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Revolutionary instruments
At the Whipple Museum in Cambridge, David Rooney finds that engravers and illustrators worked alongside astronomers and mathematicians to create the fragile scientific instruments lovingly preserved as part of our cultural heritage
Director of photography: Mel Yates / Stills & archival footage: Alamy; Daniel Crouch Rare Books – crouchrarebooks.com; Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin; Whipple Museum of the History of Science, University of Cambridge
Collector’s guide: ref. 605 HU
During a visit to the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, John Reardon discusses the history of Louis Cottier’s World Time system, with a specific focus on the landmark Ref. 605 HU
Director of photography: Jorge Luis Diéguez / Stills & archival footage: Alamy, Bridgeman Images, Christie’s Images Limited, Getty Images, Sotheby’s
Welcome to the week
Nicholas Foulkes considers the historical cues for the design of the new steel Ref. 5212A Calatrava Weekly Calendar watch.
Director of photography: Jake Walters
Anatomy of a classic: ref. 5002
Our horological correspondent Nicholas Foulkes discusses the Sky Moon Tourbillon, a seminal model in Patek Philippe's oeuvre. He looks at the context in which the model was conceived and reveals what it is that makes the watch's minute repeater chime sound so exquisite.
Director of photography: Jonas Marguet, Yves Kuperberg
Set design: Flora Mottini
Profile
Delve inside the Madrid workshops of Factum Arte, a company that is working to conserve and replicate the world’s cultural heritage and contribute to contemporary artworks via the use of new technologies, including recent projects in collaboration with Marina Abramović and Grayson Perry.
Director: Ben Roberts
Director of photography: James Rajotte
Stills: Alamy
In love with lava
Follow a journey to extreme and awe-inspiring volcanic locations as the photographer Olivier Grunewald recalls some of his most memorable trips to capture these brooding, lava-spouting mountains.
Director of photography: Christophe Boulze
Sound: Olivier Lechat
Archival footage: Marc Caillet, Régis Etienne, Olivier Grunewald, Pierre Vetsch
The greatest show on earth
Following the success of last year’s Grand Exhibition, John Reardon, from Christie’s New York, explains how the American market has influenced design at Patek Philippe.
Director of Photography : Adam Golfer
Stills: Alamy, Library of Congress, John Reardon
Life and Times: Ray Charles
Ray Charles Junior reminisces about his childhood, recalling the special braille timepiece that Patek Philippe produced for his musician father.
Director of photography: Adam Golfer
Stills: Alamy, Getty Images
Life and times
Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian and the founding director of the federal Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in California, discusses the life and legacy of John F. Kennedy – and the remarkable Patek Philippe clock that was given to Kennedy as a gift during his famous trip to West Berlin.
Director of Photography: Sasha Arutyunova, Ike Edeani / Still Photos: Alamy; Bridgeman; Getty Images; John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA
How to turn heads
We visit the London workshop of Philip Treacy, whose early work appeared in the very first Patek Philippe magazine. Now one of the world’s most celebrated milliners, we see how he uses the formier Lorenzo Ré’s wooden hat blocks to create his own fantastical haute couture hat designs.
Director of Photography: Mel Yates / Stills: Jérôme Galland, Getty Images
Patek Philippe in America
From world’s fairs to Patek Philippe’s own The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition in New York in 2017, exhibitions have played an important part in fostering the company’s long and fruitful relationship with the US. John Reardon explains.
Director of photography: Adam Uhl / Stills & archival footage: Alamy, Getty, Library of Congress
In other words
The choreographer and dancer Tan Hui-Chen describes the way in which she has been influenced by the ancient Chinese language of Nüshu – a language created and used only by women in a small area of southern China – in her critically-acclaimed dance productions
Choreography: Tan Hui-Chen
With thanks to: Water Reflection Dance Ensemble
Nautilus
As the Nautilus celebrates its 40th birthday, Patek Philippe’s iconic steel wristwatch seems as fresh as the day that Gérald Genta unveiled his first design. Nicholas Foulkes celebrates the versatility and longevity of this much-loved model.
Director of Photography: Jake Walters
Another time, another place
All time is measured from the prime meridian at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in London. Dr David Rooney, Keeper of Technologies and Engineering at the city’s Science Museum, explains why.
Director of Photography: Adrian Wolfson
Archival Footage and Stills: Alamy, Architekturmuseum TU Berlin, Bridgeman, Getty Images, The Times/News Syndication
Land of fire and ice
Award-winning landscape photographer Simon Norfolk recounts his adventures in the Kamchatka peninsula at the eastern edge of Russia: experiencing the wilderness is a privilege as well as a challenge, he finds.
Director of Photography: Adrian Wolfson
Still Photography: Simon Norfolk
Divining the path to harmony
Photographer Andrew Rowat travelled to Anhui province in China to meet a seventh generation feng shui compass maker.
