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I wrote about this extraordinary 1938 Patek Philippe Ref. 514 in steel and its remarkable engraved enamel dial here in the past. I also wrote about what makes the reference an iconic template, leading to the later formed rectangular watches manufactured by Patek Philippe in the coming decades.
In this video, I take another look at the watch, with a focus on discussing a few of the qualities that make its engraved, enameled dial so exceptional. Accompanying it are a series of images photographed at more than 100× magnification—revealing details of the dial that are simply impossible to appreciate with the naked eye.
At normal viewing distance, the dial appears deceptively simple. Under magnification, however, its construction and surface take on an entirely different dimension. The engraved enamel details become visible in a way that offers a much closer understanding of how extraordinary these early hand graved Patek Philippe dials can be, when properly observed and described.
The original article remains one of my favorite pieces of research, but these images and the video provide an opportunity to look at it again from a different perspective.
Sometimes, the closer you look, the more there is to see.
