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Among the many emblematic complications in haute horlogerie, the split‐seconds chronograph has always held a heightened resonance. It is all at once analytical and poetic: a mechanism created to separate moments that unfold too quickly for the eye, yet dependent on a delicacy of construction that borders on the improbable. Patek Philippe has long treated the split‐seconds not as a technical novelty but as a demonstration of its deepest convictions about watchmaking. The Geneva firm’s finest rattrapante watches express a philosophy of clarity, restraint, and uncompromising craft. From the experimental wristwatch of 1923 to today’s Ref. 5370 split‐ seconds chronograph and the new quadruple complication Ref. 5308, the rattrapante has become one of the clearest through‐ lines in the manufacture’s story.

In the words that follow, we are about explore that very line. It begins with timepiece no. 124.824, sometimes considered the first split‐seconds chronograph made specifically for the wrist. It then traces the rise of the perpetual calendar chronograph with the Ref. 1518, and the parallel evolution of early split‐seconds wristwatches such as the references 1436 and 1563. From there, it moves through the present era of in-house chronograph design, the ultra-thin CHR 27-525 PS, the patent-laden CH 29-535 PS family, and the way these ideas reach maturity in the Ref. 5370 (read the Cover Watch story), Ref. 5204, Ref. 5373 and the Ref. 5308. The aim is to tell the story of the split-seconds chronograph through key references.

1923: THE VERY FIRST WRIST-WORN RATTRAPANTE

When collectors and scholars discuss the 1923 origins of the Patek Philippe split-seconds wristwatch, they almost always begin with one number rather than a reference: 124.824. The movement within, cased in a 33mm yellow-gold “officer” style wristwatch with an enamel dial and a 60-minute counter, is widely regarded as Patek Philippe’s earliest split-seconds chronograph designed for the wrist.

Mechanically, the challenge of building a rattrapante has always been twofold. First, it doubles the functional burden on the chronograph train by adding a second central chronograph second hand and a split-seconds wheel that must be clamped and released on command. Second, it forces the watchmaker to manage energy and friction in a system that is already parasitic by nature, since the typical chronograph draws power from the going train as soon as it is engaged.

In a pocket watch, the split-seconds mechanism has room to breathe. Levers can be long and gently curved, clamps can be generous, and tolerances can be marginally more forgiving. In a 33mm wristwatch of the early 1920s, the constraints are brutal. The movement in no. 124.824 had to remain extremely thin while accommodating twin column wheels, a layered central chronograph staff, a split-seconds heart and clamp, and a rare 60-minute counter that required more complex chronograph gearing than the usual 30-minute register.

“The message is clear: from the outset, Patek Philippe saw the rattrapante as a field for long-term exploration rather than a passing technical display”

The watch uses a single-button system with the primary chronograph functions controlled through the crown and a separate split-seconds pusher above. The start, stop and reset of the main chronograph are governed by one column wheel, while the split-seconds lever and clamp are controlled by the second. The clamp must grip the split-seconds wheel with enough force to halt it instantly, yet release it without leaving marks on the teeth or disturbing the meshing with the heart cam. Achieving that behaviour in such a compact calibre at the time required tolerances that would have been demanding even in a much larger movement.

What makes 124.824 more than a historical curiosity is the way Patek Philippe subsequently treated it. Nearly a century later, when the manufacture introduced the Ref. 5959 in 2005, its calibre CHR 27-525 PS was explicitly based on the architecture of the 1923 movement, scaled and updated but recognisably descended from the same idea. The message is clear: from the outset, Patek Philippe saw the rattrapante as a field for long-term exploration rather than a passing technical display.

1518: THE PERPETUAL CALENDAR CHRONOGRAPH AS A PATEK PHILIPPE LANGUAGE

If the 1923 wristwatch established Patek Philippe’s ambition in split-seconds chronographs, the Ref. 1518 defined another of the manufacture’s enduring signatures: the serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph. Approximately 281 examples of Ref. 1518 were produced, with the majority encased in yellow gold, while approximately 20% were cased in pink gold. Scholarship has shown that during the reference’s 14-year production run, a total of only four are publicly known to have been completed and exist today in stainless steel. The earliest instance of this quartet was offered by Phillips recently at its Watches: Decade One (2015–2025) sale on November 8 in Geneva, where, this rarer- than-hen’s-teeth of a timepiece, fetched an unfathomable CHF 14,190,000.

