Patek Philippe

I bought a 5146 recently and have worn it only on a few occasions. To my great shock, last night when I took it out of the winder I saw that the watch had stopped two days ago and even though the power reserve was showing full, the seconds hand was stoppe... 

.....it is unacceptable for a watch of this quality to breakdown in this way. Having said that, sometimes this type of thing happens. Now it is important that Patek do the right thing and make up for the problem. Please let us know how they deal with the ... 

... sophisticated mechanical pieces it is annoying, but things like this happen for several reasons. It is not about blaming anybody (most of the time), just a convenient solution is needed. Now you can find out which "package" you bought, with or without... 

If I remember well 5146 has a caliber 324 which is mono-directional if I don't mistake. I do not have all the parameters of your situation: what brand and model of winder do you have? some are mono- and others are bi-directional... Do check your winder sp... 

With a 5205G shortly after purchase. I also had an issue with a JLC Duometre hours after leaving the boutique with a watch. They are mechanical devices and shipping alone can subject them to trauma that shows up as a failure upon arrival at the AD or a sh... 

let us know how you go and good luck

Patek customer service and problem resolution has been a frequent topic of debate on various forums over the years with passionate opinions on both sides. General consensus is usually that issues are resolved but often not without considerable inconvienen... 

Mike H can be right, your winder does not wind the watch. However, there has been a power reserve issue reported several times on 324 movements. Try to wind it manually and see if it works, then you will know which one it is. In any case, it needs to go f... 

I hear this being brought up. Are u guys saying that the 324 calibre rotor is mono-directional ? What about the 240 calibre with the small rotor ? The power reserve indicating full but watch not running doesn't sound right. Contact PP and update us what t... 

The winder was set to dual-direction. So, not sure if that was the problem.

I have a Patek that has a 240 engine. Is the rotor uni-directional or bi-directional ? Any difference between the directions of the 324 and 240 ? Not trying to hijack the thread, but since it's a winding issue. I must well clarify my understanding.

All Pateks wind one way or the other not both ways like a Rolex. Both the 315/324 and the 240 wind the same way per the PP winding biox. On the box looking straight on, these movements wind counter- clockwise. Modernization comes very slow to PP.

I respectfully request you check your sources again. Furthermore to state Patek Philippe is slow to modernize is a very judgmental and perhaps slightly narrow view. I'm not trying to stick up for watch company, but I do want to uphold a balanced view.

I read somewhere (not 100% sure) that the reason patek uses one directional winding rotors in their watches is to keep the overall movement as thin as possible. Bidirectional winding would add to the thickness of the movement.

Respectfully, can't speak for every Patek movement but the 240 micro rotor most certainly winds unidirectionally. Source: Official Patek website. Not necessarily helpful to the OP as the model in question does not use the micro rotor system but I do belie... 

240 caliber only windsin the CCW direction. The 324 can do either, but the CW is what Patek Philippe uses on its winders for the 324. 240 is very different than the 324. Slower beat, micro rotor, and on the 240 caliber the second hand will always be at 4 ... 

And yes, other folks have experienced similar issues. It is quite a let down, particularly for a new watch and one of this caliber. The first thing that pops to mind is the fact that a $50 watch bought 30 years ago has performed without any problems at al... 

Taking it to my AD tomorrow. Spoke to them on the phone yesterday and they said that it could have become magentized, which I highly doubt as I am a stickler for taking care of my watches and keeping them safe. Any case, I will keep you guys updated on th... 

All new cal 324 have a silicon balance spring (my 5127R is 1 year old and it has silicon). So magnetism should not be a problem.

Silicone, unlike metals, is much less forgiving to very slight imperfections. For example, if a nano-scale crack is formed during production, it can propagate with time and ultimately result in the breakage of the spring. Preventing this failure mechanism... 

Just wondering. Sorry!

Not sure but the thought has entered my mind. It's the hassle of taking it back and waiting... I have a 5712/1A for 1.5 yrs and recently I've started tracking it's accuracy. It's been slowing 2-3 seconds per day. I'm wondering if these is normal or not.

I have a Patek that has a 240 engine. Is the rotor uni-directional or bi-directional ? Any difference between the directions of the 324 and 240 ? Not trying to hijack the thread, but since it's a winding issue. I must well clarify my understanding. Respon...  

No, I am not kidding!

I just had a quick read through and can confirm the 324 movements only wind when the rotor rotates in an anti-clockwise direction (if you try spinning it, the rotor will rotate freely clockwise for this reason; in the reverse direction it is doing work, i... 

To my understanding, these watches are in short supply and so how likely is it that the dealer would have another 5146 to replace the current one. Also hypothetically speaking, what would the dealer do with the broken one if they take it back for exchange... 

