From the vantage level of 2023, a watch fanatic may very well be forgiven for underestimating the Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon. The watchmaking panorama of at present contains 50mm titanium Rolex divers, quadruple tourbillon Greubel Forseys, and monstrously advanced merchandise from upstart independents like Krayon; Patek Philippe’s personal catalog positively groans with astounding feats of mechanical engineering.
It wasn’t all the time this manner.
From the launch of the landmark 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph in 1941 to the Patek Philippe jubilee yr of 1989, easy wristwatches reigned and paid the payments.
The variety of minute repeaters, split-second chronographs, and tourbillon watches – each pocket and wrist – amounted to single digits or low double-digits per yr. This was true at Patek and inside the larger {industry}. Something greater than a perpetual calendar or chronograph would require a dialogue, a bespoke order, and probably an interview to substantiate that the client was severe.
Within the years previous to 1989, even Patek Philippe targeted on easy watches. Audemars Piguet was essentially the most prolific high-end supply for improvements in calendar and tourbillon watches through the Nineteen Eighties. To the extent that any producer of wristwatches was recognized for minute repeaters, it was Gérald Genta, not a “holy trinity” label, that was famend within the area.
Patek Philippe Reference 5001T Sky Moon Tourbillon (photograph courtesy Sotheby’s)
1989 marked the tip of 1 period and the start of a brand new one
Patek Philippe hailed 150 years with a veritable onslaught of commemorative editions together with all-new fashions. The Calibre 89 was the flagship. Double-dialed and sized like a grapefruit, the 89 grew to become the newest in an extended line of record-breaking Patek pocket watch issues. With 1,278 items, 126 jewels, and 33 capabilities, the Calibre 89 was a showcase for Patek’s competence. 5 years of growth yielded a manufacturing whole of 4 watches, however Patek Philippe had cemented its fame as an occasional supply of awe-inspiring sophisticated machines.
After which the Nineteen Nineties occurred. The reference 3974 perpetual calendar tourbillon technically launched in 1989, however it gained fame as a baller complication of the 90s. 1992 introduced the 5013, an computerized winding minute repeater with retrograde perpetual calendar. 1993 witnessed the debut of the reference 3939 tourbillon minute repeater. Close to concurrently, the ‘93 5016 arrived with a retrograde perpetual calendar, tourbillon, and minute repeater.
1996 marked the arrival of the enduring – and first-ever – series-built Patek Philippe perpetual calendar cut up seconds chronograph, the 5004. Many new chronographs, perpetual calendars, retrogrades, and the industry-first annual calendar of 1996 crammed the gaps between multi-complication flagships.
On the tail finish of a torrid decade of sophisticated watchmaking, Patek Philippe greeted the brand new millennium with the Star Caliber 2000. Yet one more pocket watch, this one boasted 21 capabilities; it was the third most complex Patek Philippe of all time after the Calibre 89 and the 24-function Henry Graves Supercomplication delivered in 1933. Extra importantly, the Star Caliber was the one member of this elite membership to encourage a wristwatch spin-off.
And what a spin-off it was: the Patek Philippe 5002 Sky Moon Tourbillon.
Launched in platinum for the 2001 mannequin yr, the 12-complication metallic megalith mirrored the dual-dial Star Caliber in each fashion and performance.
Dial one was dedicated to a moonphase indicator and a perpetual calendar with retrograde date show. On the sub-dial show for months, easy textual content promised a tourbillon regulator inside the case.
As was the longtime customized with Patek Philippe tourbillon watches, the 5002P bears its motion serial quantity on the dial.
The second dial – a primary for a Patek wristwatch – bore the mark of the Star Caliber. A sky chart dominates proceedings with the picture of a northern hemisphere evening sky. The moonphase and its relative place within the sky are depicted. Easy hour and minute palms at heart comply with a 24-hour format for distinction with the sidereal day depicted by the sky chart.
Sidereal time is depicted by way of two crossings of a reference star throughout the identical meridian of longitude (represented by the “S” on the base of the dial). In distinction, photo voltaic time is measured by way of Earth’s nearest star; photo voltaic time is measured by way of full 24-hour rotations of the Earth. That’s not a yawning hole, however over a month, the overall disparity quantities to almost two hours.
Imply photo voltaic time – featured on the entrance dial – is the time your clock reads midday; this will not coincide with true photo voltaic time, which includes the solar being completely overhead when the clock reads 12pm.
There’s extra – far more
The Sky Moon Tourbillon buries the lede by omitting its cathedral gong minute repeater from the title scheme. Patek Philippe’s fashionable fame as a pacesetter in chiming wristwatches largely is a product of the Nineteen Nineties. It realized quick.
By 2001, Patek watchmakers had been able to embed high-grade wrist chiming inside a number of layers of secondary issues. The standard of the sound was excellent; every 5002P employs “cathedral” round gongs that double round themselves 1.5 to 2 occasions when in comparison with the single-loop gong of a traditional minute repeater. These resonators outlined the 38mm outer diameter of the motion and account for many of the 5002’s near-43mm dimension.
Prolonged gongs additionally assist to counter the deadening impact of the 5002P’s platinum case. Maintain, sound high quality, and chime quantity profit. Because of the bigger suspended gong floor, the 5002’s cathedral gongs additionally counter the muting impact that blunts repeater sound when operated on the wrist. Later 5002 variants in rose, yellow, and – hardly ever — white gold benefitted from the identical refinements.
In distinction, with its late-blooming fame as a constructor of repeating wristwatches, Patek Philippe’s notoriety for crafting perpetual calendars was a long time within the making. For the reason that early Nineteen Forties debut of the 1526 perpetual calendar and the 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph, Patek has constructed its title as a premier supply for watches that may navigate the Gregorian calendar.
