quattro
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The Star Caliber 2000 in all its Glory
One of the wonderful experiences one can have when visiting the Patek Philippe Museum is seeing the Star Caliber 2000, created to celebrate the start of the third millenium, in each of the four precious metals.
In particular, I find it quite remarkable how each outer case (front & back cover) has been "pierced" and decorated differently, with a specific Art Deco motif and a unique combination of numerals and colors.
The case was designed by Jean-Pierre Hagmann (portrait here) and engraved by Christian Thibert (interview here).
Here are some photos I could take during my recent visit.
B/ ROSE GOLD REF. 990/6R-001
C/ WHITE GOLD REF. 990/7G
D/ PLATINUM REF. 990/7P
E/ FOUR SIDES OF THE POCKET WATCH IN ALL FOUR METALS
Order of sides :
- OUTER CASE (FRONT & BACK)
- FRONT DIAL
- SKY CHART (BACK DIAL)
- INNER SIDE OF FRONT COVER
Order of metals for each side :
- YELLOW GOLD
- ROSE GOLD
- WHITE GOLD
- PLATINUM
1/ OUTER CASE (FRONT & BACK)
Yellow gold: floral motifs with circular opening + blue Roman numerals
Rose gold: floral motifs with floral opening + brown (?) Arabic numerals
White gold: floral motifs with circular opening + white Roman numerals
Platinum: decorative motif with “star-shaped” opening + grey (?) Arabic numerals
2/ FRONT DIAL
Yellow gold
Rose gold
White gold
Platinum
3/ SKY CHART (BACK DIAL)
Yellow gold
Rose gold
White gold
Platinum
4/ INNER SIDE OF FRONT COVER
Yellow gold
Rose gold
White gold
Platinum
F/ TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
If you wonder what are the technical specifications of this pocket watch, here they are, as presented in the comprehensive catalog of the Patek Philippe Museum "Patek Philippe Watches".
I did indeed treat myself to this catalogue, which is as heavy (13kg / 23.66lb) and expensive as it is useful and fascinating: a very valuable complement to the visits I have made.
Thanks for reading.
Best, Emmanuel
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The Star Caliber 2000 in all its Glory
One of the wonderful experiences one can have when visiting the Patek Philippe Museum is seeing the Star Caliber 2000 , created to celebrate the start of the third millenium, in each of the four precious metals . In particular, I find it quite remarkable ...
The back-side covers are also the most fascinating part of these
watches for me. I tend to prefer Roman numerals (so YG & WG) but each is quite stunning. Best, Emmanuel
Yes, quite fascinating.
And one of the many highlights of this incredible Museum. Best, Emmanuel
Hi Emmanuel, thanks for a very informative post 👍
They are “bright” stars indeed ! Congratulations to the owner of a SET that was purchased via the recent auction at Sotheby’s.
Yes, congratulations to him.
But this “Sotheby’s” set had the same decoration of the back cover for each of the four watches, which isn’t as exciting as this set of four different decorations, one for each metal. Best, Emmanuel
Just spectacular and thank you so much for sharing these shots!!!
Had they shown the case to house all four of the pieces?
My pleasure! No, the presentation box isn't displayed.
Here are three photos : 1) The two first ones show one of the four complete sets made to be sold and comprising each of the four precious metals . Contrarily to the set of displayed in the Museum, all four watches feature the same decoration with a star-s...
Thank you! I had seen these photos before and It is spectacular!
Would be amazing to see it displaced in the museum.
Completely understand and agree.
Only for those exceptionally lucky to own all four to enjoy!
Great! I wish you an enjoyable visit!
Allow plenty of time because you're likely to get captivated and enthralled: I visited the museum three times (once last year and twice consecutively last Wednesday and Thursday) and I stayed for almost 4 hours each time... Best, Emmanuel
I see, not easy indeed!
I also have three children, but they’re adults now, so much easier for me of course. I still wish you a great visit!
Beautiful. Nice to see they finally have the various Star Calibers on display. I wonder if these have been lended or are the property of the brand. More than a decade ago during
a guided visit, the museum only had the prototype and I was told as far as goes my recollection that they had not retained a complete set and sold all models.
I think (but am not sure) that these four examples belong to the Museum.
The reason why I say this is that the serial movement numbers which can be seen (3.200.021 for rg & 3.200.022 for pt) are above the production run, which began with movement number 3’200’001 and ended with number 3’200’020 ( read here )... Best, Emman...