Launched in 1941, Ref. 1518 is widely recognised as the first wristwatch to combine a chronograph with a perpetual calendar in regular production. Its movement was based on a Valjoux 23 chronograph ébauche that Patek Philippe reworked extensively, along with a Victorin Piguet perpetual calendar module, and elevated the finishing to a level expected of a Genevois grand complication.

The watch’s true achievement, however, lies as much on the dial as in the calibre. The 1518 established a visual and functional template that Patek Philippe would revisit for decades: twin chronograph registers at three and nine o’clock, a moonphase and date at six, and twin windows for day and month at twelve.

The calendar works are built around a 48-month cam and a set of levers and jumpers that accumulate energy over the course of the day and release it in an instantaneous change at midnight. For the wearer, the effect is a clean, legible display that hides the complexity of the underlying mechanism.

This reference set the rhythm for an unbroken chain of perpetual calendar chronographs: the 2499, 3970, 5970 and, in the fully in-house era, the 5270 and 5204. Within this family, the 5204 will later become particularly important, because it brings the split-seconds mechanism back into a genre that the 1518 first defined.

EARLY WRIST-WORN RATTRAPANTES: 1436, 1563 AND THE IDEA OF A SERIALLY PRODUCED SPLIT-SECOND CHRONOGRAPH

While the 1518 and its successors pursued the marriage of calendar and chronograph, Patek Philippe also continued to refine the pure split-seconds wristwatch in parallel. But before the split- seconds chronograph became a recognisable Patek Philippe speciality, it appeared in several experimental forms. The earliest wrist expression of this ambition can be traced to Ref. 130, the manufacture’s first serially produced chronograph. While the standard Ref. 130 was a two-pusher, twin-register chronograph powered by Patek Philippe’s reworked Valjoux 23 (calibre 13‐130), a rare few 130s are known to exist in a split‐seconds configuration. These watches, however, did not establish a true lineage.

That true lineage begins with the Ref. 1436, introduced around 1938 and generally considered as Patek Philippe’s first series‐produced split‐seconds chronograph wristwatch. Using a 13‐ligne rattrapante movement derived from the 13‐130 architecture, the 1436 brought the complication into commercial production with approximately 140 pieces created over three decades. Early examples used a system in which the crown itself controlled splitting and reuniting the chronograph seconds hands. Later executions adopted a more robust solution: a co‐axial pusher integrated into the crown, offering crisper engagement and improved reliability.

Housed in what is essentially the Ref. 130 case, Ref. 1436 refined the mechanical logic first seen in the 1923 prototype into something suitable for regular use – and regular production. Where Ref. 1436 was classical, Ref. 1563 represented a rare and energetic variation of the theme. Produced in only a tiny handful of examples – available scholarship cites just three known – Ref. 1563 is effectively a split‐seconds version of the Ref. 1463 “Tasti Tondi”, Patek Philippe’s first water‐resistant chronograph.

Seen together, references 130, 1436 and 1563 trace the earliest contours of Patek Philippe’s split‐seconds identity. Ref. 130 rattrapante reveals the manufacture’s early ambitions; Ref. 1436 establishes the complication as a coherent catalogue reference; and Ref. 1563 shows that the mechanism could inhabit not only elegant mid‐century dress cases but also the more muscular architecture of the “Tasti Tondi”. These watches form the pre‐war and mid‐century backbone of the rattrapante story, an essential foundation for understanding the technical and aesthetic decisions that shape much later references such as 5004, 5204, 5370 and ultimately the 5308.

REF. 5004 — THE LAST GREAT LEMANIA‐BASED RATTRAPANTE

Introduced in 1996, Ref. 5004 was the most mechanically ambitious wristwatch Patek Philippe had ever produced. Built on the blueprint of CH 27‐70 Q, Ref. 5004 added a full split‐seconds mechanism and perpetual calendar to an already dense chronograph calibre. The resulting movement – often cited by watchmakers as one of the most challenging Patek Philippe ever assembled – revealed both the brilliance and the constraints of the Lemania base.

The key innovation was the now‐famous “octopus” isolator mechanism, developed to address the amplitude drop that occurs when a split‐seconds hand is clamped. Earlier rattrapantes, including the 1436, 1563 and even some pre‐production 5004 prototypes, suffered from noticeable drag when the rattrapante wheel halted. The isolator in Ref. 5004 (a multi‐armed, spring‐loaded component that sits atop the split‐seconds column wheel, easily recognisable) disengages the split‐seconds wheel at the moment of clamping. This prevents parasitic load on the chronograph train and stabilises amplitude.