That long-running renown may clarify why a watch dubbed “Sky Moon Tourbillon” relegated these titular issues whereas handing dial-side preeminence to a perpetual calendar.
Nonetheless, the aesthetic of the 5002P dial is one in all sudden heat for such an imposing machine. Guilloché within the type of small Calatrava crosses pays tribute to Patek Philippe’s company image. Utilized white gold Roman numerals and matching white gold palms add an opulent flourish atop the crème-tinted dial base. Moon phases are portrayed in gold slivers. And shocks of crimson distinguish the retrograde date show whereas enlivening the colour palette.
Patek Philippe’s branding of the 5002P throws warning to the wind. The big vaulted “PATEK PHILIPPE GENEVE” ranks among the many largest ever struck – and that features pocket watches.
Every 5002 – no matter metallic – employs an elaborate set of circumferential engravings. A repeating Calatrava cross motif echoes the dial whereas girdling the 42.8mm case. The cross-festooned repeater slide sits inside a recessed channel – an innovation typically attributed to longtime Patek collaborator and case producer Jean-Pierre Hagmann.
Though large, the 5002P’s case is a nuanced brick of platinum. Its concave higher bezel contains internal and outer flanges that learn as character strains. The lugs are stepped the place they be part of the case, and the meeting technique is by old school – and laborious – welding. Given this watch’s dimension, weight, and heart-stopping worth, screws and bars substitute spring bars because the chosen technique of fixing the strap to the case.
Two crowns are current. The one at 4 o’clock units the first dial; the one at two units the celestial dial.
It’s value mentioning that regardless of the presence of dual dials, the 5002 is just not a reversible watch. Solely the entrance dial is designed to be seen on the wrist, and downward-canted lugs defeat whimsical notions of merely reversing the strap and folding clasp.
That mentioned, the reverse of the case is designed to be seen. The domed bezel reverses its concave reverse quantity on the entrance, however the reverse bezel has no internal flange because of the dimension of the celestial dial. A rehaut with 24-hour scale replaces the internal flange.
Regardless of prime billing within the mannequin’s title, the Sky Moon’s tourbillon lies unseen inside the stomach of the beast. And this motion is a beast by any measure. The spec sheet begins with 686 items and 55 jewels. Guide winding energizes a 48-hour energy reserve. Not solely is the motion a stem winder, however its title is a stemwinder: R TO 27 QR SID LU CL. In a nutshell, these are French-language abbreviations for the motion’s capabilities and its core diameter.
Motion ornament is world-class, however just like the tourbillon, it goes unseen by all however essentially the most certified Patek Philippe watchmakers. End is the best Patek can muster, and in contrast to workaday actions just like the 324, 215, and 240, the center of a 5002 are executed at a close to prototype stage of workmanship – not mass manufacturing. The wing-like metal steadiness bridge is rife with sharp inward angles and outward-beveled factors; its whole floor has been black polished. A 14-karat gold third wheel stands aside with its intricate end and flowing, natural spokes.
Longtime Patek Philippe tourbillon requirements akin to an overcoil hairspring and a Gyromax free-sprung steadiness are employed; they oscillate at 3Hz. Early examples of this motion included C.O.S.C. Swiss chronometer certifications and the Geneva hallmark. Actions constructed after roughly July 2009 featured the newer Patek Philippe seal whereas persevering with to satisfy or exceed the ISO 3159 customary governing C.O.S.C. certifications.
What number of 5002 Sky Moon Tourbillons had been constructed earlier than manufacturing led to 2012?
A theoretical manufacturing capability of ten per yr has been mooted amongst collectors. That wasn’t all the time achieved, and the watch’s manufacturing run straddles either side of the Nice Monetary Disaster. A quantity between 100 and 120 is a secure wager. Platinum seemingly is essentially the most quite a few of the variants, however whole manufacturing of any variant numbers only some dozen, and white gold seemingly quantities to single digits.
As a result of every 5002 was accessible solely upon utility and approval, the manufacturing course of was bespoke. Distinctive items exist. A handful might have been assembled even after the 2013 arrival of the substitute reference 6002.
The seek for a Patek Philippe 5002 begins with cash and ends with ardour. Shares, actual property, and sure courses of bond make extra sense from an funding standpoint. However in case you actually desire these to a Sky Moon, you wouldn’t have learn this far. Patek’s 5002 is a watch that evokes even essentially the most cold-hearted realists to see stars.
For extra data on the up to date Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon Reference 6002, please go to https://www.patek.com/en/assortment/grand-complications/6002R-001.
Fast info: Patek Philippe 5002 Sky Moon Tourbillon
Motion: hand wound mechanical motion
Caliber R TO 27 QR SID LU CL
Options: minute repeater with tourbillon escapement
Chimes: two cathedral gongs activated by slide on case band
Energy reserve: 38–48 hours
Entrance facet: perpetual calendar with retrograde date hand
Dial: Opaline-white dial with embossed Calatrava cross motif, gold utilized Roman numerals, 9 palms
Indications: hours and minutes of imply photo voltaic time; day, month, and intercalary year by palms; moon section
Crown: 4 o’clock for setting time and winding
Reverse facet: astronomical shows
Indications: sidereal time, sky chart, section and orbit of the moon
Crown: 8 o’clock (24-hour scale) for adjusting sky/moon indications
Case: humidity and dirt resistant (not waterproof), accessible in white gold, yellow gold or platinium
Case diameter: 42.8 mm
Notable: C.O.S.C. certificates, Geneva seal
Value at launch: 950,000 euros in gold
*Tim Mosso is media director and watch specialist at Watchbox.
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