Director of Photography: Algirdas Bakas
Still Photos: Andrew Rowat
Land of fire and ice, part two
Before he traveled to Kamchatka, the photographer Simon Norfolk had been on a number of exciting assignments for Patek Philippe magazine. Here he recalls his trips to Socotra, Syria and Iraq.
Director of Photography: Adrian Wolfson
Still Photography: Simon Norfolk
Origami emblem
Robert J. Lang folds a Calatrava cross from one single piece of paper.
Credits: Director of photography, Adrian Gaut
Wide blue yonder
It was the practical needs of the earliest aviators that dictated design rules of the pilot watch, says Nick Foulkes, introducing the Calatrava Pilot.
Director of Photography: Frederic Aranda
Archival footage: Getty Images
Stills: Getty Images, Library of Congress
Sweet thing
Watch amezaiku (candy sculpture) expert Shinri Tezuka at work.
Director: Christoffer Rudquist
Director of photography: Hirokazu Kishida
Editor: Andonis Trattos
Grading: Joseph Bicknell
Life & times
John Reardon celebrates Gilbert Albert, designer of Princess Marta zu Windisch-Graetz of Austria’s famous 1960 18k-gold bracelet watch, as well as many other masterpieces at Patek Philippe
Director of Photography: Raspberry & Jam
Still Photos: Christie’s Images Ltd, John Reardon
Surfboards
James Malcolmson meets one of the founders of professional surfing, the acclaimed board shaper Randy Rarick, at his home in Honolulu.
Credits: Director of photography, Jesse Chehak
Archival footage: Opper Sports Productions
Taking on the World
Peter Bellerby, globemaker, on the history of his craft and his landmark commission for the Louvre museum in Paris.
Credits: Director of photography, Tom Turley
Still photos: AKG, Alamy, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Getty, private collection
Bucking the trend
The architectural successes of maverick inventor Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983).
Credits: Footage, audio and images of Buckminster Fuller and his works, courtesy of The Estate of R. Buckminster Fuller
Still photos: Alamy, Corbis, ESTO, Getty
Africa’s Eden
Videographer Carol Sachs filmed behind the scenes on a shoot for Patek Philippe magazine in São Tomé, an island off the western equatorial coast of Africa.
Credits: Carol Sachs
Forecasting the future
Nick Foulkes takes us on a journey through the history of perpetual calendars at Patek Philippe.
Credits: Frederic Aranda, Mark Arrigo
Homage to horology
The directors of Patek Philippe’s three salons take us on a tour of the magnificent premises in Geneva, Paris and London.
Credits: Director of photography, Tom Turley
Still photos: Lee Mawdsley
Pictorial
Musician Stephen Coates from the X-Ray Audio project explains the origins of music “on the bone”.
Instrumental to perfection
Manufacture guide, Daniel Jaquet (formerly head of movement components, development and production) takes us on a tour of Patek Philippe’s unsung heroes: the watchmaking tools.
Credits: Director of photography, Christophe Michaud
The ancient house of healing
The Passion of Christ at Santa Maria Novella pharmacy are among Mariotto di Nardo’s best preserved frescos. Sonia Chiodo explains their significance.
Credits: The Bridgeman Art Library - Photo Scala, Florence. The restoration was undertaken on behalf of the Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della Città di Firenze.
Roden Crater – Naked Eye Observatory
It is the hands-on experience of astronomy that connects us to the universe, says Kristen Lippincott, the former director of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.
Credits: With thanks to University College London Observatory
Still photos: AKG, Alamy, Corbis, Getty, Middle Tennessee State University
The Secret World
Artist Macoto Murayama explains his fascination with flowers and the process behind the botanical blueprints he creates in his Kanagawa workspace.
Credits: Shiho Fukada, Macoto Murayama
Science, illustrated
American artist Caleb Charland is inspired by the work of early experimental photographers.
Credits: Jeremy Liebman, Courtesy MIT Museum and William Henry Fox Talbot, by John Moffat
On the crest of a wave
The genesis of a creation inspired by Lake Geneva. Interview with Sandrine Stern, Head of Watch Creation at Patek Philippe.
Credits: Frederic Aranda
Viva Las Vega
Classic car collector Justin Banks explains his particular passion for the 1962 Facel II and why he can never part with it
Credits: James Aiken, Tom Turley
Bauhaus
Wolfgang Thöner, Head of Collection at the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, explains the impact of the Bauhaus School of Design – inspiration for Patek Philippe’s iconic Calatrava watch – and how its treasures are to be kept for future generations
Credits: Kate Reid, Getty Images
Industry of nations
A whistlestop tour of World’s Fairs
Credits: AKG images, Alamy, Art Resource, Bildarchiv und Grafiksammlung Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Bridgeman, Corbis, Mary Evans, Framepool, Getty Images, INA, Roger Viollet
Grand commissioners
The origins of many private American museums lie in the private collections amassed by the tycoons of the gilded age. Stacy Perman explains.