First of all sorry about the video, couldn't figure out how to upload it. My AD has taken the watch and have told me to rest assured that they will address whatever happened to the watch. The watch will go the NY service center first and they will look at... 

Wow ! Yet to have the 5146 fix and you bought another Patek walking in !? Man, u guys really have deep pockets.

bought my brand new 5146g several years ago direct from AD. It was then with the older movement. After a couple of months, I decided to purchase a winder and put it there. The winder had all the correct settings for that movement. The watch somehow did no... 

I'll put my 5146 on a orbita winder which is set at 900 counter clockwise TPD. I have notice that sitting at a certain angle the watch will wind more efficiently.

Never had a problem, lets see what patek says but if I have to bet money I would say that is the power reserve issue + winder setting. Specially if you have one of those rotowind systems by Orbita.

What issues are there issues with the orbita rotowind system?

But with some unidirectional watches like patek that has lot of CCW models, you will need to set the winder in high. Because whatever turns you are counting on, you have to remember to divided by 2 because half of the turns won't matter. Right?

I have been using Wolf Design 456029 Module 2.5 double watch winder set at bidirectional

if it is a winder then why power reserve indicator shows +?

That winder is set to turn 900 turns a day. If you set it to turn bidirectional that means the watch is just getting 450 effective turns a day, because if I am not mistaken this watch needs winding in a CCW direction. So yes I think the watch is not getti... 

Wanted to give everyone an update. I don't have all the details yet, but this is what I have been told on the status of my watch. This is indirectly through my AD, so not sure how accurate this is. The "gyromax was out of alignment and the balance toleran... 

I have only heard of only the PP 5550 and the 5200 using silicon parts. One AD manager told me that many 5550 owners were having problems with their watch, supposedly related to the silicon. Does PP commonly use silicon for watch repairs now?

jon_jon, you're right. I would be surprised if they were referring to the GyromaxSi, which is featured in those 'Advanced Research' only pieces. Instead, I believe they were referring to this Plus the 'silicon' sounds like their reference to oiling (perha...  

I agree, it sounded like lubrication related silicon(e). I have been told that I will be getting my watch back end of September, which according to the AD is unprecedented turnaround time. To which I responded that for a new patek to stop working is also ... 

on both counts. Yes, you'll find the wait is worth it. I am glad PP are living up to their name. Best M.

Some years ago when I had my 5035, I worn it almost everyday and not put on a winder at all, after about three months it stopped working by itself. And for my VC Overseas chronograph a few years ago, I purchased it new from AD, might be sitting at the AD ... 

The same thing just happened this morning. I purchased a new 5146G in early August (324 movement) and it has either been on a winder or on my wrist since then. I've never had to change or correct the date and never adjusted the time since my AD was kind e... 

Something similar happened to me although on my AP Royal Oak 15300 - I woke up one morning to find the watch completely dead on my wrist. Like you, I tried to wind it, and then found the seconds hand ticked on for about 10-15 seconds, and died. Again, I'd... 

First, it is uncanny the similarities in our cases. When I removed my watch from the winder, it showed a full power reserve and the seconds hand was stopped at 42'. However unlike your case, even with the crown pulled out the watch did not start. I am tol... 

NoQuartz, I do share your frustration (even more so if the 5146 was your daily watch) but honestly I can't say whether or not this is an issue with Patek's quality control. My knowledge of mechanical watches is limited to reading forums and watching a few... 

No documentation regarding the repairs, however I continue to pester them for it. In the meantime, it is back on the wrist!! ...  

Enjoy it! I hope it was the last time when your watch was sent to so serious works at manufacture. But I'm also very interested in diagnose and reasons of the problem you had with that watch. AD have to provide you full list of works which were implemente... 

Hi. Could You write us what they told You precisely what was the reason of stop the watch. Sorry if i was not red it on the forum if You wrote it. thanks.

BTW, how far to the right does your power reserve needle go when it's out of power?

..as I haven't let it run out of power since I got it...

any document on what has been done with the watch?

if you've tried contacting Patek directly? As long as it wasn't AD serviced (god forbid), Patek would have a record of the repairs performed. Let me know if I could be of any help, thanks! Best M.

What I'm wondering if this movement is prone to this type of problem and whether it may be a recurring issue. Also, it may be a good idea to find out preferably in writing as to what happened. Later on, if the same issue occurred again (outside of warrant... 

Here is a brief response from PP: The timepiece required a new balance complete. The reason for this is because the hairspring suddenly broke. lf you are going to replace the balance complete, then you have to completely overhaul the movement.

So does this mean your watch's movement has been completely overhauled? If that's the case the turnaround time was quite quick. Hope everything is now working ok.

Still glad they fixed in quickly. Hope you will have a better luck in the future. Cheers Jim