Start Caliber 2000

Star Caliber 2000

1,118 parts contained within a space of 7 centimetres by 3: these figures give the measure of this original timepiece. One man working alone to produce the Star Caliber 2000 would have had to devote 18 years of his life to it, the sum obtained by adding up the hours spent by each person involved in this fabulous project. An insane gamble that will have involved almost the entire workforce at Patek Philippe from its engineers to its watchmakers and including, in particular, its mechanical engineers. 

The idea of creating the Star Caliber 2000 came about in 1993. To mark the turn of the century, the Genevan manufactury wanted to produce a timepiece that brought together not only the finest known complications honed to perfection - in homage to the past - but also wholly innovative mechanisms. 

Six patents

Patents have been filed for these six new mechanisms. They relate to the chime, the running equation of time, the rapid date correction, the sunrise-sunset system, the sky-moon system and finally, the opening of the covers. 

The first of these is the Westminster chime on five gongs, the beating heart of the Star Caliber 2000. For the first time, a pocket watch is able to perfectly and completely reproduce the tune of Big Ben at the Houses of Parliament in London. The passing strike mechanism hits the quarters with four hammers on four gongs; on the hour, a fifth hammer sounds the time on a fifth gong. In addition to the chime, a minute repeater mechanism indicates, on demand, the number of minutes which have elapsed since the last quarter, thereby sounding the quarters, followed by the minutes and then the hours, an original sequence for a minute repeater watch. 

Another mechanism relates to the running equation of time. It gives a direct reading of true solar time by means of a sun-shaped hand and the difference between it and the mean time indicated by the minute hand. What is more, the Star Caliber has a rapid date corrector slide which makes the watch easily adjustable by its owner. 

Simplification, innovation and synchronisation of the various components are the catchwords for the Star Caliber 2000 as borne out by the sunrise and sunset mechanism and the perpetual calendar. Equally novel is the mechanism activating the sky and moon discs, which has led to the testing of new manufacturing processes. Finally, the ultimate in spectacular innovation, a clever device allows the covers to be opened by the push-button in the crown and rotation of the pendant. 

These six patented mechanisms show how the Star Caliber 2000 is in a league of its own, an experimental arena which propels traditional watchmaking into the 21st century. A true showcase for the Patek Philippe manufactury, this masterpiece in yellow gold comes in a precious box with three sister pieces in rose gold, grey gold and platinum. Five sets of four timepieces are for sale, the latter made exclusively in platinum with four different decorations for the background according to each customer's taste. Customers can also choose their own starlit sky depending on their place of observation. So get your telescopes out, you lucky collectors! 

 

Ultra-complicated watches 

Thanks to its performance, the Star Caliber 2000 ranks foremost among the world's most complicated watches. In 1989, the year of its 150th anniversary, Patek Philippe accomplished a great feat by introducing the Calibre 89, the most complex pocket watch ever produced with 33 complications. This put an end to a polemic which, since 1986, had divided two camps unable to agree on who should be awarded first place in the honours list of most complicated watches. Pitted against one another were the champions of the Leroy 01 watch, completed in 1904, and the defenders of the Patek Philippe Graves watch, delivered in 1933. If the non-horological functions are discounted, the Leroy 01 watch accounts for “only” 20 complications against 24 for the Graves watch. Thus, with its 21 complications, the Star Calibre 2000 comes third in the rankings. Patek Philippe can therefore pride itself on having produced the three most complex watches of all time. For a final verdict, a panel of “wise men” drawn from the profession ought to meet to agree on the definition of the word “complication”. The Star Caliber 2000, a new milestone in the history of watchmaking, is too rare an occasion to dwell on the issue. 

In 1876, an ultra-complicated watch was made for Count Nicolas Nostitz of Moscow and was greatly admired at the Paris Universal Exhibition (1878). It consisted of 11 mechanical complications as listed here:

1) Day display calendar; 2) Date display calendar; 3) Month and leap year display calendar; 4) Phases and age of the Moon; 5) Independent split-seconds hand; 6) Hour counter; 7) Minutes counter; 8) Jumping seconds (foudroyante); 9) Hour, quarter and minute repeater; 10) Longitudes of the main cities in Europe and Asia; 11) Longitudes of the main cities in Europe and America, visible on a replacement dial.

