What is the Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon? An ultra-luxury model and its features

The Sky Moon Tourbillon is one of Patek Philippe's most expensive watches. Equipped with numerous complicated mechanisms, it is also decorated with intricate and elegant engravings that could be considered a work of art. Let's take a look at the charm of the Sky Moon Tourbillon.

What is the Sky Moon Tourbillon?

What kind of watch is the Sky Moon Tourbillon, which is said to be an artistic sculpture and is equipped with 12 different complicated mechanisms? We will introduce its overview and price.

Patek Philippe's most complicated watch

The Sky Moon Tourbillon is a model equipped with a total of 12 complicated mechanisms, including the three major complications: perpetual calendar, minute repeater, and tourbillon. It is Patek Philippe's first double-faced watch, and can be switched to display a chart of the celestial constellations.

Even among Patek Philippe, one of the world's finest watch brands, this is one of the most complex watches, making it a truly supreme, ultra-luxury watch that can be described as a work of art.

Prices are in the hundreds of millions

The Sky Moon Tourbillon with reference number 6002 in white gold is the most expensive, costing approximately 160 million yen.

Compared to some previous models, the most expensive white gold case features a subtle engraving, and the strap and dial are available in two colors: black and blue (the latter is currently discontinued).

Features of the Sky Moon Tourbillon

The Sky Moon Tourbillon, valued at over a billion yen, is not just attractive for its complex mechanism. The entire case is intricately engraved, and every detail is top-notch.

Top-notch technology

Generally, even if a watch is equipped with just one of the three major complicated mechanisms, the price can reach several million to tens of millions of yen, but the Sky Moon Tourbillon is equipped with a total of 12 complicated mechanisms.

This is Patek Philippe's first double-faced watch with a dial on both the front and back. The front displays mean solar time (normal time), a retrograde date display hand perpetual calendar, day of the week, month, leap year display in apertures, and moon phase. The back displays sidereal time, a star chart, lunar orbit, and moon phase.

Exquisite decoration

The minute engraving on the Sky Moon Tourbillon took over 100 hours of work, and the slide that controls the minute repeater and the two crowns were also artistically engraved by hand.

The dial on the surface is decorated with champlevé and cloisonné enamel. Both are Western cloisonné techniques. Champlevé is a technique in which depressions carved into a metal base are filled with enamel. Cloisonné is a technique in which metal wire is attached to the metal base and the frame is filled with enamel. Both are elaborate techniques that require great skill.

The case is also special

The Sky Moon Tourbillon also comes in a special presentation box, meticulously crafted by top craftsmen.

The material used is extremely high-quality polished wood, and all of the metal fittings used on the presentation box are 18-karat gold with an engraved finish.

The box is elegantly affixed with hand-engraved plaques reading "Sky Moon Tourbillon" and "Patek Philippe," and the sight of the watch nestled in the center of the box is truly a work of art.

Currently, there is only one model

The Sky Moon Tourbillon has only been available in two models so far, including the original model and the current model. We will explain the features of each.

Reference number 5002

The first model of the Sky Moon Tourbillon was released in 2001. At the time, it was released as the watch with the most complicated mechanisms in the world, with a total of 686 parts.

It is also worth noting that this is the first time that a minute repeater wristwatch has used a cathedral gong, which is nearly twice as long as a conventional gong and produces a rich, powerful sound.

When you move the slide piece on the side of the case at 9 o'clock, a combination of two gongs will sound to tell you the current time, in that order: hour, quarter (15 minutes), and fractional minutes.

Reference number 6002

The current model was released in 2016 as an improved version of the first model. The biggest change from the 5002 is the decoration of the case and dial.

The 18K white gold case is meticulously hand-engraved, and the dial is decorated with black cloisonné and champlevé enamel.

In terms of design, the inset perpetual calendar has been replaced with a small window, and the display at 6 o'clock has been changed from the age of the moon to the moon phase.

An ultra-luxury model that you'll want to own at least once

The Sky Moon Tourbillon is an ultra-luxury watch priced at over 100 million yen. Equipped with a total of 12 complicated mechanisms, it is the most complex watch ever made by Patek Philippe.

The intricately hand-carved decorations are also outstanding, making this a watch that can truly be described as an "artistic sculpture worn on the wrist."