Founded in 1839, Patek Philippe is the last privately owned independent Geneva watch manufacturer and one of the largest traditional watchmaking companies in the world.
Relying on its extraordinary experience, Patek Philippe has cultivated a tradition of innovation crowned by an impressive portfolio of more than 80 patents. In creating its classically elegant watches, the company relies on latest-generation technology combined with ancestral watchmaking know-how. As Philippe Stern, President of the company confirms, “As an independent company, Patek Philippe enjoys total creative freedom to design, produce and complete what experts agree to be probably the finest timepieces in the world.”
On October 5, 2000, Patek Philippe unveiled the Star Caliber 2000, one of the most complicated pocket watches of all time, with an intriguing suite of astronomical indications. It was the first timepiece
ever to present the exact configuration of the nocturnal sky with the apparent movement of the stars, the position of the moon, and its progressing phases within a lunar cycle.
Six months later, the company’s engineers and watchmakers introduced the “Sky Moon Tourbillon” – a wristwatch-sized ‘grande complication’ for which the astronomical functions had to be further miniaturized and integrated on the reverse side of the timepiece. In
2002, the heavenly canopy was viewable on the dial side of the self-winding Celestial Ref 5102. This year, for Only Watch 2009, Patek
Philippe created an exclusive new Celestial model Ref 5106 with astronomical indication on the dial side (as the previous model Ref
5102) and the addition of the date indication.
The unique Only Watch 2009 Patek Philippe Ref 5106: Celestial model in rose gold with date indication and exclusive guilloché pattern Patek Philippe’s Ref 5106 Celestial selfwinding wristwatch features a large-format sky chart that indicates the nocturnal sky for
the northern hemisphere which rotates counter clockwise on its dial showing the angular progression of the stars relative to the meridian
passage of Sirius. At the same time, the display shows the angular position of the moon, its phases and meridian passage. The
new exclusive model offers the useful addition of the date indication and an exclusive guilloché pattern on the bezel.
“We decided to create this unique watch for Only Watch 09,” says Thierry Stern, Vice President, Patek Philippe, “because astronomical
indication watches remain among the rarest type of complications and are also one of the most intriguing ones. The sky and stars
are a source of dreams and hope, hope for the better as made possible by the organization of Only Watch.”
“What first impresses you when you look at the watch, (other than its beauty),” says Sandrine Stern, Head of Creation at Patek
Philippe, “is the luminosity and depth of the astronomical dial. It features hour, minute leaf-shaped openwork rose gold hands and a
polished rose gold calendar hand with a halfmoon sandblasted shaped tip to indicate the date on the perimeter of the dial. In addition to the date indication, it features the four points of the compass – north, south, east and west, and ‘PATEK PHILIPPE GENEVE’.”
The watch itself is in rose gold, the bezel in 22k rose gold, and the middle part of the watchcase and the back of the case in 18k
rose gold. You may ask, “Why 22k?” The choice of 22k rose gold is due to the intricate and exclusive decoration on the bezel since
22k is much softer than 18k and so allowing the delicate decoration using a special hand guilloché tool made just for this watch.
The complex astronomical displays rely on a system of stacked sapphire crystal discs which rotate at different speeds and create a
mesmerizing impression of depth. The celestial background is a blue sapphire crystal disc on a wheel with 279 teeth. This disc reproduces
the orbit of the moon. Via a planetary gear train, it also drives a subsidiary sapphire crystal disc depicting the waxing and waning
of the moon in a small round aperture. Above it, on a wheel with 356 teeth, is a transparent sapphire crystal disc which bears the sky
chart on one side and an image of the Milky Way galaxy on the other. These three discs are protected by the sapphire crystal glass with an ellipse on the inside that frames the portion of the sky visible above Geneva. For this invention, Patek Philippe was awarded Swiss Patent CH 688 171 B5.
The movement of the Celestial is a masterpiece of precision mechanical engineering, composed of 315 individual parts that are
painstakingly finished by hand. The edges of all steel components are beveled and polished and each tooth of each and every gear
wheel is manually polished with a rotating hardwood disc. This degree of perfectionism reduces friction at the wheel contact points
and contributes significantly to the high level of precision and longevity for which Patek Philippe watches have earned a reputation.
The self-winding watch draws its power from a mini-rotor recessed off-center in the movement. Even slight movements of the wrist are
sufficient to supply the necessary winding energy, because the rotor is crafted from heavy 22k gold. For this reason, the movement is only 6.26 millimeters high, despite its complexity.
The case, too, is remarkably slim. Both the sapphire over the dial and the sapphire of the exhibition back of the case are anti-reflect treated to allow you to clearly see the astronomic indications and the oscillating mass that is engraved on the outer edge: “to Paul” – a very discreet engraving. This is the very first time that Patek Philippe has added a date to the Celestial wristwatch.
Technical details
The Unique Patek Philippe Only Watch 09
Ref 5106 Celestial with date indication
Movement: 240 LU CL C
Indications: Hours and minutes of local time (mean solar time), sky chart, time of meridian passage of Sirius, time of meridian passage of moon, lunar orbit, moon phase and date on perimeter of dial
Dimension: 38 mm
Thickness: 6.81 mm
Number of jewels: 45
Number of parts: 315
Winding rotor: 22k gold minirotor, unidirectional winding
Balance: Gyromax
Power reserve: Approx. 48 hours
Case: 18K rose gold for the case and 22k rose gold for the bezel
Dimension: 44.2 mm
Thickness: 11.15 mm
Water-resistant: 30 m
Dial: Three metalized sapphire crystaldiscs Sapphire crystal glass with 31 metalized Arabic numerals as well as ellipse framing the portion of the sky visible from Geneva
Hands: Hours and minutes skeletonized white-lacquered gold feuille hands 18k polished rose gold calendar hand with half-moon sandblasted shaped tip
Strap: Dark blue hand-stitched crocodileleather
Clasp: 18 mm prong buckle, 18k rose gold
Christie’s in Hong Kong is currently gearing up for their auction of Important Watches including The Millennium Collection, following their triumph in Geneva a few weeks back with the second highest price ever paid for a wristwatch at auction.
New York–Patek Philippe’s Ref. 3974 has set a new world record for a timepiece sold at auction, selling for $1.2 million at Antiquorum’s Dec. 9 sale. 
To celebrate the opening of its new Art Deco salon at n°10 de la place Vendôme, Patek Philippe unveiled a lovely new timepiece called the “First Ladies Chronograph”, Ref. 70171 R.
A Patek Philippe Yellow Gold Calibre 89 pocket watch, the world’s most complex timepiece as mentioned by my colleague Ariel Adams last month, just sold for a world record price of CHF 5,120,000, or $5.068 million at Antiquorum’s 35th Anniversary Sale in Geneva. 
For its first European tour in Milan from 1 to 4 July 2009, the exhibition 
Antiquorum concluded its 2009 auction in Hong Kong with an outstanding total of HKD 45,453,120 (CHF 6,397,981 or $5.8 million). Of the 479 lots that were offered for sale in the auction, 82% were sold representing 115% of the estimated value. There was standing room only at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel with over 250 internet bidders from over 40 countries around the world.
Brad Pitt’s unique taste in watches is quite exciting. It starts with a Patek Philippe Nautilus Watch in which is he is seen wearing here.
