that had literally been in limbo for eighty years: the Chronometro Gondolo. This year marks the debut of the Ref. 5098R, a new version with an 18K rose gold case and a matching dial. The warmth that it radiates played a particularly important role in the art nouveau and art deco periods.

Perfect in shape and color
Both the tonneau shape and rose gold are typical for art deco watch cases. But rarely have these two assets been so systematically and purely implemented as for the Ref. 5098. Its geometry was inspired by a Chronometro Gondolo that dates back to 1925, except that its silhouette is now gently curved to embrace the wrist. The fact that this curvature extends across the crystal and the transparent back, however, called for latest-generation precision technologies and the ability to accurately grind the extremely hard sapphire crystal to achieve a tight fit with the case. The result is a watch that has a fascinating aura of perfection.

The form movement
The movement that ticks inside the Chronometro Gondolo Ref. 5098R is as iconic in style as the superb tonneau case. It is Patek Philippe’s manually wound caliber 25-21 REC (REC for RECtangular), an exemplary study in modern horology. But it is also endowed with many of the formal details that set the Chronometro Gondolo movements of the early 20th century apart from all others. This applies especially to the S-shaped center-wheel bridge and to the slender escape-wheel and fourth-wheel cocks that afford a generous view into the depths of the movement. The Gyromax balance wheel invented by Patek Philippe has a frequency of 4 Hertz (28,800 semi-oscillations/hour) and assures the high rate accuracy of this watch.

The manually guilloched dial
The cambered dial of the Ref. 5098R, as authentic in style as its 1925 predecessor, is a small work of art that descends gently toward the lugs. Its silver-plated center and the surface that surrounds the railway track minute scale are artistically hand-guilloched using a now very rare artisanal technique. Between the two guilloched zones lies the brown gilt hour scale with brown painted Breguet numerals. Two cartouches that touch the hour scale at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock contain the signature of the maker, Patek Philippe Genève, and the “Chronometro Gondolo” model designation. The two pear-shaped hands are made of brown-colored gold.

Gondolo & Labouriau: a legendary name
Patek Philippe sent the first pocket watch to Gondolo & Labouriau, a watch retailer in Rio de Janeiro, on November 12, 1872. The consignment launched a strong business relationship that, from 1902 onward, eventually culminated in a collection of timepieces which the Geneva workshops designed exclusively for this Brazilian customer: the Chronometro Gondolo was born. A totally novel sales strategy was devised by Gondolo & Labouriau for these watches. Since the sales price of 790 Swiss francs was roughly equivalent to what a qualified worker in Brazil earned in a year, customers were offered an attractive payment scheme: ten francs a week for a maximum of 79 weeks and admission to an exclusive 180-member club that operated the Plano do Club Patek Philippe System. Clubs like this one were considered private entities and so could legally circumvent the ban on public gambling. Indeed, the Plano do Club Patek Philippe System was effectively a lottery with 79 consecutive weekly drawings, and the prize every time was a Chronometro Gondolo. Thus, the first winner received his watch for free, whereas the winners in the 78 subsequent drawings ended up paying anywhere between 10 and 780 francs for their watches. The remaining 101 members had to pay the full price.

The first Chronometro Gondolo wristwatches appeared around 1910. They were available in square, rectangular, and tonneau shapes, and also in a cushion-shaped carré cambré version. For this reason, all current Patek Philippe form watches – timepieces whose cases are not round – belong to the so-called Gondolo collection. In the second half of the Roaring Twenties, the global business climate began to deteriorate, and the last Chronometro Gondolo watch was dispatched to Rio de Janeiro in 1927.

For further information, please contact:
Patek Philippe Geneva
International Public Relations Dpt.
P.O. Box 2654
1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland
Tel.: +41 22 884 20 20
Fax: +41 22 884 25 47

Technical data

Chronometro Gondolo, Ref. 5098R

Movement
Caliber 25-21 REC
Manually wound mechanical movement
Dimensions: 24.60 mm x 21.50 mm
Height: 2.55 mm
Number of parts: 142
Number of jewels: 18
Power reserve: Max. 44 hours
Balance: Gyromax
Frequency: 28,800 semi-oscillations/hour (4 Hz)
Balance spring: Flat
Functions: Two-position crown:
- Pulled out: To set the time
- Pushed in: To wind the watch
Displays: Hours, minutes

Features
Case: 18K rose gold with cambered sapphire crystal, cambered transparent
sapphire-crystal back secured with four polished screws
Water-resistant to 30 meters
Case dimensions: Height: 42 mm
Width: 32 mm
Thickness: 8.90 mm from the crystal to the transparent back
Overall thickness: 11.45 mm from the crystal to the lugs
Width between lugs: 17 mm
Dial: Rhodiumed gold, cambered, manually guilloched, silvery and brown
gilt
Patek Philippe logo and model name “Chronometro Gondolo” in
rounded cartouches at 12 and 6 o'clock
12 brown painted Breguet numerals
Pear-shaped hour and minute hands in brown-colored gold
Strap: Hand-stitched, large-scaled alligator, matt dark brown. Historic screwed 14
mm-prong buckle in 18 K rose gold

Product images: