After a full teardown, is Patek Philippe still the king of watches?
I was blown away after watching it. I knew automatic watches were complex, but I never imagined they were this complex.
After a full teardown, is Patek Philippe still the king of watches?
I was blown away after watching it. I knew automatic watches were complex, but I never imagined they were this complex.
That bidirectional winding reverser wheel assembly—when you take it apart, does it look like it has an extra layer compared to a standard automatic movement?
Now I have a sense of the complexity, but roughly what does one servicing cost? Some of the parts in the exploded view are machined to very high precision—if you could mention repair costs as well, that would be more useful for ordinary watch enthusiasts.
From a collector's market perspective, contemporary Patek Philippe and vintage pieces actually have somewhat different reputations when it comes to complicated movements: seasoned collectors tend to favor the finishing on early manual chronograph movements, while newcomers place more value on current-production certification and after-sales service, and the impact of a teardown display's visual punch varies quite a bit across these different circles.
After reading this, I actually want to know even more whether it's worth paying for this level of complexity for everyday wear—I'll check the service interval first before deciding.
The clutch mechanism for the automatic winding shown in the teardown video is definitely worth a closer look, but were these internal details captured firsthand or taken from official materials? If sources or years could be added later, the discussion would be on firmer ground.