The Ref. 5200 is a standout for lovers of manual-wound timepieces. Aside from the tactile experience of turning the crown and feeling the action of the winding train, there is a technical benefit of a manual-wind: it is precisely adjustable because the declining torque of the gradually relaxing mainspring can be taken into account in the poising process. In a self-winding watch, the tension of the mainspring varies with the intensity of the movements of the wrist while it is worn.
The Ref. 5200 is a standout for lovers of manual-wound timepieces. Aside from the tactile experience of turning the crown and feeling the action of the winding train, there is a technical benefit of a manual-wind: it is precisely adjustable because the declining torque of the gradually relaxing mainspring can be taken into account in the poising process.
For this model, Patek developed a new caliber (the 28-20), reminiscent of the (25-21), presented in the Ref. 5100 10 Day in 2000 to welcome the new millennium. Unlike the 5100, however, the new Gondolo contains innovative Silinvar® components. It has a Pulsomax escapement and a Spiromax balance spring, which require no lubrication and are friction free, which saves energy each time the lever contacts the escape wheel (with 5.53 million contacts in eight days, this degree of efficiency adds up).
With two barrels, it stores the power needed to run for 192 hours. The reason it runs for 8 days rather than 10 days, as in the 5200, is because of the day and date functions: advancing these calendar displays every day at midnight requires a lot of energy. An instantaneously switching mechanism advances the day and the date switch forward simultaneously at midnight, within three milliseconds – faster than the blink of an eye. In the process, the large disk of the prominent day-of-week display has to be advanced by one increment as well.
Aesthetically, the Gondolo 8 Day is a bonus for those who love the elongated tank case shape, curved for a more ergonomic fit (and slim, as well: the movement is only 5.05mm thick). The shape is reminiscent of the Art Deco aesthetic, yet the blue dial makes it up-to-the-minute contemporary. The date is indicated by hand on a dial at 6 o’clock, at the center of which is the day window. The seconds hand is also incorporated in the same subdial, a very economic use of dial space.
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