Patek Philippe Opens the Largest Watch Art Grand Exhibition in Its History in Milan

Since October 2, 2026, Patek Philippe has taken over Milan's CityOval for the seventh edition of its Watch Art Grand Exhibition, the largest ever organized by the Geneva manufacture, featuring around 500 timepieces on display and seven limited editions dedicated to Italy.

Patek Philippe opened the doors to its seventh Watch Art Grand Exhibition on October 2, 2026, in the monumental setting of the CityOval, the converted former Palazzo delle Scintille located in Milan's CityLife district. The event, which runs until October 18, marks a new milestone for this traveling exhibition format first launched by the manufacture in 2012: for the first time, the exhibition is being held in Italy, a market that Patek Philippe itself describes as one of its historically most important.

The scale of the Milan edition surpasses all previous ones. Spread over nearly 2,900 square meters and organized into fifteen themed areas, some 500 watches and objects are presented to the public. The manufacture is displaying its entire current collection, alongside a selection of more than 90 pieces from the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, including a pocket watch that belonged to King Umberto I in 1897 and a World Time reference 1415 HU dating from 1948. A dedicated “Super Complications” room brings together some of the brand's most iconic milestones: the Calibre 89, the Grandmaster Chime Ref. 5175, and the Star Caliber 2000.

The section dedicated to Rare Handcrafts is one of the highlights of the exhibition. Twenty-seven exceptional pieces were created specifically for the occasion, drawing inspiration from Italian geography and culture: Milan, Venice, Rome, Ravenna, Turin, Naples, Capri, Tuscany, Sicily, Puglia, Lake Como, and the Amalfi Coast are depicted on dials, dome clocks, and table clocks. Among these creations, a pocket watch titled “Burano” in 70-color cloisonné enamel and another named “Sicilian Oranges” showcase the depth of the artisanal expertise on display. Artisans and master watchmakers perform live demonstrations throughout the exhibition, in front of the public, covering techniques as diverse as miniature enamel painting, hand engraving, guilloché, and gem-setting.

True to its tradition of creating exclusive references associated with the host cities of its Grand Exhibitions, Patek Philippe has unveiled seven new limited editions in Milan, each featuring the engraved inscription “Patek Philippe Milano 2026” on the sapphire crystal caseback. Among them are two World Time Minute Repeater Ref. 5531G models adorned with an enamel map of Milan by day and by night, as well as an Aquanaut Ref. 5167A-014 limited to 250 pieces. A trilogy of Calatrava models pays tribute to the colors of the Italian flag: red for the minute repeater Ref. 7047G-010 (5 pieces), green for the perpetual calendar Ref. 7147G-010 (100 pieces), and white for Ref. 7007G-010 (200 pieces). The centerpiece of the collection, however, remains the platinum Ref. 5978P-010, limited to 120 pieces, which combines the CH 29-535 chronograph movement with an instantaneous perpetual calendar for the first time.

The exhibition was also the occasion to present the new Gondolo Ladies First collection, a range of jewelry watches with cushion-shaped gold cases, three versions of which are set with purple amethyst, green tsavorite, and blue topaz respectively. The entire exhibition is free to access, subject to prior registration on the watchart2026.patek.com website, from Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and from Friday to Sunday until 10 p.m. The manufacture also offers audio guides in Italian and English, as well as a web application accessible from a smartphone. For a manufacture whose annual production remains intentionally confidential, such a free public exhibition in one of the world's design capitals sends a strong signal, addressed as much to seasoned collectors as to the general public.