Patek Philippe, The Calibre 89. Estimate $6,500,000–10,000,000. To be offered in Important Watches on 14 May in Geneva.
1. Retrograde Date
In a break from traditional circular indications, an arc from ten o’clock to two o’clock displays the date based on a cycle of 400 years, which will require no adjustment until the 28th century.
2. Leap Year Cycle
To the right of the aperture for the current year is a smaller one for the year’s place in the leap cycle. The number four marks a leap year, a function that separates watches with a perpetual calendar from those with an annual calendar.
3. Easter Sunday
As the first watch in history to indicate the moveable feast of Easter, the Calibre 89 follows an arc from 22 March to 25 April on the sidereal dial. A special cam dictating forthcoming Easters must be replaced every 30 years.
4. Celestial Chart
The watch shows the Milky Way and 2,800 Northern Hemisphere stars as seen from Geneva. They appear on a sapphire crystal disc revolving in an aperture within the sidereal dial that is true to real time.
5. The Sun Hand
The astronomical sun hand makes one annual rotation around the sidereal dial. This hand indicates the equinox, solstice, date, corresponding zodiac sign and season every year, without fail or mistake.
Swiss watch manufacturer Patek Philippe left nothing to chance: the firm planned its most extraordinary timepiece well in advance of 1989, the year of its 150th jubilee anniversary. With just four examples made, the Calibre 89 became the world’s most complex mechanical watch for more than a quarter century, and it remains unequalled in haute horlogerie to this day. Incorporating an enormous 33 complications with 24 hands among 1,728 components, this open-faced astronomical and astrological pocket watch is astoundingly elegant despite its imposing size and weight. Be sure not to miss the opportunity to secure this rarity for your own pocket.
Important Watches
14 May | Geneva
Patek Philippe, The Calibre 89. Estimate $6,500,000–10,000,000.