When Patek Philippe releases a watch with “Advanced Research” in its moniker, you can be well assured that it will be something special in both its outward aesthetics and its inner technology. The most recent example was in 2017, when the Swiss high-horology maison released the Aquanaut Travel Time 5650G, the first timepiece equipped with the new Spiromax balance spring as well as a groundbreaking “compliant” time-setting device. This year, Patek Philippe, through the labor of its top-notch R&D division, has applied an ingenious new innovation to a chiming watch, a grand complication that has been one of its historical specialties. Here is a closer look at the Ref. 5750P “Advanced Research” Minute Repeater.
The “Advanced Research’ Minute Repeater is limited to 15 pieces in platinum.

The essence of Patek’s technical accomplishment in this very limited timepiece (just 15 pieces) is that it features a method of amplifying the volume of the repeater’s time strike in a purely mechanical manner while simultaneously preserving the acoustic quality and doing so while maintaining the smallest possible dimensions. A module added to the bridge side of the movement works like a mechanical loudspeaker, using a triple-patented system with an ultra-thin oscillating sapphire wafer rather than the traditional vibrating membrane. This angular motion of this rigid, free-moving wafer produces a better propagation of sound in...