Sky Moon Tourbillon is one of the most complicated watches from Patek Philippe with extraordinary mechanisms and features. It is going to be the most complex watch from Patek for years, thanks to its chiming complications and high parts count.
But this doesn’t mean Sky Moon is faulty technically. The watch was launched in 2001 and it’s celebrating its 21st anniversary this year with over twelve complications including a sidereal time display, repeater chiming, and perpetual calendar. The new Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon’s reference is 60002R-001 and a replacement for Patek predecessor 6002G-010
Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon Features
Even though the new Sky Moon Tourbillon replaces the other version it’s still the same as the outgoing version technically. The watch has a back and front display that gives you the pleasure to view its movement and terms of information at the back.
At the top side of the watch are the perpetual calendar indications with displays of the date, day, and retrograde month, a moon phase, and the civil time. The watch also has a signal showing the leap year cycle and displays astronomical complications at the back of the watch.
The back of the watch also displays the Northern Hemisphere’s night sky. The sky’s visible portion above the horizon is inside the oval part of the watch that also displays the compass points to orient you. The watch exhibits the moon phases and orbit and the two hands display the sidereal time.
Sidereal time signals are unavailable in most watch models as they are meaningless to ordinary watch lovers unless they are astronomers. They are also challenging to watchmakers as they have to calculate different trains for sidereal time and civil time.
What this means
We define the day by the amount of time the sun takes to get to a certain point in the sky. Based on the time of the year, the solar day length varies from the time displayed on the clock by convention and fifteen minutes also known as the Equation of Time, giving the day an average length of 24 hours. The local solar day is then applied as the civil time basis that’s the time used in different time zone locations.
On the other hand, sidereal time depends on the time a given star takes to get to the same spot in the sky that is different on each solar day. But as the earth rotates, it also moves beside its orbit. The sun is near the earth and takes a slight rotation to get back to its zenith. On the other hand, the stars are far from the sun and have negligible effects that shorten the sidereal day by four minutes. With this, Sky Moon Tourbillon watchmakers use the minute repeater to round out the complications traditionally by sliding the side of the case.
Comparing Features
The outgoing Sky Moon Tourbillon was white gold while the new version is rose gold but it duplicates the outgoing model’s engraving motifs. The new Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon has also been made with different enameling techniques. The moon phase aperture, dial periphery, and moon phase disks are made in a technique known as Champlevé, where metal is emptied and enamel is filled in it before firing. Cloisonné enamel is then used to decorate the dial’s inner part, a technique that entails shaping gold wires to different forms and filling enamels into the resulting cells.
The remaining engraving is an elaborate baroque of the outgoing Sky Moon Tourbillon that took Patek Philippe engravers over 100 hours to complete the engraving on the watch. Every surface’s complex articulation is more pronounced in the new Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon, thanks to the degree that the red gold emphasizes the details of the case and geometry compared to the outgoing white gold model.
What’s the Cost of Sky Moon Tourbillon?
If you are a watch enthusiast and want to own Patek Philippe’s timepiece, Sky Moon Tourbillon is here for you. Patek Philippe watches have unique features that are worth their price. You can purchase Sky Moon Tourbillon with reference number 5002 at around $1.2 million based on its case material. This Patek wristwatch exists in white gold, platinum, and rose gold.
The Sky Moon Tourbillon with reference number 6002 costs over $2.75 million. It’s engraved in a blue or black dial, with a gold case and matching straps. For the past years, the price of Sky Moon Tourbillon has risen significantly by thousands of dollars.