2014 marked the 175th anniversary of Patek Philippe. To celebrate this momentous milestone, the Stern family, owners of the company since 1932, commissioned a series of 40 wristwatches, pocket watches and dome clocks, either as unique pieces or strictly limited edition pieces, to showcase the different rare handicraft skills that the firm protected from extinction. Many of the miniature artworks for this series were inspired by original paintings in the personal collection of Philippe Stern and demonstrate the extraordinary mastery of techniques of the firm’s artisans. Each paying tribute to the natural beauty of Lake Geneva and its traditional barques, different decorative mediums were employed over the range and included engraving, painting on enamel, cloisonné enamel and guilloche.

Originally sold as a set of four limited edition wristwatches with impressive cloisonné dials, the present example is born from Patek Philippe's desire to honour its illustrious legacy through contemporary creative expression.

The exquisite cloisonné enamel dial, inspired by Louis Baudit’s 1951 oil painting "Scene of Unloading at the Quai des Pâquis", unites splendid handcraftsmanship with technical virtuosity through the breathtaking art of Anita Porchet. The background of the dial is line engraved with a sea of gold wires with a thickness of merely 0.05mm, and with a remarkable length of 40cm to 70cm, pushing the limits of the traditional art. When the dial is reflected under light, an extravagant surface of golden filaments is revealed, and they emit a glamourous glimmer amidst the myriad shades of colours filled onto the delineated areas on the dial. Approximately 20 colours of enamel are applied, incorporating opaque, transparent and opalescent enamel, to denote the natural enchantment of the Lake Geneva. The extraordinary palette of colours has achieved perfect harmony, most evidently on the depiction of the water, where shifting hues of blues and turquoise flow into a flattering state of fluidity, resonating with the pearly blue sky.

Anita Porchet fashioned a dial of unbelievable depth and dimension that fuses fine art with mechanical precision. Her signature at 5 o'clock discretely denotes the fruits of her labours, one of many invisible touches that attests to Patek's obsession with perfection down to the smallest nuance.