Credits: Age fotostock, AKG images, Alamy, Bridgeman, Corbis, Framepool, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Huntington Library Collection, Lost & Found films, Office for Metropolitan History, Museum of the City of New York, Scala
The making of a brand
Peter York compares two very different advertising men of the 1950s and 60s, who led the scene on Madison Avenue at the time when Patek Philippe first truly established its brand in the modern world.
Credits: Jake Walters, Advertising Archive, Corbis, Getty Images, Kobal Collection
Illustrating 175 years of Patek Philippe
Artist Nabil Nezzar explains how he created the stunning artwork for our special anniversary issue.
Credits: artworks (c) Nabil Nezzar/Folio Agency
Patek Philippe 175th Anniversary
Nick Foulkes chooses his favorite pieces from a special Christie’s auction in November 2014, celebrating Patek Philippe’s 175th anniversary.
Credits: Frederic Aranda
The art of Trompe l’Oeil
Dr. Lois Oliver, curator and art historian, at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, London
Credits: Jake Walters, Art Institute of Chicago, Banco de Espana, Bridgeman, Getty Images, Kassel Museum, Museu del Modernisme Català, RMN, Scala
An open and shut case
John Reardon explores the origins of the officer's watch
Credits: AKG, Alamy, Getty Images, TopFoto
An open and shut case
The making of the Ref. 5227
Photo credit: Christophe Michaud
Glass menagerie
Photographer Guido Mocafico on his nature morte project and the nineteenth-century glassmakers, the Blaschkas
Credits: Bridgeman, Laure Flammarion, Guido Mocafico
The car is the canvas
When art finds a moving medium, the results can be remarkable, as the BMW Art Car series shows
Credits: BMW Group MediaPool, Christian Kain
Rock of ages
Writer Robert Bevan travels across Ethiopia for a photoshoot of Lalibela’s legendary underground churches
Credits: Joël Tettamanti, Jeremy Ayer, Alexander Story
Power play
Carlos Cruz-Diez on his use of color at the Guri Dam and other public art projects
Credits: Atelier Carlos Cruz-Diez, © Buddy Mays/Corbis, Getty Images, Christophe Boulze and Oliver Caillard
Bright sparks
From their first success as masters of pyrotechnics in the court of Louis XV, to twenty-first-century France, the legacy of the Ruggieri brothers has endured
Credits: AKG images, Art Archive, Bridgeman, Getty Images, Getty Research Institute, James Reeve
Pure and simple
Philippe Stern introduces the new Calatrava Ref 5123
Credits: Scala
East meets West Coast
Extracts from the writings of Dr Kyo Koike, one of the founding members of the Japanese American Seattle Camera Club
Credits: University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division, David F. Martin, Nicolette Bromberg
Polished to perfection
Nick Foulkes on the journey of the Nautilus
Credits: Oliver Caillard, Christophe Michaud
An island reborn
The fishing isle of Fogo, off the coast of Newfoundland, has reinvented itself as an artists’ retreat
Credits: Adrian Gaut
Pieces of history
John Reardon and Nick Foulkes discuss Patek Philippe limited editions
Credits: Photos Jean-Daniel Meyer
Feathers and flames
George Williamson, choreographer for the English National Ballet, on remaking Stravinsky’s The Firebird
Credits: AKG, Bridgeman, Corbis, ITN Source, Scala, Andrej Uspenski
Casting a spell
Guillaume Féau shows us his boiserie workshops in Paris
Credits: Photo Christophe Boulze and Olivier Caillard
Sacred monsters
Look up in any ancient city and you will eventually see a gargoyle
Credits: AKG, Alamy, Bridgeman, Camera Press, Centre des Documents Nationaux, Corbis, Getty, Pedro Pegenaute
This is how to make dials
Cadrans Flückiger, established in 1860, has been making Patek Philippe dials for more than six decades
Credits: James Bort, Mark Arrigo
Architect of dreams
The imaginary world of Sir Ken Adam
Credits: Henry Bourne, Alamy, Getty Images, Kobal, MGM, Rex Features, Thames and Hudson
Atlas Mountains
Info-graphics from the 1800s
Credits: AKG Images, Corbis, Getty Images, David Rumsey Collection
Cover versions
The Tregaskis bookbinding exhibition
Credits: Thomas Brown, The University of Manchester Library, Alamy, Getty Images, Bridgeman Art
Capturing the Stars
The work of Étienne Léopold Trouvelot
Credits: New York Public Library, The Royal Society, SuperStock
American Dream
Extracts from an interview with Hank Edelman, chairman of the board of Patek Philippe New York, on his fiftieth anniversary with the company
Credits: Lighthouse Films, AKG, British Airways, Esto, Getty Images
Stony Silence
The story of Nemrut Dagi
Credits: Simon Norfolk, Scala Florence
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