 |
PM |  | |
Quote | | |
Reply | | |
Full Topic | |
| Joined: | Fri Aug 31st, 2007 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 126 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
Patek's Sky Moon Tourbillon
Introduced in 2002, Patek Philippe's super complicated Sky Moon Tourbillon (PP5002) was built on the foundation of the millennium year's incredible Star Caliber pocket watch. Demonstrating the commitment of Patek Phillipe t to advancing the technical art of watch making, and priced at around $570,000, the Sky Moon Tourbillon was named by the Robb Report as the "Best of the Best Watches 2002". The first American owner of the 5002, a collector with over 100 Patek watches, arranged to have it wound every day, recognizing that if the watch stopped, the task of resetting 12 individual complications would be both tedious and time consuming. But what about travel? The watch is normally kept in his safe and only he and his wife have the combination ,not something to share with their household staff. The owner contacted Patek Philippe only to learn that no manual winder was available from PP that would keep their watches wound.
However, he did learn that many PP watch owners, having the same need to keep their hand wound Perpetual Calendar watches running, already were employing ORBITA's Sempre winder. The patented Sempre winder had previously been tested by Patek Philippe and found to be quite suitable for the job. However, for the #5002, this was new and previously unexplored territory. Unlike the PP #5016 Perpetual Calendar and other complicated hand wound Patek watches, the PP #5002 has the winding crown positioned not at 3 o'clock but at the 4 o'clock position instead. Patek did not think the standard Sempre could do the job given this unusual crown location, and in fact, they were correct. However, the owner was not satisfied with that kind of answer. Himself a successful entrepreneur, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He contacted ORBITA's President directly and explained the problem.
He challenged ORBITA to solve the problem. "No problem, we can do it" was the reply from Chuck Agnoff. He immediately began to design a special mount that would accommodate the massive #5002 case (see sketch). Using the watch dimensions which were supplied by the owner, ORBITA first built a wooden replica of the watch to test the fit and mounting position. He sent it back and forth a couple of times to the owner to be sure to "get the fit right". On the first try, the modified Sempre winder operated perfectly and it is now keeping the owner's Sky Moon Tourbillon fully wound every day, without any need for hand winding or adjustment. ORBITA welcomes the opportunity to solve new winding challenges, and inquiries from watch collectors with unusual watches are gladly received.
Sempre W31001 Pictures
Price - $1,420 - $1,720