For the first time ever, a full four-metal set of Patek Philippe’s Star Caliber-2000 watches will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s auction in Abu Dhabi in three months from now. The ensemble will probably fetch over $10.5 million, thus, making it one of the most luxurious watch sales in history! Besides the Patek Philippe set, the Collectors’ Week sale in Abu Dhabi will also showcase a brand-new Rolex “Oyster Albino” Daytona, which costs between $510,000 and $1.1 million.
The Star Caliber-2000 was Patek Philippe’s most remarkable engineering feat as of the start of this century. In terms of technical precision, it came second only to the Patek Caliber-89, Patek’s Henry Graves Super Complication, and L. Leroy-01. These were the most intricate pieces of the time, with 1,120 delicately crafted parts and 21 complications.
The number of such watches produced was extremely low. Patek made just five sets, and till this day they’re kept in ebony jewelry boxes with a gold engraving. The last watch set was especially unique as it featured four platinum pieces engraved by hand, and the other four had platinum, white, rose, and yellow gold watches. Patek listed each of them with a cost of $16.6 million. Most of them were sold to high-end private collectors, and just one Star Caliber-2000 made a comeback, which was sold for $3.31 million at Christie’s Geneva 13 years ago. And now, after being in the hands of only the selected few, this is the first Patek watch set of this kind offered at the auction to the general public.
The Star Caliber-2000 features six new patented innovations along with several conventional additions. If you want to know what this model is capable of showing you besides basic time, here is a complete list: sunrise and sunset timing for your geographic zone, a perpetual calendar, moon phase, running equation of time, visible horizon, sky chart, a quick calendar corrector, and even Westminster chimes mimicking the Big Ben from the United Kingdom. Plus, it has a very special feature: the bow’s push&rotate Calatrava cross opens the two-sided covers, which proves both the creator’s ingenuity and love for art.
Jean-Pierre Hagmann, a famous casemaker, specifically made half-hunter bassine-styled cases to improve the acoustic effect of the chimes. The dial is encircled by engraved and enameled Breguet numbers. The Renaissance ironwork and reverse acanthus leafy motif was crafted by Christian Thibert. This is the kind of aesthetics you might see in some custom bracelets.
Even experienced collectors haven’t seen many Star Caliber-2000 events, as they are pretty rare. In fact, you are lucky if you’ve seen one in a display case. Therefore, this Sotheby’s auction will be remembered as historic.
The Olertis team hopes the auction is successful and brings great results both for Patek and jewelry enthusiasts. Let this be an example of how high-end watches should be presented and offered for sale in the coming years by other auction houses.
