Horological Meandering

I know the summer is soon coming to an end for the northern hemisphere, but summer is coming in the south, so let's not forget the water activities!

The watches I want to present you are quite different from what I generally appreciate and try to share. In fact I'm even too attached to the mechanical calibres to imagine myself buying one of these for myself, but on the contrary the interesting product definition makes me think of buying one for my wife, and possibly others for friends or relatives when a strong, original, appealing watch is looked after.

There is in my opinion more horological value in these quartz watches than in many mechanical watches powered by standard calibres and showing too often lukewarm designs.

The brand is Patton. This is a French brand, officially located in the Place Vendome in Paris, but offering swiss made watches with more extreme origins that the luxurious Paris place can let us imagine!

Patton P42 Immersion

The range is organized around three models. The simpler model is the hours, minutes, seconds and date P42 Immersion model, with a depth rating of 300 meters. The P42 Hyperbare models add a 1000 meters rating. The P42 Chronograph models adds, …a chronograph!

Watches born for extreme living

All watches share a stainless steel original case, a screw-down crown, a crown protection, a 2.1mm steel back, a sapphire glass and a quartz swiss made movement. There is a large choice of graphical versions with polished steel or black PVD cases, white or black luminous dials, rubber, carbon fibre, leather, or spinnaker canvas straps or stainless steel bracelet.

The P42 Hyperbare is IMO the most interesting option with its 1000 metres depth rating. Such depth rating is achieved thanks to a bubble, or kind of!

Patton P42 Hyperbare

A small bubble is kept in the case for allowing compensation of pressures. This bubble is a very funny and relevant alternative to the Chopard diamonds! Nothing is more valuable than a bubble of fresh air (although the oil derived liquid in which it bubbles may not be as pure as the air).

The liquid is obviously not conductive as it must not interfere on the lithium battery, and allows the running of the seconds hand.

The Hyperbare bubble

All this product definition is quite appealing but the cherry on the cake is the extreme program the watches have been faced to! In fact several watches have been exposed to extreme conditions such as a depth rating test of the Hyperbare model by the Brest station of the French Ifremer Institute in a pressurized tank simulating a 1000 metres depth.

Resistance to low temperatures is also being tested with a watch brought and fixed to a 3800 metres high point on the Mont Blanc massif. The watch is regularly looked at to check that it is still working. It will stay there as long as it works (testing at the same time the 10 year long battery life expectancy).

Another watch has been fixed to a ship's wreck in the bottom of the Indian Ocean. The watch is checked once a month by deep sea divers.

Another test would please Dr Bernard Cheong. A watch has been fixed to the wheel of a Porsche 911 Turbo for 6 hours of track at 240 km/h of speed. The watch was still on time after the test. In the same spirit a watch was fixed to a 35m long rope and trailed by a 550 hp Donzi offshore boat at speeds up to 55 knots. The watch has resisted the incredible shocks perfectly. I can just say that I know I would not have resisted such shocks myself. A watch has also been fixed outside a plane aimed at dropping parachutists and accumulating air diving. The plane has taken off and landed 17 times in 6 hours, going up to 4500m each time to drop its passengers, each time up in 17 minutes, and down in 3 minutes!!

The spinnaker Hyperbare

I would like to finish with two other examples of testing that I particularly appreciate. A watch has been fixed below the bow of Sebastien Josse's 60 ft IMOCA race boat; The watch has already spent thousands of miles and several regattas there! And obviously still working.

Maybe less at risk another watch is finally placed on a wrist, Yann Helies is the ambassador of the Patton brand. I hope it will perfectly timed this great French sailor.

Patton P42 Chronographe

So yes these watches are different from what we generally see here, but I find them particularly interesting and hope to be able to say more in the future.

Thank you for reading.

Dje