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Vegas means Hamilton Ventura!

 

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Oops.
Butter fingers.

 

Patek minute repeater is my grail watch, congrats!!

 

Nice! Frankly, the band is flashier than the watch - wonderful! Love the subtlety of the watch. Although setting it off would be far from subtle... :^)

I image the gongs have a pleasant ring. Given the size (compared to pocket watch movements) my curiosity is whether there is sufficient volume and if they were able to keep the pitch down on those tiny gongs, is it to your liking?

Regards,

Art S.

 

Many thanks.
Much appreciated.

 

Thanks. Actually they didn’t have a brown or black strap readily available and I liked the orange for Fall.
Can I send a video here? It is a subtle sound. A bit like a grandfather clock.

 

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Straps are interchangeable, you can always go subtle. I like the orange - as you said, it pops for fall.

I'm not sure how to load a video directly.

As I suspect you know, each individual repeater has it's own voice. Mine are pocket watches (only one Patek) and the bigger ones tend to have a deeper tone, although the Patek (a relatively small one) has a particularly sweet sound. When I googled videos on the 3979J (google video search 'Patek 3979J'), most seemed to have issues with gong adjustment (not surprising considering they are worn on a wrist) but of the of the ones in tune, there seemed to be two groups the high pitch that I expected and a surprisingly lower pitch.

By your grandfather clock description, I suspect it's lovely.

Regards,

Art S.

 

For those who don't know what we're talking about, this video, particularly starting at 5:15 gives you a sense of it:



Mine is pretty close to this note and pace:

 

This might explain the differences in gong richness:

Patek Philippe Minute Repeaters: Cathedral Vs Traditional

 

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Thanks for the

Thanks for that, Art. I am fascinated by minute repeaters and have been on the lookout for them lately.
What you say is very true about the varied gong sounds. Mine has some hesitation between hours and quarter hours and then more between 12 and 6 as opposed to 6 to 12.
I am on the fence a bit about getting it looked at and adjusted.
The sound is very pleasing but quite subdued as compared to an AP Minute Repeater with that successful back that amplifies sound well.

You are ahead of the curve with your interest in pocket watch minute repeaters that have been mentioned lately as a good value considering their complication and worth picking up.
Thanks again for commenting.

 

Very interesting article. I didn’t know that an automatic minute repeater was considered a further complication at the time for the Patek 3979.

 

Great videos and sound.

 

Value is in the eye of the beholder. Buy a pocket watch because you'll enjoy it, unless pocket watches come into fashion, service costs will quickly exceed value. Remember, just because it's cheap now, it wasn't when new. Kind of like a Ferrari 2+2 (ask me how I know... :^) )

That said, the old ones are far rarer than the new ones, just no one realizes because those movements aren't really tracked by model; they are just lumped together by size/function. It's not really a jeans watch but if one fits your style, I highly recommend them. A Patek or V&C minute repeater with split second chronograph is still a small fraction of the cost of your wristwatch. Frankly, a good service will be a decent fraction of the purchase price.

Regarding yours, much like anything else, function depends on service history and use. The brief pauses you describe are intentional, both functionally and to make it easier to count. If it's slow for your taste and it hasn't been serviced in a few yours, a fresh service (cleaning and new oils) may be enough of a change to make it more to your liking (both in speed and volume). If service isn't the issue, a skilled watchmaker can tune it to your liking - there is an adjustable governor that controls the pace of the repeat and the hammer blows can also be adjusted. That said, I'm not sure who I would trust with this level of bespoke work - I don't think sending it to the factory will necessarily bring satisfaction.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Art S.

 

Brian,

Sort of, it will change the pitch and residence time of the sound from each strike (when in tune) but at a non-monetary cost. I suspect there is a problem in keeping the cathedral (double-length) gongs in tune. I suspect those long things, secured at one end with comparatively small fixtures, are an absolute maintenance headache. A slight loosening, misalignment or twist in the gongs and it goes from a beautiful, rich voice to a tink-tink-tink or worse still a rattly sound.

Regards,

Art S.

PS. This isn't based on personal experience with cathedral gong wrist watches.

 

Thanks for the advice and good wishes. Very knowledgeable and informative. I have tried to practice restraint (not always successfully) and buy only what I love. Whatever happens in the marketplace, you won’t be terribly disappointed. And I gave up on authorized a long time ago.
A Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving to you too!

 

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