Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime

An anniversary showpiece

Patek Philippe marked its 175th anniversary in 2014 with the Grandmaster Chime, reference 5175. It was the most complicated wristwatch the Geneva house had ever made, with 20 complications packed into one case. Only seven were produced: one went to the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva and the other six were sold to clients the company approved.

The watch has no tourbillon. Instead its complexity lies in sound. The case flips over on a hinged frame, so the owner can wear it with either of its two dials facing up. One side shows the time and the chiming functions, the other a perpetual calendar with an instantaneous date.

What the chimes do

The heart of the watch is a set of striking mechanisms. A grande sonnerie chimes the hours and quarters automatically as time passes, while a petite sonnerie strikes only the hours in passing. A minute repeater rings the exact time on demand, using low notes for hours, a double note for quarters and high notes for minutes.

Patek Philippe also patented two unusual extras for this watch: an alarm that strikes the alarm time on the gongs, and a date repeater that chimes the date. Coordinating all of these without one interfering with another is what makes chiming watches so demanding to design, adjust and assemble.

Most of this work happens out of sight. The gongs are coiled steel wires wound around the movement, and the hammers that strike them must be adjusted by hand so each note is clear and evenly spaced. A watchmaker may spend many hours simply listening and fine-tuning before a chiming watch is ready to leave the workshop.

The reference 6300

In 2016 Patek Philippe replaced the 5175 with the Grandmaster Chime reference 6300, which keeps the 20 complications in a new case. It remains one of the house's grand complications, and buyers apply to purchase it rather than simply ordering one.

Large houses describe pieces like this as statements of skill as much as products. Hand-finishing, engraving and the sound quality of the chimes all have to meet the maker's own standards before a watch leaves the workshop.

The most expensive watch at auction

In 2019 Patek Philippe made a one-off stainless steel Grandmaster Chime, reference 6300A-010, for Only Watch, a charity auction that raises money for research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Steel is unusual for a grand complication, which is part of what made the piece unique.

On 9 November 2019 at Christie's in Geneva it sold for CHF 31 million, about 31 million US dollars. That made it the most expensive watch of any kind ever sold at auction, a record that still stood in October 2026.

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