AuctionsSotheby's to Sell a Complete Set of Patek Philippe Star Caliber 2000 Pocket Watches for the First Time, With The Second-Highest Estimate Ever In Watches

The Patek Philippe Star Caliber 2000 is a little-discussed yet incredibly important pocket watch from the dawn of the millennium. Featuring 21 complications and 1,118 intricately finished components, it was produced in a limited number of examples and, at the time, it was the fourth most complicated watch in the world (behind, in order, the Patek Caliber 89, the L. Leroy 01, and the Patek Henry Graves Super Complication). 

Like many pocket watches and watches with such exorbitant price tags, the 20 examples of the Star Caliber 2000 found homes in important but private collections, and only one has ever resurfaced. That makes the upcoming Sotheby's December sale in Abu Dhabi particularly interesting: it's an unprecedented opportunity for a buyer to acquire a set of one of Patek's most outstanding achievements, in all four metals, with an estimate exceeding $10 million. 

There are certain moments in watch collecting that will stick with you, even for those who get to handle the best of the best. Wearing a steel Patek Philippe 1518, then a second, a few months later, handling a Patek Philippe Caliber 89—many superlative experiences in my short career have come back to Patek Philippe. But one thing I've never seen (except through glass) is Patek Philippe's incredible Star Caliber 2000, a fact that probably rings true for even the most well-traveled collectors. 

Starting with the complications, you've got a bevy of all the "grand" things that together combine to make a "supercomplication." First, there are the six patented functions: the chime, the running equation of time, display of sunset and sunrise, the rotation of the sky and moon, the rapid calendar corrector, and the dual-sided sprung covers, operated by a push-and-rotate Calatrava cross on the bow. 

The watch has "Westminster Chimes," perpetual calendar, power reserve, sky chart, lunar orbit and moonphases, visible horizon, and more. The chimes on the Star Caliber 2000 perfectly replicate the famous ones found on "Big Ben," an addition that required quite a bit of work from Patek's watchmakers. For more reading on that, I'd recommend this article from Collectability. 

The cases are worth noting, as the legendary Jean-Pierre Hagmann crafted them in a half-hunter bassine-style, and particular attention was given to let the chime ring through. The front of the dial features an aperture to display the time, accompanied by engraved and enameled Breguet numerals surrounding the aperture. Master engraver Christian Thibert worked on the front while opening the back to acanthus leaf motifs and Renaissance-inspired ironwork engraving and chased details.

The Star Caliber 2000 was produced in five sets, each comprising four watches, and delivered in an ebony box with applied gold engraving, at a list price of CHF 13.2 million. One of these sets was broken up, with a single watch selling at Christie's Geneva in 2012 for $3.3 million. That price tag alone put the watch on the list of some of the most expensive of all time. Four sets were made in four metals (yellow, rose, and white gold, plus platinum) while a fifth was made of four watches in platinum, each hand-engraved. That set has a fascinating story, which, again, you can read about on Collectability.

In addition to the Star Caliber 2000 set, Abu Dhabi Collectors' Week will also feature a fresh-to-market Rolex "Oyster Albino" Daytona, reference 6263, with an estimated value of $500,000 to $1,000,000. I'll be carefully watching the Star Caliber 2000 sale. The estimate there, in excess of $10 million, is second or third only to that of the Henry Graves Super Complication and (depending on the exchange rate at the moment of sale) the recently announced Patek Philippe 1518 in steel to be sold at Phillips this fall. However, I think it will tell us a lot about the health of the high-end market and could draw other, more esoteric yet rare pieces to the market.

For more on the Abu Dhabi Collectors' Week, visit Sotheby's website.