Patek Philippe 5178, Manual

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 alternating 
double strike by two hammers on both the high- 
and low-pitched gongs. Finally, the second ham-
mer 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).

Settings

•  Before you perform any corrections or settings, wind  
  the watch by hand (20 turns of the winding crown).
•  Pull the crown out (1).
•  Turn the hands forward.
•  Push the winding crown home again (2).

Instructions

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 se-
conds 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, quar-
ter-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 indicate the correct time because the 
oil may have thickened at some points inside the 
mechanism. This is absolutely normal and 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-
resistant 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.

SERVICE

We recommend that you have your watch ser-
viced at least once every three to five years. For 
this purpose, we suggest you take it to an Autho-
rized Patek Philippe Retailer who will send it 
to our Geneva manufacture, the only location 
authorized to service watches with minute repea-
ters. You can then be assured that your watch will 
be inspected and overhauled by a qualified mas-
ter watchmaker at Patek Philippe headquarters in  
Geneva.

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