Patek Philippe’s reference 5013 is among the most refined and complex wristwatches made by the Geneva Maison. Launched in 1992, exceedingly small quantities were produced until its cease in 2011. It was the first automatic perpetual calendar minute repeater wristwatch with retrograde date. Paying homage to a historically important tonneau-shaped yellow gold minute repeater wristwatch No’ 97589 made for Henry Graves Junior, the present lot features a similar, marvelous, platinum tonneau-shaped case with a stepped bezel and silver dial.

Minute repeater complications have traditionally been powered by manual-winding movements, so conceiving a self-winding version from Patek Philippe in 1989 was quite a technical feat. Reference 5013’s movement (caliber R 27 PS QR) was aresult of the research and development that went into creating the brand’s first set of automatic minute repeaters in 1989, marking the brand’s 150th anniversary. The movement alone is made up of 515 individual parts, adding to the impressive nature of this complicated, spectacular timepiece.