Patek Philippe Celestial Calendar Ref. 5106 Timepiece For Only Watch 2009

Patek Philippe collectors will want to pay attention to this unique watch that has been produced specially for the Only Watch 2009 charity watch auction taking place in Monaco in September. The watch furthers the growing line of celestial themed watches that Patek Philippe is known for. This watch has a few unique touches that you'll want to know about. The about 44mm wide case is done in 18k rose gold while the bezel is done in 22k rose gold which is not standard for watches that often use 18k rose gold for the whole case. 22k rose gold is often regarded as being too soft for a watch exterior, but Patek Philippe knowing the likely life of this watch (in a case) opted for the more pure gold in order to enhance the look of the guilloche engraving on the bezel. The mini rotor in the automatic 240 LU CL C movement is also in 22k rose gold. For all its complications the movement is thin at about 6.4mm thick - making for an overall thin watch. The strap is dark blue alligator.

So what does the watch do? It is funny as the watch is very Geneva-centric - in that the frame of reference for looking at the sky is how the sky appears while in Geneva. Basically the watch tells you what the night sky looks like from Geneva - as opposed to other positions on Earth. It has a lot of information about the sky, as well as the time and date. Looking at the dial you can tell what the sky (position) of the stars looks like as well as the phase of the moon and the position of the moon in the night sky. This tells you the solar time, the passage of Sirius, what is going on with the moon, and shows you a nice sky chart. Most of this information will just look pretty because you can go online to figure out all this information in a more readable manner. This is lovely novelty for novelty's sake, and is just what collectors like - you don't get to look at a delicate golden rendition of the Milky Way online the way you do while gazing at this beauty.

With the fine decoration, complex automatic movement, and unique nature of a one-off Patek Philippe model, I have a feeling that this Ref. 5106 watch from Patek Philippe will go for a hefty price at auction in September, and will likely increase in value a few years from now if recent Patek Philippe watch auction results are any indication.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.