Complicated watchmaking is the supreme test of the designer’s expertise and watchmakers’ skill. Patek Philippe masters all horological complications and has built the world’s most complicated portable timepieces in the past century. In each watch many lifetimes of artistry and skill are captured to produce an object of timeless worth.During the 174 years since it was founded, Patek Philippe has demonstrated its expertise in the entire spectrum of horological complications. Impressive manifestations of this competence include the Calibre 89 presented in 1989. With 33 complications, it holds the world record as the most complicated portable mechanical watch.
Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon showcases two artisanal skills: the art of the engraver and that of the enameler. Since the advent of Geneva’s watchmaking heritage in the late 16th century, both of these crafts have been inseparably allied with watchmaking.The Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon Ref. 6002 unites the two dimensions with incomparable poise: the precision of a tourbillon timekeeping instrument with the rate accuracy of a chronometer and the immaculate decorations that reflect the finest artisanal traditions of Geneva.Making the body that will hold a watch, and crafting the bracelet that will keep it in place, are as important at Patek Philippe as the movement itself. Crafting a case is extremely intricate work requiring the work of about 20 specialists performing around 50 operations.
The Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon Ref. 6002 for men and women unites two dimensions with incomparable poise: the precision of a tourbillon timekeeping instrument with the rate accuracy of a chronometer and the immaculate decorations that reflect the finest artisanal traditions of Geneva.
Features:
Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillobfeatures 12 complications and two dials. They each possess a minute repeater with two cathedral gongs and a tourbillon; on the front dial, they both indicate standard time and feature a perpetual calendar with a retrograde date and a moonphase display. The rear dials set the stage for astronomical functions: they show the northern sky, sidereal time, and the angular progression and phases of the moon.Unlike the Ref. 5002, it indicates the moon phases instead of the moon age and features apertures instead of hands for the day of the week, month, and leap year displays.
The Front Dial:
The dial is crafted from a thin disk in gold that is milled out until the crisp railway track scale, the surrounds of the dial center, calendar apertures, and moon-phase display stand out in relief. This is followed by the work of the specialized champlevé enameler who fills the recesses around the relief contours with molten enamel by hand. The viscous mixture of vitreous powder, metal oxides for color, and oil is applied with an ultra-fine brush. Even the smallest bounded recesses are carefully filled with enamel. When all recesses have been uniformly filled, the miniature oeuvre is fired in the oven at 850° Celsius.
The small lunar disk is another fine example of champlevé: the circumference of the moon is elaborated in relief and enclosed with blue enamel. The cratered landscape of the moon’s surface is emulated with gradations of white, gray, and black enamel. This represents a huge effort for a single dial element, but it certainly ranks among the most poetic complications imaginable.
The Back Dial:
In the rear you will find an illustration of the northern sky that is adorned with a sidereal time display and an indication for both the angular progression and the phases of the moon.The back dial of the Sky Moon Tourbillon Ref. 6002 presents a highly unusual spectacle on its rear dial. The night sky of the northern hemisphere rotates beneath a sapphire-crystal glass, depicting the angular motion of the stars and of the moon, the meridian passages of Sirius and of the moon, and the waxing and waning moon phases. Additionally, two hands from the center indicate sidereal time on a 24-hour scale.These fascinating functions are handled by a highly unique, patented mechanical module.
The Case:
The case of the Ref. 6002 is a superb oeuvre carved from the massive white-gold blank entirely by hand. The eloquent ornaments, arabesque garlands, and gently curved elements of the Calatrava cross are produced with chip removal techniques using sharp burins that not only incise the precious metal but actually “lift” the decorations out of the gold surface.The case is executed in 18k white gold and measures 43.5 x 18mm, which is large but understandable given the movement within.
More than one hundred hours of work are invested until the engraving alone meets the approval of the master artisans. With the same precision and artistry, the engraver uses relief techniques to decorate the minute- repeater slide in the case flank, the two crowns, and the white-gold clasp that locks the strap. The ornaments of the two crowns are as informative as they are decorative: The dynamometric winding crown at 4 o’clock shows an arrow in relief to indicate the direction of rotation, while the moon and stars in relief on the crown at 2 o’clock reveal that it is intended to adjust sidereal time and the celestial functions on the rear dial of the watch.
Most Complex Masterpiece:
In horological terms, the Ref. 6002 distinguishes itself only marginally from its predecessor. Even though the caliber RTO 27 QR SID LU CL is the Genevan manufacture’s most complicated wristwatch movement, its concept is to unite not as many as possible, but the most fascinating complications in the compact case of a wristwatch: a perpetual calendar with a retrograde date display, a minute repeater, a tourbillon, the display of sidereal time and a depiction of the nocturnal sky with the motion of the stars, the angular progression of the moon, and the moon phases.
Price:
Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon men and women watch is a beauty beyond words. It will sweep away your mind not just in terms of its super complicated features and spellbound looks, but also by money. This astonishingly beautiful masterpiece is of around Rs. 8,75,10,000 approximately will make you go weak in your knees. Not a watch that everyone can afford, but definitely a watch worth seeing once in your lifetime.
Technical Data:
- Mechanical manually wound movement
- Caliber R TO 27 QR SID LU CL
- Reference 6002 Sky Moon Tourbillon
- Double-faced wristwatch
- Minute repeater
- Chime with two “cathedral” gongs activated by a slide piece in the case
- Tourbillon
- Front side: Perpetual calendar with retrograde date hand
- Hours and minutes of mean solar time
- Day, month, leap year in apertures
- Moon phases
- Dial with black enamel in champlevé and cloisonné, gold applied Roman numerals
- Reverse side: sidereal time, sky chart, phases and orbit of the moon
- 18K gold dial plate
- Case, crowns, slide piece, hands and lugs entirely hand-engraved
- Alligator strap with square scales, hand-stitched, shiny black, hand-engraved fold-over clasp
- Hand-engraved and lacquered fold-over clasp
- Case is humidity and dust protected only (not water resistant)
- White gold
- Case diameter: 44 mm
Conclusion:
The 6002 truly combines the best of all artistic worlds: housed in an elaborate 18-karat white gold case, it can be fittingly said that it resembles a sculpture rather than an engraved case. Despite the amount of complication housed within, this men and women watch remains wearable and defines an all new level of style, class and unmatched status.Patek Philippe has always produced complicated watches that are definitely not affordable by general public but definitely has all the features that would make the wearer the talk of the town kind of personality.With this Sky-Moon mechanism, Patek Philippe has achieved a nearly incredible degree of precision in the astronomical depiction of the heavenly canopy.
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