he Golden Ellipse model, with its instantly recognisable design that’s part rectangle, part circle, was launched by Patek Philippe in 1968. Its harmonious and finely balanced elliptical shape, inspired by the famous Golden Ratio – or Divine Proportion – discovered by the ancient Greeks, quickly became an icon of this exceptional era of watch design.

Ever since it was first launched in a yellow gold case with a blue gold dial, and up until the late 1980s, the Golden Ellipse has been available with either a leather strap, or one of several varieties of chain bracelets that helped cement the legend of this flagship watch of the 1970s.

These chain bracelets include the supple Milanese mesh, whose tightly woven links are formed from wires, all oriented in the same direction, and the “Polish” version with its wires alternating left and right, intertwining in a wave effect. In line with the creative effervescence of the time, a number of different bracelets with a variety of distinctive links were added to the selection.

Recreating the chain bracelet

After a lengthy pause, Patek Philippe decided to reconnect with this iconic era by reintroducing these chain-type bracelets, while eliminating their technical drawbacks. The most pressing concern was the ability to adjust the length easily by shortening or lengthening the chains.

It was easier said than done. It took Patek Philippe and one of its longstanding partners 15 years of development to achieve this goal. They did so by combining the best of both worlds: the manual expertise of the craftsmen who created the links (made from gold wire or wire of another material, assembled into a beautifully supple bracelet) and the “mechanical” manufacture of components, machined on CNC machines from a bar of gold or other metal, before being assembled and polished, then satin finished by hand.

The result of this search for the perfect ergonomics, the new 18k rose gold bracelet of the Golden Ellipse reference 5738/1R-001, which was unveiled at the recent Watches & Wonders trade show in Geneva, is the perfect illustration of this construction approach, which fuses the classic mesh bracelet with the “mechanical” bracelet. It comprises 363 elements, including more than 300 links produced via CNC, then polished and assembled by hand. This modern patented construction recreates the style, flexibility, finesse and elegance of the chain bracelets of yesteryear, but allows for easy adjustment to any length, whether this means shortening the bracelet or lengthening it. The clasp, which is all but invisible, thanks to the bracelet pattern engraved on its cover, has three additional notches for fine adjustment.

The thinnest watch

The slender and supple chain bracelet emphasises the thinness of the 18k rose gold case of the Golden Ellipse, which is just 5.9mm deep (with elliptical dimensions of 34mm from 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock, and 39.5mm from 6 o’clock to 12 o’clock).

Fine rose gold “hair” hands move across the ebony black sunburst dial, marked out by applied baton hour markers, also in rose gold.

At the heart of the watch lies the ultra-thin 240 caliber with automatic winding via an off-centre mini-rotor, which is what makes the Golden Ellipse the thinnest watch in Patek Philippe’s current collection. It exudes the timeless harmony of its refined aesthetics.