When Count Nicolas Nostitz died, this beautiful watch was inherited by his brother General Count Nostitz who sold it, in 1896, to Mr A.-A. of C.M., a great horology enthusiast and owner of one of the biggest watch collections in existence. A discerning amateur, Mr A.-A. of C. M. much admired this unique watch and had it embellished by us in Paris with a decoration based on records kept by Etienne Delosne, the celebrated Renaissance ornamentalist.

This watch lacked some really interesting complications such as the grande sonnerie (full strike) mechanism and the equation of time; the grande sonnerie which rings each quarter of an hour and the equation which indicates the difference between mean time and solar time at any time of the year. Mr A.-A. of C.M. therefore expressed his disappointment at possessing an object which, though unique, was still very incomplete and submitted to us his design for another watch which would bring together in one portable package everything achievable to date in science and mechanics.

We studied his plan with great care. It was so complex that we first needed to discard complications that were likely to harm the ones that we absolutely had to introduce. Eclipses, tides, jumping seconds were all rejected as impracticable. We devoted all our attention instead to the sidereal movement which was to bring to life a pretty star-spangled blue sky as the centrepiece of our watch. This, we thought, was a genuine novelty in watchmaking - and these are rare! - What has not been done since the 16th century? We also wanted the sky side to be decorative. It seemed to us that a 24-hour circle representing the earth's diurnal rotation around the sun which appears before each terrestrial meridian once every 24 hours would make our dial interesting and decorative.

The general plan was finally submitted to Mr A.-A. of C.M. who approved it while expressing his disappointment to see some important complications eliminated. The decision to go ahead with the ultra-complicated watch (which was later given the custom-built number 01) was taken in January 1897. We had to introduce the following complications:

1) Day display calendar; 2) Date display calendar; 3) Perpetual calendar displaying months and leap years; 4) Date for 100 years; 5) Phases and age of the moon; 6) Seasons, solstices, equinoxes; 7) Equation of time; 8) Chronograph; 9) Minute counter with reset to zero; 10) Hour counter; 11) Spring development; 12) Grande sonnerie (full strike) mechanism, petite sonnerie (quarter strike) mechanism, mute; 13) Hour, quarter and minute repeater, with silent gears chiming on 3 gongs; 14) Sky map of the northern hemisphere at the time of day indicated by the date (the sky is animated by sidereal time, i.e. running faster than mean time by 3 minutes 56 seconds each day; A sky and horizon for Paris, with 236 stars; a sky and horizon for Lisbon, with 560 stars; 15) Sky map of the southern hemisphere (using a replacement mechanism animating the sky by a west to east rotation movement); A sky and horizon for Rio de Janeiro, 611 stars. 16) Time of 125 cities in the world; 17) Sunrise time for Lisbon; 18) Sunset time for Lisbon; 19) Metal centigrade thermometer; 20) Hair hygrometer; 21) Barometer; 22) Altimeter up to 5,000 metres; 23) Regulator device to adjust the timing without opening the watch; 24) Compass; 25) On the case, the 12 signs of the zodiac.

It was with some trepidation that we undertook such an onerous task; we were embarking on a rash endeavour. For it to be successful, we had to rely on the moral and pecuniary support of our client. What disappointments would lie in store for us! How many jolts and setbacks would we face when tackling each of these delicate complications! We had every reason to trust the valuable and reassuring support of Mr A.-A. de C.M.; at no time did he let us down.

While working to complete the task, we would put our thoughts to him and would always receive feedback that was so precise and clearly expressed that nothing could escape our attention. At the Universal Exhibition of 1900, we were able to submit to the International Awards Jury the most complicated watch ever made! It caused widespread astonishment on account of its mechanism, the accuracy of its functions and its flawless craftsmanship. We can state, without exaggeration, that it was largely due to this work that we received the Grand Prix award.

Nevertheless our marvel was not yet finished; just assembled. All its parts had to be completed, all its functions checked and, finally, its case finished to the taste of its future owner. This part of the work was lengthy and arduous. We could no longer rely on just ourselves at this stage. We had to act as a link between Mr L. Manini, the artist commissioned by Mr A.-A. of C. M. to produce the original design, and another artist commissioned to execute it in Paris; each with a very different intuition about the work. The extensive gold relief carving on the case, varying widely in thickness from 0.50 mm in the hollows to 3.50 mm at the point in relief, was masterfully executed by our own carving artist Mr Burdin.