The system worked, but it was extremely complex to adjust. The isolator arms required careful hand‐tensioning, and the Lemania base, which was designed long before Patek Philippe envisioned such a mechanism, did not offer ideal geometry for integration. As a result, Ref. 5004 required intensive regulation to achieve consistent rattrapante performance.

Yet this reference occupies a vital position in this lineage. It represents the boundary of what could reasonably be achieved on the Lemania platform and directly informed the requirements for the next era of Patek Philippe chronographs: lower friction, optimised tooth geometry, a more compact rattrapante layer and an isolator that no longer required the elaborate “octopus”.

“The key innovation was the now‐famous “octopus” isolator mechanism, developed to address the amplitude drop that occurs when a split‐seconds hand
is clamped”

THE FIRST FULLY IN‐HOUSE CHRONOGRAPHS — CHR 27‐525 PS

By the early 2000s, Patek Philippe moved decisively towards full independence in chronograph construction. The first milestone was the CHR 27‐525 PS of 2005, the manufacture’s thinnest rattrapante chronograph at just 5.25mm. As mentioned earlier, its architecture deliberately referenced the 1923 wristwatch, with elegantly shaped bridges, classical column‐wheel control and exposed steelwork finished to a high polish.

Just five years later, Patek Philippe added an instantaneous perpetual calendar, creating the CHR 27‐525 PS Q – only 7.3mm high. Used in references such as the 5951, 5372 and now the 5373, it demonstrated that ultra‐thin construction and a full rattrapante could coexist without sacrificing reliability. These calibres prove that Patek Philippe’s interest in split‐seconds chronographs is not only historic but ongoing.

CH 29‐535 PS: PATENTS, TOOTH PROFILES AND THE PRESENT CHRONOGRAPH GRAMMAR

If the CHR 27‐525 PS family represents one branch of Patek Philippe’s rattrapante thinking, the CH 29‐535 PS family represents another. Introduced in 2009, the CH 29‐535 PS was the manufacture’s first fully in‐house, manually wound chronograph calibre without additional complications. It is a traditional column‐wheel, horizontal‐clutch movement in broad conceptual terms, but its details show how carefully Patek Philippe studied the weaknesses of classical chronographs.

The calibre incorporates six patented innovations. The first is an optimised tooth profile for both the chronograph wheel and its driving wheel, designed to suppress hand quiver when the chronograph starts, reduce backlash and increase efficiency. The second uses an eccentric cap on the column wheel to allow precise adjustment of the meshing depth between the clutch and chronograph wheels, turning what was once a decorative cap into an active regulating element. The third synchronises the clutch and brake levers directly via a finger on the clutch lever, rather than relying on separate column‐wheel contacts, which makes timing their actions more precise and simplifies future adjustment.

The fourth patent concerns a slotted minute‐counter cam that allows the minute hand to jump cleanly while minimising the energy impact on the train. The fifth introduces self‐setting return‐to-zero hammers that automatically align themselves to the heart cams, improving reliability over time. The sixth pivots the reset hammers between jewel bearings on a common axis, each with its own spring, enhancing both alignment and long-term stability.

Beyond the patents, the CH 29-535 PS is distinguished by its architecture: broad, gracefully shaped bridges, a large four- armed Gyromax balance beating at 4 Hz, and an instantaneous 30-minute counter that jumps in a fraction of a second. It has become the base calibre for a family of movements, including the CH 29-535 PS Q with perpetual calendar and, crucially for our story, the CHR 29-535 PS and CHR 29-535 PS Q, which add the split-seconds function.

These CH 29-535-derived calibres are the mechanical language through which Patek Philippe expresses its current chronograph thinking. The Ref. 5370 and Ref. 5204 are two of the clearest sentences in that language; as usual with the cover story, see the Cover Watch segment for details about Ref. 5370.

REF. 5204: THE PERPETUAL CALENDAR SPLIT-SECONDS, RE-WRITTEN IN-HOUSE

If Ref. 5370 is Patek Philippe’s purest contemporary expression of the split-seconds chronograph, Ref. 5204 is its most articulate. It is the point where the perpetual calendar chronograph lineage that began with the 1518 intersects with the in-house rattrapante vocabulary of the CH 29-535 PS.

