patek philippe tourbillon 909003 watch

The undisputed champion of the watch world is the complicated Patek Philippe. Nobody, and we mean nobody, is going to knock you if they see a Patek with more than a few complications on the dial. The reference 5970 sits proudly in the lineup as Patek’s legendary combination of perpetual calendar and a chronograph. It costs as much as a Porsche 911 Turbo, there is a waiting list to get one, and it is just about the most historic and coveted modern timepiece in production today. (It’s also the watch that Charlie Sheen claims was stolen from his hotel room after a coke-fueled encounter with a 22-year-old porn star named Capri. Nice, Charlie, real nice.) 95 Uniqueness Following in the tradition of the great Patek perpetual calendar chronos of yesteryear, the 5970 is made in limited numbers each year by the company’s group of master watchmakers. Vintage Patek perpetual chronos are now fetching upward of $1 million at auctions, and it can be assumed the 5970 is destined for the same greatness once it goes out of production. The watch features Patek’s own 27-70 Q caliber that is exposed through the sapphire caseback. This manually wound movement is a work of art -- and ownership is nothing short of a privilege. Now that Charlie has lost his, there is one more floating around, but our guess is Capri (who may or may not have grabbed it on her way out of the Plaza that morning) had no idea how valuable it was -- and that’s half the fun. Read more 99 Durability The Patek 5970 is a modern classic, and you can be sure people will be spending small fortunes on this reference chronograph long after we have forgotten all about Charlie Sheen’s legendary benders. In fact, this is one watch that could be considered absolutely timeless -- just like Hot Shots! Part Deux.

Patek Philippe’s storyIn 1839, Antoine Norbert de Patek and Fran?ois Czapek founded Patek, Czapek & C�� in Geneva. At the 1844 Universal Exhibition in Paris, Antoine Norbert de Patek met Jean Adrien Philippe, inventor in 1842 of a pocket watch with stem winding and hand-setting, and offered him the post of technical director as soon as Czapek’s contract ran out. In 1845, Patek Czapek & C�� was dissolved, and Antoine Norbert de Patek, Jean Adrien Philippe and Vincent Gostowski founded, in Geneva, Patek & C��. In 1851, the three men changed the company’s name to Patek Philippe & C��.1868 Creation of a key-wound watch with brass bracelet.1887 The Calatrava Cross became the company’s registered logo.1902 The Gondolo Chronometer name was registered.1914-1930 Creation of grande complication and tr��s grande complication watches, certain of which, with astronomical complications, were sold to James Ward Packard. These included the first two most complicated pieces by Patek Philippe: one, made in 1916, with 16 complications and another, made in 1927, with 10 complications.1915 Creation of the first ladies’ wristwatch with five-minute repeater.1925 Creation of the first ladies’ wristwatch with perpetual calendar (inspired by a pendant watch).1933 Henry Graves Jr. purchased what was then the most complicated watch ever made by Patek Philippe. It was sold again in 1999 for $11 million.1936 Creation of an astronomical wristwatch with perpetual calendar and retrograde date.1940 Special order for a wristwatch with a pulsometric chronograph and world time.1959 Creation of watches with second time zone.1974 Creation of the Calatrava model.1981 Launch of the Nautilus model.1982 Creation of the Ellipse d’or model.1989 The Calibre 89, the world’s most complicated pocket watch (33 complications), was unveiled to commemorate the company’s 150th anniversary.1996 Launch of the self-winding wristwatch with annual date.1997 Launch of the Aquanaut model.2000 Launch of the Star Caliber 2000 (21 complications) to coincide with the third millennium.2003 Unveiling of the 10 Day Tourbillon with COSC certification.