WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE WONDERS OF 21ST CENTURY INNOVATION, IT IS PERFECTLY UNDERSTANDABLE FOR A PERSON TO LOOK UP AND TAKE INTO VIEW THE BREATHTAKING GLASS AND STEEL MEGA STRUCTURES OF THE METROPOLIS TOWERING ABOVE. OR PERHAPS, REGARD WITH THE AWE THE MASSIVE TURBINES OF A 500-SEATER AIRBUS THAT WOULD DWARF HIM BY COMPARISON.

WHILE SKYSCRAPERS AND JUMBO JETS ARE INDEED MARVELOUS FEATS OF TECHNOLOGY, WHAT WE NEED TO LEARN IS THAT NOT ALL INNOVATIONS HAVE TO BE GIGANTIC IN ORDER TO BE REGARDED AS REMARKABLE. SOME EXAMPLES OF INNOVATION CAN ACTUALLY BE TINY-SMALL ENOUGH TO FIT WITHIN THE DIMENSIONS OF WATCH CASING- BUT STILL DELIVER AN INNOVATIVE PUNCH THAT THE BRILLIANCE BEHIND THEM OUTSHINES EVEN A MODERN METROPOLIS.

PATEK PHILIPPE'S SILICON ESCAPE WHEEL

Measuring at least a tenth of millimeter, the escape wheel- a rotating notched wheel periodically engaged and disengaged by an anchor in the watch escapement-is literally a vital cog in the precise and intricate machine work of a fine timepiece.

Escape wheels have been traditionally made from polished steel. It is exposed to an amount of lubrication in order to keep the gear working smoothly and relatively friction-free inside the watch mechanism.

In time, however, the lubricant- being a liquid- could easily dry up or become displaced- and this would have a detrimental effect on the watch's overall performance. In these cases, the watch would have to be sent in for professional servicing and the lubricants inside cleaned up and replaced.

Swiss watch maker Patek Philippe was concerned that no kind of lubricant, no matter how good or tested, could continue to make their watches run in the way they want in the long term.

The simple yet groundbreaking solution was set the tricky lubricant problem aside and instead take a long good look at the kind of material used for the escape wheel itself.

Pioneering the new material in its limited Calibre 315 line, the watch maker thus introduced the development and use of an escape wheel made entirely out of silicon. Silicon gave Patek Philippe a perfect material that is light, hard, resistant to corrosion and is totally anti-magnetic-traits which make it more advantageous than the traditional steel material.

Immaculately smooth yet highly durable to resist abrasion, silicon also never needs any lubrication of the Patek Philippe watch been eliminated, but it has now an escape wheel that flawlessly functions in constant stability under previously unheard of non-lubricated conditions.

Other major advantages include the fact that a silicon escape wheel is also lighter, thus requiring less energy it need to run. It also needs a single process to come up with a "perfectly shaped, centered, and poised finished part, with perfectly smoothed surfaces"-as compared to at least 30 different processes that its steel counterpart will need to go through.

IWC'S CAL. 80110

If you know your cars as well as your watches, you would know that a hard-working shock absorber system is what speels the difference when it comes to determining whether your car will turn out to be the well-maintained, high-performing envy of all, or a sputtering clunker in the long run.

Watches are like cars in this respect. And this is the reason why International Watch Corporation's 80110 calibre was developed: so you can get away with taking your bumps, nudges and tumbles in life's many highways, off-roads and race tracks-and the watches that you prize the most, such as your Ingenieur get to be the last thing you need to worry about.

The 80110 calibre is IWC's stringent manufactory standard applied to its fine watches. It utilizes the latest scientific methods in ensuring that the Swiss watch company's line of watches are tough and durable enough to absorb a measure of shock, ruggedness and punishment before they even come out in the market.

The tests the samples have been subject included the effect on the movement of over 60,000 repeated blows from all sides using weights hundreds, and at times, even thousands of times heavier. The samples were also subjected to extreme heat and cold to observe the performance of the watches in these conditions.