Launched originally in platinum and offered in white gold since 2022 as the 5204G-001, the watch combines a split- seconds chronograph with a full perpetual calendar, moonphase display, day–night indicator and leap-year indication. The movement is the CHR 29-535 PS Q, which takes the base CH 29- 535 PS and adds both the rattrapante mechanism and a perpetual calendar module.

The chronograph side benefits from all six patents of the base calibre. The split-seconds side gains two additional technical advances: an improved isolator for the rattrapante lever and a mechanism that reduces alignment error between the chronograph and split-seconds hands when they are meant to sit directly on top of one another. In the technical notes for Ref. 5204, Patek Philippe explains that the new split-seconds lever features twin flat contact surfaces which mate with corresponding flats on the heart cam recess, improving hand superposition accuracy by roughly three quarters compared with the previous generation.

The perpetual calendar is of the instantaneous-jump type. Energy is accumulated by a cam and spring system over the course of the day; at midnight, that energy is released in a single, coordinated action that advances the day, date, month, leap-year and day–night indications together. The date is displayed by hand, while the other indications appear in apertures. The moonphase display is calibrated for an error of one day in 122 years.

For the wearer, Ref. 5204 is the rational bridge between Ref. 1518 and 21st-century Patek Philippe. It applies the visual grammar established in 1941 to an entirely in-house movement with contemporary chronograph architecture and a split-seconds system that reflects three decades of rattrapante refinement since Ref. 5004. It is also the watch that helps contextualise Ref. 5308G (see below). Where Ref. 5204 answers the question “How far can we take a traditional perpetual calendar split- seconds chronograph in a manually wound format?”, Ref. 5308 asks a slightly different one: “How many of Patek Philippe’s most demanding complications can be made to coexist in an automatic wristwatch without compromise?”

REF. 5373P: THE LEFT-HANDED DETOUR

Before we reach the 5308G, one more split-seconds chronograph deserves mention, because it illustrates Patek Philippe’s willingness to re-think ergonomics even at the highest level of complication.

The Ref. 5373P-001 is a split-seconds monopusher chronograph with perpetual calendar, designed with its crown and pusher set on the left of its case. Inspired by the earlier 5372P, it rotates the crown and chronograph monopusher to nine o’clock and the split-seconds pusher to eight o’clock. The dial indications are turned through 180 degrees so that the date sits at 12 o’clock, seconds at 3, moonphase at 6 and 60-minute counter at 9.

Inside, the calibre is the CHR 27-525 PS Q, the ultra-thin split-seconds chronograph with perpetual calendar introduced in 2010 and now reserved exclusively for this reference. At 27.3mm in diameter and 7.3mm thick, it remains Patek Philippe’s thinnest movement combining these functions. The architecture relies on twin column wheels with polished caps, a 60-minute counter rather than the more common 30-minute register, a Gyromax balance at 3Hz and a perpetual calendar module that adds only 2.05mm in height to the base chronograph.

As a watch, Ref. 5373P is more extroverted and sporty than references 5370 or 5204, with its charcoal dial, red chronograph hands and calfskin strap embossed to resemble technical fabric. Mechanically, however, it and Ref. 5370 are essentially two sides of the same coin: one ultra-thin and tightly packaged, the other more expansive and demonstrative in its layout. Together, they underscore the breadth of Patek Philippe’s current split-seconds capabilities.

REF. 5308: THE QUADRUPLE COMPLICATION AS MECHANICAL SYNTHESIS

Ref. 5308G-001, introduced for Watches and Wonders Geneva 2025, is where these threads are drawn together. Officially described as a “quadruple complication”, it combines a minute repeater, a split-seconds monopusher chronograph and an instantaneous perpetual calendar. It is self-winding with a platinum micro-rotor.

The movement, calibre R CHR 27 PS QI, descends from the R 27 PS QI of Ref. 5208 but adds a full split-seconds chronograph on top of the minute repeater and instantaneous perpetual calendar. It measures 32mm in diameter and is 12.28mm thick, contains 799 components and is wound by the aforementioned recessed micro-rotor. The micro-rotor architecture keeps the overall height within wearable bounds and leaves a generous view of the movement through the display back.

From a technical perspective, the key achievement of Ref. 5308 is not simply that these four complications coexist, but that they do so in a way that preserves the integrity of each. Three areas in particular deserve closer attention: acoustic isolation and power management for the repeater; friction control and isolator design for the split-seconds chronograph; and energy storage and release for the instantaneous perpetual calendar.

