Tourbillon Minute Repeater 5538 Jungle in Bengal

In Context

At 37 mm it sits just under the modern norm — the band that suits the widest spread of wrists. At 11.36 mm thick it is about average for a modern wristwatch. The case back is open, so the movement is visible without taking the watch apart, and the sapphire crystal will resist everything short of deliberate abuse.

The movement is hand-wound, so winding it becomes part of the day rather than something the watch does for you. 48 hours of reserve is enough to set it down on Friday evening and find it still running on Monday. At 21,600 vph the seconds hand advances 6 times a second, the slower and more audible rate of an older design.

5538G-018 is one of 9 executions of the 5538G base reference. Underneath they are the same watch; what separates this one is a multi-color dial and a white gold case. Beyond the time it carries a tourbillon and a minute repeater.

The tourbillon minute repeater without the calendar: R for répétition minutes, TO for tourbillon, PS for petite seconde. Built for reference 3939 from 1993 to 2009, it runs 336 parts around a one-minute tourbillon carriage carried on three equidistant steel arms beneath a polished steel bridge. A slide in the case band arms the repeater, which strikes hours on a low single gong, quarters on two, minutes on a high one.

10 other watches in the library run the Patek Philippe R TO 27 PS.

Patek Philippe

Tourbillon Minute Repeater 3939 Yellow Gold

3939J-001 · 33 mm

Patek Philippe

Tourbillon Minute Repeater 3939

3939 MOP · 33 mm

Patek Philippe

Tourbillon Minute Repeater 3939 Only Watch 2011

3939HA-010 · 33 mm

Patek Philippe

Tourbillon Minute Repeater 5539 White Gold / Black

5539G-001 · 37 mm