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Lot Essay
The present reference 5002P represents the rare opportunity for the aficionado of rare timepieces to become the proud owner of one of the most iconic and ground-breaking landmark models of Patek Philippe's modern production.
Produced from 2001 to 2011 with an extremely rarefied output of only around 10 watches per year, reference 5002 is doubtlessly one of the most important wristwatches of our time. It is believed that only 40 pieces were produced in platinum from which 17 are known from the market.
Reference 5002 Sky Moon Tourbillon
At its launch in 2001, it was Patek Philippe’s most complicated wristwatch ever and the firm’s first model incorporating a double dial. Inspired by the “Star Calibre 2000” which features a complex sky-chart, Patek Philippe succeeded in miniaturizing the model to wristwatch size. Its 686 components add up to a unique combination of high complications, including a tourbillon adjusted to run within a high precision rate of -2/+1 seconds maximum daily variation.
This double-dialed mechanical wonder incorporates on one side a retrograde perpetual calendar with moon phase indication, on the other a celestial chart of the northern hemisphere; a horizon ellipse for a particular location, indications for the meridian passage of Sirius (chosen because it is the brightest star in the night sky, at magnitude -1.46 –nearly twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star), age and angular motion of the moon and sidereal time. Sidereal, or “star” time, is based on the amount of time it takes for a given star to return to a given point in the sky. This is in turn determined by the amount of time it takes for the Earth to make one full rotation on its axis.
The transparent crystal disk on the back of the Sky Moon Tourbillon rotates once per sidereal day, also the amount of time which is the basis for the sidereal time display. The meridian passage of Sirius is shown as well, the disk is driven by means of teeth on its circumference, concealed from view by the bezel, comparable to the mechanism of “mystery” clocks.
Its "cathedral" minute repeating mechanism, another premiere, was developed by Patek Philippe in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. The new steel alloy and the extended lengths of the gongs generate a long and harmonious repeating sound.
The case is finely engraved with the "Calatrava cross" pattern, and so is the main dial: this is the first appearance in Patek Philippe’s catalogue of a timepiece with finely engraved case and dial, a trend which the manufacturer now applies to a number of its high end wristwatches, most notably the recent celebratory Grand Master Chime.
Produced from 2001 to 2011 with an extremely rarefied output of only around 10 watches per year, reference 5002 is doubtlessly one of the most important wristwatches of our time. It is believed that only 40 pieces were produced in platinum from which 17 are known from the market.
Reference 5002 Sky Moon Tourbillon
At its launch in 2001, it was Patek Philippe’s most complicated wristwatch ever and the firm’s first model incorporating a double dial. Inspired by the “Star Calibre 2000” which features a complex sky-chart, Patek Philippe succeeded in miniaturizing the model to wristwatch size. Its 686 components add up to a unique combination of high complications, including a tourbillon adjusted to run within a high precision rate of -2/+1 seconds maximum daily variation.
This double-dialed mechanical wonder incorporates on one side a retrograde perpetual calendar with moon phase indication, on the other a celestial chart of the northern hemisphere; a horizon ellipse for a particular location, indications for the meridian passage of Sirius (chosen because it is the brightest star in the night sky, at magnitude -1.46 –nearly twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star), age and angular motion of the moon and sidereal time. Sidereal, or “star” time, is based on the amount of time it takes for a given star to return to a given point in the sky. This is in turn determined by the amount of time it takes for the Earth to make one full rotation on its axis.
The transparent crystal disk on the back of the Sky Moon Tourbillon rotates once per sidereal day, also the amount of time which is the basis for the sidereal time display. The meridian passage of Sirius is shown as well, the disk is driven by means of teeth on its circumference, concealed from view by the bezel, comparable to the mechanism of “mystery” clocks.
Its "cathedral" minute repeating mechanism, another premiere, was developed by Patek Philippe in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. The new steel alloy and the extended lengths of the gongs generate a long and harmonious repeating sound.
The case is finely engraved with the "Calatrava cross" pattern, and so is the main dial: this is the first appearance in Patek Philippe’s catalogue of a timepiece with finely engraved case and dial, a trend which the manufacturer now applies to a number of its high end wristwatches, most notably the recent celebratory Grand Master Chime.