The minute repeater is driven by a separate barrel and gear train dedicated to the chiming work. When the slide is actuated, the strike train draws power from this barrel to drive the racks, snails and hammers that sound the hours, quarters and minutes on two classic gongs. To maintain consistent volume and tempo, the calibre uses a centrifugal governor with aerodynamically shaped blades that regulate speed while producing minimal mechanical noise of their own. The construction ensures that neither the going train nor the chronograph train interferes with the flow of power to the repeater while it is in action, which is crucial for both acoustic purity and rate stability.

The split-seconds chronograph in Ref. 5308 is monopusher in layout but fully fledged in function. Start, stop and reset are controlled by a single pusher at 2 o’clock; the split- seconds function is activated by a second pusher at 4 o’clock. The movement uses twin column wheels to coordinate the chronograph and rattrapante functions and an isolator system to prevent the clamped split-seconds wheel from loading the chronograph train. The steelwork is finished to the same standard as the CHR 29-535 family – even where a lot of these elements are not even visible from the caseback – with black-polished column-wheel caps, straight-grained levers, rounded and bevelled edges and mirror- finished hammers.

The perpetual calendar is of the instantaneous jumping type, with day, date and month displayed in a broad arc of apertures across the upper half of the dial, complemented by leap- year and day–night indications. Patek Philippe has engineered the system so that the three main calendar discs jump in roughly 30 milliseconds, regardless of whether the month has 28, 29, 30 or 31 days. Two opposed jumper springs of equal strength act on the date, balancing each other so that the force required to advance the disc remains essentially constant from month to month. This stabilises amplitude at the precise moment of switching, which is particularly important in a watch where other energy-hungry complications are present.

On the dial side, the 5308G wears its complexity with some restraint. The ice-blue sunburst dial, with its faceted baton markers and arched calendar windows, reads more like a contemporary Patek Philippe perpetual calendar at first glance than a four- complication statement piece. Only on closer inspection do the extra pushers, repeater slide and twin chronograph registers give the game away.

In the context of Patek Philippe’s split-seconds story, Ref. 5308 occupies a very specific place. It is not a laboratory prototype or a one-off special order, but a catalogued watch that distils much of the brand’s accumulated knowledge into a single reference. It is, in effect, the grand synthesis to which the 1923 wristwatch, the CHR 27-525 PS, the CH 29-535 PS and Ref. 5204 have all contributed.

REF. 5370 AS LENS, REF. 5308 AS HORIZON

Taken together, these watches describe a century of thought about how to measure the shortest intervals of time, and how to reconcile that task with other demanding complications.

The 1923 no. 124.824 shows Patek Philippe grappling with the basic question of how to fit a split-seconds chronograph into a wristwatch at all, and doing so with such success that its architecture can be revived a hundred years later. The early wrist- worn rattrapantes, references 130, 1436 and 1563, demonstrate that the manufacture was prepared to let the complication live in real and wearable cases. Ref. 1518 establishes a second, parallel line of enquiry by combining chronograph and perpetual calendar in a serially produced watch, a line that runs unbroken through references 2499, 3970 and 5970 to the fully in-house references 5270 and 5204.

The CHR 27-525 PS family and the CH 29-535 PS family mark the decisive move to in-house chronograph calibres, each embodying a different approach to thinness, layout and complication load. Their patents and refinements, from optimised tooth profiles to improved isolators, are the invisible scaffolding beneath the graceful sweep of the chronograph hand.

Ref. 5370 stands at the centre of this constellation. It is the watch that best allows a collector to see, via one open caseback, what Patek Philippe currently thinks a split-seconds chronograph should be. Ref. 5204 shows how those ideas can be integrated into the long-standing Patek Philippe language of perpetual calendar chronographs. Ref. 5373 demonstrates that even in this rarefied field, ergonomics and playfulness still have a place.

The Ref. 5308G-001, finally, is the horizon. It gathers minute repeater, split-seconds chronograph, instantaneous perpetual calendar and micro-rotor automatic winding into a single, precisely choreographed whole. In doing so, it turns the split-seconds chronograph from the protagonist into one of several lead players. The rattrapante is no longer an isolated display of virtuosity, but part of a broader composition about how far a wristwatch can go while remaining, just about, wearable.

