In 1989 and 2014, Patek Philippe celebrated its 150th and 175th anniversary, respectively. And for both, the company celebrated by releasing limited edition timepieces – jump hour watches.
The history of the jump hour watch complication goes back to the 1880s, when Austrian engineer Josef Pallweber created the first of its kind. The classic jump hour watch has only one minutes hand and the hour is shown through an aperture that ‘jumps’ to the next hour every 60 minutes. The hour is usually shown in a digital format, while the minute hand maintains the traditional analog look. The jump hour design was even somewhat practical, allowing for a quick and precise reading of the time.
Patek Philippe started producing jump hour watches around the turn of the 20th century, starting with pocket watches like the 18k yellow gold one depicted above from the early 1920s. One of the earliest known Patek Philippe Jump Hour wristwatches was produced in 1927 for Thomas Hartford Gillespie of the Standard Steel Car Co. – a gift for his retirement. This was a rectangular yellow gold wristwatch that featured a 10-jewel Cal. 10''', a Jaeger-LeCoultre movement modified with the jump hour function. It was also sold by our friends, Grogan Jewellery Company.
1989 Patek Philippe 150th Anniversary in rose gold ref. 3969 / Credit: Sotheby’s
1989 Patek Philippe 150th Anniversary in platinum ref. 3969 / Credit: Antiquorum
Turning back to the two previously mentioned anniversary edition jump hour watches, the first is the Patek Philippe reference 3969 for the 150th anniversary in 1989. This is a tonneau-shaped jump hour wristwatch, released in 1989 and featuring the 18-jewel Cal. 215 HG, it measures 28 mm x 38 mm. Only 500 editions of these watches were made, 450 in rose gold and 50 in platinum. They are homages to the original tonneau-shaped jump hour wristwatches of the late 1920s, as seen below.
Patek Philippe jump hour wristwatch circa 1927 / Credit: Patek Philippe Museum
Then, for the 175th anniversary of the watch brand in 2014, Patek Philippe released a new special edition chiming jump hour wristwatch – the reference 5275P-001. This work of art is powered by the Patek Philippe Cal. 32-650 HGS PS, which is made of 438 parts, with 4 new patents, and took 4 years for the company to develop. As far as engineering goes, the challenge was not only to develop a precision jump hour movement, but to find a way to combine the ‘jump’ of the hour aperture with the chime – something that takes a substantial amount of energy. This means a power reserve of 48 hours. The case, much like that of its predecessor, is in platinum and measures 39.8 mm in diameter, much larger than the 150th anniversary models. The solid platinum caseback, again like the original ref. 3969, is inscribed "PATEK PHILIPPE GENEVE 175e Anniversaire 1839 - 2014".
Patek Philippe Chiming Jump Hour ref. 5275P / Credit: Patek Philippe
The four patents that this new movement required were for: the isolation of the hour strike mechanism – allowing for both the disabling and disconnection of the striking mechanism from the movement(1), a jumping mechanism with co-axial wheels for the jumping seconds – controlling the movement of the seconds via a wheel train instead of the standard springs and levers (2), a jumping mechanism with co-axial wheels – similar to the previous patent but for the jumping hours (3), and a mechanism for synchronizing two jumping indications – allowing the seconds and minute displays to change simultaneously, without any lag time (4).
New Patek Philippe Cal. 32-650 HGS PS, made of 438 parts / Credit: Patek Philippe
So, from Austrian engineers in the 1880s, to the first Patek Philippe Jump Hour pocket watches. And, more recently, the ref. 5275P, that is not only a jump hour watch, but also chimes – Patek Philippe has come a long way with its simpler digital displays at 12 o’clock over a century ago. In some sense, these anniversary editions are not only a commemoration of the brand’s history, but of its long story of jump hour watch production in itself. In fact, the Patek Philippe Jump Hour ref. 3969 from 1989 is just that – a homage to the original jump hour wristwatches from Patek Philippe in the 1920s.
By: Andres Ibarguen
Read more:
Sirianni, Mark. “What is a Jump Hour Watch?” Watch Doctor, August 6th, 2017, https://blog.watchdoctor.biz/2017/08/06/what-is-a-jump-hour-watch/.
Dunne, Charlie. “PATEK PHILIPPE IN DEPTH: JUMP HOUR WRISTWATCHES.” Collectability, https://collectability.com/education/patek-philippe-in-depth-jump-hour-wristwatches/.
Monbaron, Nathalie. “Lot 82.” Christie’s, November 15th, 2009, https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-patek-philippe-an-exceedingly-fine-rare-and-5257531/?from=salesummery&intobjectid=5257531.
“Lot 168.” Sotheby’s, https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/watches-5/patek-philippe-reference-3969-a-limited-edition.
“Lot 349.” Dorotheum, https://www.dorotheum.com/en/l/401599/.
Jasper, Kelly. “The Limited Edition Patek Philippe Chiming Jump Hour Reference 5275P, With Four New Patents.” Hodinkee, October 14th, 2014, https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/introducing-the-limited-edition-patek-philippe-chiming-jump-hour-reference-5275-with-four-new-patents.