Patek Philippe 5339 User manual

English
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
Español

English

Reference 5339
Caliber R TO 27 PS
Manually wound wristwatch with minute repeater,
tourbillon, and subsidiary seconds.
The new reference 5339 is an interesting inter-
pretation of the legendary reference 3939. It fea-
tures an enlarged Calatrava case, a genuine enamel
dial, and a bezel with the timeless “Clous de Paris”
hobnail pattern. Two elaborate complications are
concealed beneath its understated face: a tourbillon
and a minute repeater. The combination of two
mechanisms with this degree of complexity in the
small case of a wristwatch is a formidable challenge
that Patek Philippe has mastered with flying colors.

The tourbillon
In the course of the 18th century, watchmakers
discovered that the rate deviations of their move-
ments were, in the final analysis, caused by the tiny
hairsprings which together with the balance consti-
tute the oscillator of every timepiece. Since its
center of gravity does not coincide with the
geometric center of the spring, its regular brea-
thing is negatively affected by the earth’s pull in
any orientation except horizontal. The tourbillon
corrects this systemic “positional” error. This is
done by integrating the balance and the escape-
ment in a hinged cage that rotates about its axis
once a minute. On this orbit, the slightly eccentric
center of gravity of the hairspring revolves around
the center of the cage every 60 seconds, so the
positional error is automatically offset by progression,
regardless of the orientation of the spring.
The minute repeater
On demand, the minute repeater strikes the hours,
the quarter-hours, and then the minutes that
have elapsed since the last quarter-hour. The first
hammer strikes the hours on the low-pitched
gong with one strike for each hour. Subsequently,
each quarter-hour is sounded as an alterna-
ting double strike by two hammers on both the
high- and low-pitched gongs. Finally, the second
hammer strikes the high-pitched gong to count
the number of minutes that have passed since
the last quarter-hour. At 12:59, for instance, the
melody consists of 12 low sounds, 3 double
high/low sounds, and 14 high sounds (totaling the
maximum of 32 strikes).

Indications, functions, and settings
HANDSETTING
• Before you perform any corrections or settings,
wind the watch By hand (10 turns of the winding crown).
• pull the crown out [2].
• turn the hands in either direction.
• push the winding crown home again [1].
13 2
Minute repeater
The strike sequence of the minute repeater
must be allowed to end completely before it
is activated again.
Caution: Never actuate the winding crown as
long as the repeater is working and for 30 seconds
thereafter. Doing so could cause damage to the
repeating mechanism which would not be covered
by the warranty.
To activate the striking mechanism, push the slide
(3) all the way up.
Now release it completely – do not pull it down!
Two small hammers will now strike the hours,
quarter-hours, and minutes on two gongs of low
and high pitch.
If the watch was set aside unwound for an extended
period of time, the minute repeater might not in-
dicate the correct time on the first try. This may
happen if the oil is not evenly distributed but has
no negative consequences. The striking mechanism
will function correctly again within one or two
hours after the watch has been rewound.
Recommendations
wATEr rESISTANcE
Although your watch is equipped with a water-re-
sistant crown, it is not protected at all against the
ingress of moisture because of the slot for the minute
repeater slide. Therefore, exercise care to ensure
that liquid does not come into contact with your
watch.
wINDING
When fully wound, your wristwatch has a power
reserve of at least 40 hours. We recommend that
you wind your watch at about the same time
every day.
We advise you to wind the watch before you put
it on. This way, you can avoid lateral pressure on
the winding stem which, in the course of the years,
could damage the stem tube. The same applies to
handsetting. Please use your fingernails to pull the
crown out and turn it gently between two fingertips.