In that sense, the story that begins with a unique 33mm gold watch made in 1923 now continues in a white gold watch that represents one of the most mechanically ambitious Patek Philippe wristwatches ever placed into regular production. Between them stands Ref. 5370, the contemporary rattrapante that makes clear why this complication continues to fascinate watchmakers and collectors alike: because it is, quite simply, one of the most eloquent ways to measure a human moment.

PHOTOGRAPHY CHING@GREENPLASTICSOLDIERS
STYLING AND ART DIRECTION AUDREY CHAN
ADDITIONAL WATCH IMAGES COURTESY OF PATEK PHILIPPE AND PHILLIPS

This story was first seen as part of the WOW #82 Festive 2025 Issue

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On a yacht where logic and intelligence rule, a light and contemporary touch takes things to a different level.

Absolute’s new Navetta 62 is a masterclass in how to think rationally and appeal globally in just over 18.5m. When it was founded in the early 2000s, the Italian shipyard was mainly building sport cruisers, but shipyard management has since found that flexibility of use has become the key to appeal today.

Sergio Maggi, Absolute’s co-founder, explains: “Clients used to want something fast, and they didn’t really care about living on the water. Times have changed. Our clients want a comfortable boat where they can entertain and stay aboard for extended periods of time. Now you need function and ease of use.

“We want to build boats that appeal to a broad client base, from nationalities who prefer indoor space to families and those who want to entertain friends aboard. We’re not focused on a Mediterranean market anymore.”

While the Absolute outlook is broad ranging, the shipyard is based inland in Piacenza, and must contend with some very particular local constraints. Once built, the boats are transported via the autostrada to their launching sites, so must respect the height of overpasses and the width of tunnels.

Add that there are no star designers at Absolute and you begin to understand the genesis of the shipyard’s typical exterior lines: looks count, but interior volume counts even more. In typical Absolute style, the exterior look of the Navetta 62 is boxy and vertical, yet simple and appealing.

COCKPIT FREEDOM

Beginning a tour by boarding aft offers an excellent introduction to the types of intelligent solutions that make this shipyard’s production stand out. Boarding and launching water toys is easy due to a retractable passarelle and a 5.3m-wide hydraulic platform. Side compartments open to reveal a shower and water connections on one side and shore power connections on the other.

Look carefully and you’ll see that one of the symmetrical staircases that leads to the aft cockpit lifts to allow access to a crew cabin and laundry area that gets plenty of air and light through a large, wide transom window with a porthole. A door leads through the crew head to give easy access to the engine room.

Just upstairs from the beach platform, the large aft cockpit is where the easy living starts. The entire area can be left free and open or furnished with Absolute’s clever modular pieces, true transformers that can be seating, tables, loungers or just about anything else by joining elements or slotting pieces like armrests and backrests in or out.

“The owner is free to decide the setup that works best,” Maggi says.

The area is shaded by the overhang and gets breeze through openings in the gunwales. Light and views are assured by an aft closure in tempered glass. Owners can opt to install a wet bar plus a cleverly concealed mooring station on the starboard side.

LIGHT AND AIRY

The cockpit connects seamlessly to the galley just inside the saloon so the two areas can become a single space when the glass doors are opened wide.

The galley has marble-look Corian countertops and is well equipped with everything you need for preparing a meal and storing utensils. The induction cooktop has an integrated downdraft exhaust fan that frees up extra space for storage units above the stove.

While the cockpit-to-galley setup assures that entertaining is easy, the saloon is clearly an area designed for relaxing in good company. Large windows and excellent ceiling height make the saloon light and bright, and soft touches like linen curtains give it a home-like feel. Cream upholstery sets a discreet colour palette that lets the spectacular, all-round views play the starring role.

Excellent, well-distributed ambient lighting comes from discreet LED rope lights in just the right tone of warmth inserted under the furnishings, around the window frames and in the ceiling. While fully set up with both living and dining areas, the saloon is easy to move through, with paths kept clear. A small touch that says large things is the drop-down window beside the dining table.

“We designed extra-large windows that open and close like car windows so there’s as much fresh air moving through the boat as possible,” Maggi says.

A smart, chic touch is the floor in distressed oak that combines good looks and excellent grip even in bare feet. Absolute is run by people who really go out to sea and know what you need to enjoy it, right down to what’s under your feet.

The helm is fore, part of the saloon yet backed by a slated wooden partition that sets it apart from the living area. Everything you need for controlling the boat’s systems, including the electric circuits, is easy to access and a door leading directly to the side passage can be very handy when docking. It’s a perfect setup for safely enjoying the boat with family, friends and a minimal crew.

