A Patek Philippe Silver Metronome

This is one of the rarest Patek Philippe novelties that we have ever seen — and it does not tell the time. Instead, this mechanism helps a musician play rhythms accurately by marking beats per minute. In other words, it’s a metronome. Metronomes have been used for many centuries, but in 1815, a German inventor, Johann Maelzel patented it as a tool for musicians. The word ‘metronome’ comes from the Greek word metron, meaning to ‘measure’, and nomos meaning ‘regulating’. Why Patek Philippe decided to produce a small series of metronomes between 1880 and 1890 is a complete mystery. All we know from the Extract from the Archives, is that they were sold exclusively through the Geneva salon. Perhaps the delicate, musical score painted on the enamel dial is a clue as it is believed to be from la Marcia Reale (Royal March) by Giuseppe Gabetti which was the national anthem of Italy from 1861 until the fall of the monarchy in 1946. Did Patek Philippe ‘sponsor’ a series of musical events, or were they made to commemorate a special performance of the Italian national anthem? We may never know.

The metronome is fitted with a double cylinder escapement caliber 18”’ and features a half-second jump hand revolving around the dial in 10 seconds. When the metronome is engaged (via the slide on the case), the hand loudly ticks and stops at each of the 20 sector intervals, much like a dead second’s device, every 10 seconds, resulting in 120 beats per minute. The energy is stored by the mainspring and only released by engaging the slide, once slid back the energy is stored in the very large balance until the next time one wishes to use it. The case is made of silver in four parts and is 51 mm in diameter and 17 mm thick.

Only seven of these pieces are known of to date. One is in the Patek Philippe Museum and was exhibited at the ” Legendary Watches from Patek Philippe’s Private Watch Museum” in 1989 to celebrate the company’s 150th anniversary. The person who is fortunate to own this rare and important Patek Philippe metronome will not only be owning a piece of history, but also a museum-worthy work of functional art.

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