Several improvements have already been incorporated in IWC's watch designs after taking apart the watches after each of the many tests done, and analyzing and validating the results.

One such improvement was the integral shock absorber that IWC included in vital parts of the watch mechanism. Guided by computer models wherein crashed and hits to the watch were studied, a bent-arm shaped shock absorber was fashioned, providing key components such as the rotor with a degree of built-in springing to counter the impact of shocks and protect the delicate equipment.

Specially formed counter-sinks within the watch, as well as small rubber buffers on the underside, also help diffuse the impact of potentially damaging blows that are enough to destroy most other watches.

IWC's 80110 calibre is also about providing the watches with means to foil the disastrous effects of magnetism on watches.

No fear for an owner of an IWC-made watch: the 80110 calibre under proven methods is optimally protected against magnetic fields of up to 80,000 A/m, even as the Swiss standard requires only 4,800 A/m. Aside from this, the 80110 calibre also has a cage of soft iron that effectively prevents magnetic effects from reaching inside and impairing the watch.

And to literally cap it all off, the 80110 caliber dictates a sturdy case for the watch with a screw-in crown to keep out all the water, dirt and sweat that goes with regular use of the watch.

PATEK PHILIPPE'S THINNEST EVER SPLIT-SECONDS
CHRONOGRAPH MOVEMENT.

A second may come and go as fleetingly as any other, but with a Patek Philippe watch with the split-seconds capability, the passing of each single moment can be made twice as eventful.

Prominent on the face of the split-seconds watches of Patek Philippe are two center seconds hands-one over the other-which can either travel together jointly, or be independently stopped and later reactivated to mark separate events-all just by the simple operation of a push-piece.

While providing a precise split-seconds complication whithin the workings of a watch movement is highly impressive in itself, what is even more remarkable is that Patek Philippe has managed to come forward with a design solution that is considered as a most amazing split-seconds calibre.

Measuring a scant 5.25 millimeters in height, the Patek Philippe CH R27-525 PS calibre is-without contest-the thinnest split-seconds column-wheel chronograph ever made.

Despite the unique record-breaking achievement of the CH R27-525 PS calibre in split-seconds technology, the ultra-thin masterpiece-as embodied by the new Patek Philippe Ref. 5959P model-is endowed with all the characteristics of exceptional watchmaking artistry that Patek Philippe is known for. The chronograph comes in the famous officer's-style case, made of platinum. The handsome case design of the timepiece and the enamel dial with painted italic numbers, lend the watch a very timeless, vintage look.

The CH R27-525 PS calibre even presents some improvements on design and functionally over the other, "thicker" split-seconds watches: the new Patek Phippe split-seconds watches feature only two buttons to operate all of the split functions, as opposed to the more common three to four buttons. The result is a split-seconds watch that is as thin as it is efficient, and with a more aesthetically-pleasing, more sensible and less clutterd design.

In addition to splitting the seconds, even how the CH R27-525 PS calibre marks the minutes is innovative. A specialized design of the minutes counter in the movement, markedly reducing friction, wear and improving long-term reliability. The new toothing design reduces the risk of the hand jumping forward or rebounding as the intermediate wheel engages with the chronograph wheel when the chronograph mechanism is started.

The CH R27-525 PS calibre is among the first new innovations to come from Patek Philippe's renowned " Haute Horlogerie" workshop, whose ateliers are known for specializing in creating the most extraordinary complications.Due to the complexity of the movement, and the extremely complicated manufacture of the split-seconds functionality, the watches in the calibre are only produced by the master watchmakers in small, controlled quantities.

What the limited runs of the Patek Phippe split-seconds watch ensure is that only will each fine watch be one-of-a kind masterpiece by itself, but that each one will be a treasure highly regarded and eagerly sought by collectors and connoisseurs around world. Indeed, we will be watching the seconds until we get for ourselves a Patek Philippe split-seconds watch.