TWO FULL-BEAM CABINS

The full-beam owner’s cabin is fore on the lower deck, just a few steps down from the helm. “It’s the area that gets the most light and the least noise,” Maggi points out.

The cabin has a centrally placed double bed, a desk and plenty of storage, while furnishings are tastefully modern with contrasting textured and smooth surfaces to keep visual interest high. Large hull windows let light and views in, and have opening portholes for natural air circulation. The cabin’s full-width en-suite bathroom is fully fore and has a large shower to starboard.

The VIP cabin is midships, also full beam, with a centrally placed bed, a desk on the starboard side and an ingenious bathroom to port. The sink and vanity are open to the cabin, under a large window that converts to become a mirror at the push of a button.

What seem to be closet doors in textured, frosted glass on either side of the sink lead to separate toilet and shower compartments. Built on a lower level than the master cabin, this cabin’s hull windows are so close to the water that you feel like you could reach out and touch it.

A convertible twin cabin to starboard has beds that can slide together, while to port is a third bathroom, which also serves as a day head. Since the VIP is just as nice as the owner’s cabin, a family may want to use the aft two cabins while leaving the master cabin and its ensuite to their guests.

GREAT OUTDOORS

While the interiors are elegant, luxurious and very well thought out, the Navetta line – which includes models ranging from the 48 to the brand’s flagship 75 – has excellent outdoor areas.

The 62’s foredeck is a ‘this is the life’ space, set up with a couch, table and large island sunpad that easily converts to become an aft-facing sofa, another clever way to provide flexibility and ease of use.

But the flybridge is the 62’s crowning glory. A real dawn to dusk (and beyond) area, it has an open-air helm station and C-shaped couch fore, while under the hardtop is an outdoor kitchen, bar and dining area. Aft is a lot of free space for owners to arrange as they please, ideally with the same modular pieces used in the cockpit, again allowing lots of flexibility.

There are even options for the hardtop, which can have a retractable section or be fitted with solar panels to provide power to run the hotel load. “With the solar panels installed, you can drop anchor, turn off your engine and generators, and enjoy the clean air and silence,” Maggi says.

Absolute was an early adopter of Volvo Penta IPS pod drives and helming one of their yachts will make you a true believer too. Navetta 62 owners can choose to mount twin D13-IPS1200 or D13-IPS1350 engines.

Either way, they will get a dependable system that combines ease of use and joystick controls with reduced noise, vibration and fuel consumption. And since these systems can be mounted further aft than conventional shaft drives, there’s extra room for things like that lovely VIP suite.

While anyone who boards the Navetta 62 will appreciate the detail and quality at first glance, before long it will be the planning, engineering and smart solutions that have them hooked. “We aren’t just talking about looks any longer,” Maggi concludes. “Along with function and ease of use, you need a boat that delivers on the water but is also comfortable and sustainable.”

The Absolute Navetta 62, with its safe and solid construction, well-planned design and touch of class, looks to be the boat that lets you say “Andiamo” in style.

absoluteyachts.com

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The year 2026 opens with a truth that no one can hide any longer. The industrial heartland of the continent, the bedrock of European prosperity for three decades, Germany has entered a structural recession. The Financial Times stated it clearly at the end of 2025: Europe’s largest economy will only painfully recover to its pre-2020-2022 level – that Germany of before the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, supported by cheap energy, globalized value chains, and a geopolitical stability that is now a thing of the past.

This is not a temporary setback. It is a regime shift.

But be warned, this is a model that is collapsing. Germany is not suffering from a skills shortage, nor from technological obsolescence. Germany is the victim of a series of political decisions—both German and European—that have methodically undermined its productive foundations. The question is no longer whether Berlin is going through a rough patch, but whether the European Union, through ideological blindness, has orchestrated the systemic weakening of its economic core.

The industrial agony

The figures are undeniable. By 2025, crude steel production there had fallen by approximately 10%. Iconic sites are closing or being stripped of their resources. The steel giants all cite energy costs that have become incompatible with any heavy-duty activity. The automotive industry, a pillar of the Mittelstand and a showcase of German expertise, is following the same downward trend. From 5.6 million vehicles produced in 2017, Germany’s output fell to just over 4 million in 2025. The 2026 projection is slipping towards 3.4 million.

