Zhuanzhuang is one of China�s foremost film directors and was awarded the Grand Prix at the 1992 Tokyo film festival for his film, The Blue Kite. Here he speaks about the Chinese kites of his childhood and explains why they offer such apt metaphors for his country and his people. As a child, Tian Zhuanzhuang was profoundly affected by the traditional annual kite-flying ceremony in his home town of Peking, and these memories inspired his latest award-winning film. More sophisticated than a simple child�s toy, Chinese kites, with their beautiful, coloured wings and exotic bird, fish and butterfly forms are elevated to an art form. In this article Tian Zhuanzhuang explains the symbolism he believes lies behind the Chinese kite tradition.
Perfect More than 1,200 operations are required to make the components of a simple mechanical watch, and 40 to 60 to make one single wheel. The number of wheels in a movement varies from around 15 for a simple manually wound movement to around 40 for a complication. This is why it takes 9 to 12 months to make a manually wound or automatic mechanical movement. About 30% of these operations are technical operations, 25% are devoted to obtaining the Geneva Seal and 45% to meeting the unequaled quality criteria which Patek Philippe has set for itself. Reliable
During manufacturing, the components of a single automatic movement, for example, are submitted to about 600 hours of quality control. Each assembled watch is then submitted to severe testing and observation - from 15 days to one month, depending on the type of movement - before leaving the Patek Philippe workshops.
Quality
Patek Philippe is the only Geneva watch manufacturer to be honored with the Geneva Seal, the highest official quality distinction in the watchmaking industry, for all its mechanical movements (95% of the movements bearing the Geneva Seal are Patek Philippe timepieces). This hallmark is only granted to Geneva-based watchmakers meeting numerous criteria of excellence, the strictest in the world.
Innovative
Since it invented the first keyless watch in 1845 (the stem winding system which replaced the key), Patek Philippe has been awarded more than 70 patents, including the Annual Calendar in 1996. The latest watch masterpiece, the Star Caliber 2000, alone includes the exceptional amount of six new patent-worthy innovations.
Exclusive
The current Patek Philippe Collection includes 21 basic calibers and more than 45 different types of movements. Since 1839, all movements bear an individual number which is carefully recorded in the Patek Philippe archives, a unique service to keep track of the famous timepieces and guarantee their authenticity.
Rare
In more than 160 years of production, Patek Philippe has produced less than 1% of the total current annual production of the entire Swiss watch industry. The Patek Philippe workshops currently produce around 30,000 watches annually, in small series ranging from one unit to several hundred per model.
Complication
Patek Philippe has created the world's three most complicated mechanical timepieces: the Caliber 89 (1989, 33 complications), the Graves watch (1933, 24 complications) and the Star Caliber (2000, 21 complications).
Valuable
Sold at auction for more than $11 million in 1999, the Graves pocket watch from Patek Philippe holds the world record for the most expensive watch. The 20 most expensive wristwatches sold at auction are all Patek Philippe watches. In the past 7 years, they have fetched exceptional prices. Among the 100 most expensive wristwatches, 80 are from Patek Philippe.