On the planet of watchmaking, the “grand complication”—a timepiece containing a number of problems comparable to a chronograph, perpetual calendar, minute repeater, or extra—reigns supreme. The epitome of haute horlogerie, these exquisitely refined watches are powered by actions containing tons of upon tons of of elements, making them extra akin to miniature mechanical computer systems than standard time-telling gadgets.
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Jay-Z, one of many world’s most famed collectors, owns a number of such items—particularly ones from Patek Philippe, whose oeuvre incorporates a devoted sub-collection of g “Grand problems. Noticed lately on the UEFA Champions League last, Hov rocked what’s arguably one of the crucial drool-worthy such timepieces within the type of the ref. 5271/11P, a manually-wound perpetual calendar-chronograph set with over 5 carats of baguette-cut sapphires.
This specific mixture of problems—the perpetual calendar with a chronograph—is a speciality of Patek’s, which launched the ref. 1518 in 1941. Since then, the maison has continued to innovate on this space, releasing watches which have taken on the side of horological lore: The reference 2499, for instance, is taken into account by many collectors to be one of many best, most stunning references ever designed.
The 5271, in the meantime, is a up to date extension of the 1518’s legacy. Housed in a 41mm platinum case, it measures simply 12.7mm tall regardless of its extremely sophisticated Caliber CH 29‑535 PS Q motion. Its lacquered blue with black-gradient rim, which options enticing white gold utilized hour markers, supplies a wealth of data to the wearer: Along with the time, there’s a dual-register chronograph with a 30-minute counter; day and month home windows; a moon section show mixed with a date indicator; a bissextile year indicator; and a day/night time indicator. If wound every day, the watch will stay correct till February 28, 2100, at which level it is going to require handbook correction to account for a secular yr that omits that month’s twenty ninth day.
The standout function of the ref. 5271/11P, nonetheless, is definitely within the case itself: Set inside its bezel and lugs—and inside the fold-over clasp of its black, hand-stitched alligator leather-based strap—is a complete of 80 baguette-cut sapphires totaling 5.16 carats. (The watch can be out there with rubies or diamonds rather than the sapphires.) Putting and distinctive, the addition of treasured stones takes the worth of such a watch into the stratosphere, the place it retails for (an oddly particular) $351,150.
Imagine it or not, there are literally much more sophisticated watches than this in Jay-Z’s assortment: The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300G incorporates so many problems that it requires two dials so as to show all of them. That being stated, the 5271—as a sublime evolution of a watch that debuted, unbelievably, through the throes of a world warfare—is arguably the extra compelling of the 2. (To be honest, each are enjoyable watches to see worn casually within the wild, quite than saved behind glass like museum items, as their complication and worth may in any other case warrant.)
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Patrick Mahomes’s Rolex Yacht-Grasp II
Kansas Metropolis Chiefs QB Mahomes joined a number of of his teammates on the White Home to fulfill with President Joe Biden in celebration of the staff’s newest Tremendous Bowl win this week. On the famous collector’s wrist? A Rolex Yacht-Grasp II—a watch that was discontinued by the Crown this yr. Measuring 44mm within the model’s Oystersteel, it’s truly a reasonably distinctive yachting chronograph: The bezel incorporates the patented Ring Command system, which is used to “program” the watch’s countdown function to between one and 10 minutes. Fully mechanically powered, this technique was distinctive within the Rolex catalog, however should now, sadly, be sought out on the secondary market.
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Mark Wahlberg’s Patek Philippe Grand Complication ref. 5374/300P
There should be one thing within the air this week: Wahlberg, like Jay-Z, additionally stepped out in certainly one of Patek’s grand complication watches—albeit one set with 228 baguette-cut diamonds and 13 baguette-cut sapphires, making for over 12 carats of treasured stones. Powered by an automated motion, the Caliber R 27 Q, it combines a minute repeater with a perpetual calendar. Housed in a 42mm platinum case with a lacquered blue dial that includes sapphire and diamond hour markers, it retails for near $1.2 million.