This is not about defending a bygone era, but about reiterating a fundamental fact. A decarbonized economy requires more steel, more copper, more chemicals, more machinery, and more infrastructure. You can’t build hydrogen, smart grids, batteries, or wind turbines on an industrial wasteland. The green transition presupposes a robust productive base. Yet, by 2026, Germany will have destroyed more capacity than it creates.

The pathology is imported: energy shock, geopolitical uncertainty, regulatory inflation. The engine isn’t seized up, but its fuel has been removed.

A political failure

Germany obviously bears its share of responsibility: a rushed nuclear phase-out, the illusion of perpetually cheap Russian gas, and chronic administrative inertia. These errors, which could have been corrected, were entrenched and then amplified by a European architecture that has become incapable of arbitrating between morality, geopolitics, and economic survival.

The break with Russia after 2022 was a historic turning point — one that could be morally justified — but it was handled with astonishing nonchalance. The destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines — for which responsibility remains a taboo subject — sealed a lasting dependence on American liquefied natural gas, which is structurally more expensive. In 2026, German industry is still paying the price for this shock: costly energy, chronic volatility, and a loss of comparative advantage.

A green transition conceived in Brussels as a normative ritual rather than an industrial policy has been superimposed upon it. While the climate objectives themselves are not in question, their implementation is undeniably dogmatic. Carbon taxes, environmental standards, and transformation obligations are piling up without a credible production strategy. Factories are closing faster than they are being transformed.

This deliberate and proactive approach, embodied by Ursula von der Leyen, manifests itself in prolonged sanctions, stricter regulations, and strategic centralization. Capitals are following suit, Berlin in particular, despite Germany — the continent’s leading economic power — acting as a disciplined executor.

The contrast is stark: while Washington, under an openly protectionist Trump II administration, massively subsidizes its industry, Europe constrains its own. German companies invest more in Texas than in the Rhineland.

The social divide

The consequences are no longer abstract. Communities are bled dry, industrial areas are devastated, and the middle class is worried. Political anger is swelling. In North Rhine-Westphalia, a historical stronghold of the CDU, the AfD is polling above 25 percent. In the East, it is dominant. Among young urban voters, radicalism is shifting to the left.

Not an accident, because deindustrialization destroys more than just jobs. It shatters the German social contract, founded on stability, competence, and shared prosperity. The elites pave the way for anti-establishment forces by claiming that “pain is necessary” in the name of abstract goals. A union that promises prosperity while delivering degrowth cannot retain the loyalty of its people. By weakening its engine, the European Union may be irreparably undermining its own project.

Breaking free from blindness

At the end of 2025, Chancellor Friedrich Merz launched an investment plan of up to EUR 500 billion to “save industry.” A just and laudable intention. Alas, this plan runs up against the very architecture of Europe. Without a lasting relaxation of budgetary rules — a golden rule for investment, partial pooling of resources, and an increased role for the European Investment Bank — everything will remain merely symbolic. Europe knows how to mobilize hundreds of billions to stabilize the financial sector, but hesitates to do so to save its productive base.

Three breaks are necessary.

Energy pragmatism. Not to abandon climate action, but to prioritize over time. Securing abundant and cheap energy sources – including nuclear – in order to preserve the productive capacity during the transition.

Strategic de-escalation. Not to capitulate to Moscow or abandon Ukraine, but to recognize that you can’t wage a protracted war by sabotaging your own energy base. Self-sufficiency isn’t morality; it’s the material condition for it. Morality doesn’t produce kilowatt-hours.

Debureaucratization. Not to dissolve the Union, but to restore primacy over regulations to politics, and to replace regulatory dogma with a genuine industrial policy.

The European illusion doesn’t end with Russian energy. It extends to a growing dependence on China for rare earth elements, permanent magnets, and components for batteries and wind turbines. Europe claims to be achieving geopolitical emancipation while entrusting Beijing with the very heart of its green transition, but it is simply replacing one vulnerability with another and confusing strategic strength with genuine fragility.

Germany is not testing Europe’s patience: it is revealing its strategic bankruptcy. A union that sacrifices its industrial heartland on the altar of moral posturing and poorly managed geopolitical calculations condemns itself to impotence.

The German collapse is not inevitable, but the product of political choices.

This article was first seen on michelsanti.fr.

For more on the author, Michel Santi and his exclusive opinion pieces visit his website here: michelsanti.fr

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