Important Collectors' Wristwatches, P...

New York, Dec 09, 2009

LOT 132

Yellow Gold Ref. 5102, The Celestial Wristwatch Patek Philippe, Genève, The Celestial Wristwatch, No. 3580014, case No. 4439570, Ref. 5102J. Made in 2008, sold on December 24th, 2008. Extremely fine, rare and unusual, astronomic, self-winding, 18K yellow gold wristwatch with mean time indication, nocturnal sky chart of the Northern Hemisphere, moon phases and moon orbit, time of the meridian passage of Sirius and moon with an 18K yellow gold Patek Philippe buckle. Accompanied by the original fitted box, Certificate of Origin and a leather folder with technical and instruction information.

USD 180,000 - 230,000

CHF 180,000 - 230,000 / EUR 120,000 - 155,000

Sold: USD 204,000

C. Three-body, solid, polished, stepped bezel, case band embossed with Calatrava pattern, concave lugs with screwed-bars, transparent screw-down case back, sapphire crystals. The crown at 2 adjusts the time and to wind the watch, the one at 4 adjusts the sky, lunar orbit and moon phases. D. Blue sky chart with gold star constellations and North/South/East/West divisions, made from 3 superimposed sapphire crystal disks, outer divisions to adjust moon phases and sky, outermost Roman hour graduations, aperture for the moon phases. White skeletonized feuille hands. M. Cal. 240/165, stamped with the Seal of Geneva quality mark, rhodium-plated, fausses cotes decoration, 45 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, Gyromax balance adjusted to heat, cold, isochronism and 5 positions, shock absorber, self-compensating free-sprung flat balance spring, 22K yellow gold micro-rotor. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 43 mm. Thickness 10 mm.


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Case: 1

As new
Movement: 1

As new
Dial: 1-01

As new

HANDS Original

Notes

The ?Celestial Wristwatch The ?Celestial? was introduced at the Basel Fair in 2002. Two years earlier, the ?Star Caliber 2000? had made headlines as one of the most complicated pocket watches ever produced, featuring exact configurations of the nocturnal skies with its star movements, moon position and progressing phases within the lunar cycle. This watch followed in the footsteps of earlier and famous supercomplicated Patek Philippe watches such as the ?Duke of Regla? (1909), the ?Graves Super-Complication? (1933) and the ?Calibre 89? (1989). In April 2001 Patek Philippe had unveiled the ?Sky Moon Tourbillon?, a ?Grand Complication? wristwatch capable of displaying celestial motions with incredible accuracy. Benefiting from Patek? s great experience in astronomy, mathematics and microengineering, the watch incorporated further miniaturized astronomical functions, combining them with a tourbillon regulator and a minute repeater with long circumference ?cathedral? gongs, which utilized a special steel alloy to surpass any other chime in a wristwatch. The ?Sky Moon? was the most complicated Patek Philippe wristwatch. The ?Celestial? wristwatch displays the night sky of the Northern Hemisphere by utilizing 3 superimposed sapphire disks, which rotate at different speeds in order to show the angular motions of the stars and the moon as well as the moon phase progressions. The disks are covered by the front sapphire crystal with its inner ellipse, framing the visible portion of the skies above Geneva and other cities sharing the same latitude. The rotation speed of each disk required a certain transmission ratio in order to assure the greatest accuracy of all astronomical indications.