Watches & Wonders 2026: Patek Philippe Launches The Ref. 6105G-001 Celestial Sunrise And Sunset

Patek Philippe’s famous for its mastery of every type of complication, although it’s also true that there are certain complications with which the brand is especially identified – minute repeaters, for example; Patek’s repeaters are renowned for their purity, clarity of tone, and volume. Patek Philippe also has a very long history in the production of celestial complications, and in particular, its combination of a sunrise/sunset complication with a celestial star chart, as well as precision moonphase displays, can be found in watches as diverse as the Henry Graves Supercomplication, as well as the Star Caliber 2000, and the Caliber 89 100th Anniversary pocket watches.

It might therefore come as a surprise to hear that Patek has actually not ever made a wristwatch with a sunrise-sunset complication – until this year. The new Celestial Sunrise and Sunset combines the sunrise-sunset complication with a display of the stars visible above the horizon at any time; a display of civil time; a display of sidereal time; and a display of the transit of Sirius across the celestial meridian, as well as the times of its rise and fall above and below the horizon.

The Celestial has been with us in one form or another since the year 2002 when the ref. 5102 was introduced, and has not changed in its essentials, in terms of the construction of the complication and how it shows the various astronomical indications. The dial side of the watch consists of three rotating layers, each of which perform a different function. The uppermost disk is sapphire, and mostly transparent, and carries the star field, on which major stars, as well as a depiction of the Milky Way, are printed. The stars are on the upper surface of the disk, while the Milky Way is transfer printed on the lower surface, to give added depth.

This uppermost disk rotates once per sidereal day. An astronomical solar day is the amount of time which it takes the Sun to return to a given point in the sky; the amount of time this takes varies from one day to the next thanks to variations in the Earth’s orbit and axial inclination, but it’s rounded off to 24 hours for civil time (this “mean” time, which is standardized across a given time zone, is shown by the hour and minute hands). Sidereal time, in contrast, is the amount of time it takes for a given star to return to the same point in the sky. Because the Earth moves in its orbit from one day to the next, the apparent place of the Sun in the sky at a given fixed point, changes from one day to the next, and so the Earth must slightly over-rotate. The distant stars, however, are so distant that the relative motion of the Earth does not affect their position, and so a sidereal day – a “star day” – is slightly less than 24 hours, or about 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.1 seconds.

This is the amount of time it takes for the star disk in the Celestial to make one full rotation.

The middle disk is black (in the Celestial Sunrise and Sunset) and carries a circular cutout. This disk is mineral crystal, and carries a circular aperture representing the Moon. This disk rotates once every 24 hours and 50 minutes – this shows the position of the Moon in the sky, which changes slightly every day as the Moon moves along its orbit around the Earth, with its relative motion being responsible for the observed change in position.

Finally, a lower mineral crystal disk shows the current phase of the Moon, across a full range of moonphases. This disk rotates once every synodic, or lunar, month; this is the amount of time it takes from one New Moon to the next. The synodic month varies very slightly from one month to the next, thanks to various changes in the angle of the Moon’s orbit with respect to the Earth’s equator, as well as other factors but on average, a synodic month is about 29.53059 days.

The date is shown via a red pointer adjacent to the date, shown on the outermost track of the dial.

The time of sunrise and sunset are shown by two pointers on the lower right and left sides of the dial.

One of the many clever features of the watch, has to do with how you read the times of sunrise and sunset. The two hands showing sunrise and sunset are arranged so that you can actually use the date numerals to read off the sunrise and sunset times as well. To accommodate this, the date ring is rotated slightly clockwise from its usual position, placing the 31st slightly to the right of the conventional 12:00 placement. You’ll note that each hand covers a range of about six hours; this is the annual variation in the dates of sunrise and sunset at 46º12′ North latitude, which is the latitude of Geneva.

The stars above the horizon are those which are within the oval on the upper half of the dial. Both the star chart, and the sunrise-sunset times, are specific to the latitude of Geneva, and the position of the sunrise-sunset hands are determined by two cams which rotate once per year. However, other locations can be accommodated through the use of different cams. It’s worth noting that the cams in the watch shown, will be accurate for any location at the same latitude ad Geneva – that line of latitude, for instance, also passes through the Upper Peninsula of the state of Michigan.

There are two correctors in the case band. The ones at 9:00 and 10:00 are used to switch the sunrise-sunset times from Standard to Summer time, and back. You would expect this to be done by changing the position of the hands, but instead, the difference between Standard and Summer time is handled by rotating the date disk (which, you’ll remember, also functions as the time indicator for times of sunrise and sunset). At the same time, the hour hand also changes position to show the correct Standard or Summer time, and the date hand also moves backwards or forwards to remain in the correct position for the date. The corrector at 9:00 corrects to Summer time, and the one at 10:00, to standard time; a third corrector between 7:00 and 8:00 is used to correct the date.

The design is unconventional for a Celestial, but I think that’s something you can read as a reflection of the nature of Summer and Winter time corrections. All other indications on the watch are really functions of natural orbital dynamics; Summer and Winter time, on the other hand, are entirely a matter of national or local statute, and the design of the watch reflects this combination of natural processes with statutory variations in timekeeping.

The movement is Patek Philippe’s caliber 240 C LU CL LCSO, 38mm in diameter overall (taking into account the diameter of the rotating celestial disks and mechanisms for the celestial indications) with the mechanical base movement 27.5mm in diameter; thickness is 7.93mm vs. 3.43mm for the base caliber 240. The difference between the base caliber 240 thickness and diameter can be seen above and it is remarkable that this elegantly conceived and executed micro-rotor movement, should also be a tracteur, capable of driving the additional complications.

While Patek is famous for its use of high complications, it is also famous for its approach to complicated watchmaking, which often combines highly technical advances and improvements to existing complications, with innovations in, and even major changes in, its customary design language. The Celestial Sunrise and Sunset demonstrates this approach well, and gives us food for thought on many levels – including the relationships between the human legislation of time and the calendar, and the natural rhythms which underlie them.

The Patek Philippe ref. 6105-OG: case, 42mm x 12.19mm (crystal to crystal, 12.39mm). white gold with “x-shaped decoration evoking the tubular structure of space modules.” Movement, caliber 240 C LU CL LCSO, micro rotor automatic, showing times of sunrise and sunset, civil time, sky chart, angular motion of the Moon in its orbit, phases of the moon, and the date; power reserve 38 to 48 hours.

Six patents pending: Display of sunrise and sunset by rack mechanism; mechanism for management of Summer/Standard times; display of Summer/Standard times on the date scale; crown with “a bayonet fitting that can be disconnected;” eccentric finger-piece; mechanism for re-centering the winding shaft.

Price, $437,610.

The 1916 Company is proud to be an authorized retailer for Patek Philippe timepieces. Please contact us for current pricing and availability.