In the midst of blues, blacks and whites, finally a sparkling salmon dial that has caught my fancy. It’s the Patek Philippe 6300A Unique Steel Grandmaster Chime. This is one of the most complicated wristwatch and will be available for auction at the Only Watch 2019 event. Once again, a gentle reminder on the cause – Only Watch 2019 – an event dedicated to supporting the Monegasque Association Against Muscular Dystrophy. A charity auction is held once in two years and this year Christie’s is doing the honors.
Other than donating just the watch for the charity, Patek Philippe is extending an invitation to two privileged guests to experience the Patek Philippe Day – one where they will get to visit the workshops, dine privately with the President – Thierry Stern, and visit the museums and salons. Getting back to the watch at hand – the Ref. 6300 is a direct descendant of the Grandmaster Chime and hosts a stainless steel case and a salmon dial.
For their 2017 run, Patek Philippe 5208T scored close to $6,300,000 and the 5016A in 2015 clocked in close to $7,300,000, we are looking to see the hammer go down at a record-breaking number this year, so let’s see how this pans out. Patek Philippe 6300A for Only Watch 2019 features the twenty complications and they include a Grande Sonnerie, a Petite Sonnerie, a minute repeater, Leap year cycle, Strikework isolator indicator, an alarm with time strike, an unprecedented date repeater, multiple time zones, multiple calendar indications and several indicators (crown, sonnerie, power reserve etc.), all powered by the Calibre 300 GS AL 36-750 QIS FUS IRM movement. It provides 72-hours of power reserve.
Since it’s a very complex and complicated watch, the movement is built on four layers, and has about 1,366 parts. With all of this, you would expect the case to be deep and big, but this beauty measures 37mm in diameter and 10.7mm in height. The watch also features a reversible case, like we have seen in the Grandmaster Chime, and this allows you to see the two faces of the watch.
The case is an impressive 47.7mm in diameter and is fashioned in a baroque shape. The dial sports an opaline salmon color with a guilloché hobnail pattern in the center. As a contrast, the hands and the applied Breguet numerals are in blackened gold. The other side of the watch is the perpetual calendar and in opaline black with gold hands. Teamed with a black alligator strap with a steel fold-over clasp, we hope this watch fetches the millions that it deserves.