Cover Patek Philippe Celestial Sunrise and Sunset 47mm watch in white gold
Patek Philippe Celestial Sunrise and Sunset 47mm watch in white gold
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From a sky‑mapping Celestial to a chiming alarm and a skeleton perpetual calendar, Patek Philippe’s three new grand complications each do something the manufacture has never done before
At Watches & Wonders 2026, Patek Philippe unveiled three grand complications, each a technical first for the Swiss manufacture and each introducing a historic mechanical debut to its respective collection. Leading the charge is the Celestial Sunrise and Sunset, marking the first Patek Philippe wristwatch in the current collection to display the times of sunrise and sunset. Meanwhile, acoustic mastery takes centre stage in the Calatrava 24‑Hour Alarm, which introduces the alarm function to a Calatrava case with a movement that chimes on a gong. Completing the trio is the Cubitus Perpetual Calendar Skeleton—the very first grand complication in a collection launched only in 2024.
Of the three, the Celestial Sunrise and Sunset inevitably commands the most attention. The culmination of more than five years of development, the watch—for which six new patents are pending—represents a triumph in micro‑engineering driven by the new calibre 240 C LU CL LCSO, which adds 121 components to the existing Celestial movement, yet increases in height by just 1.12mm to measure an impressively slim 7.93mm.
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Above Patek Philippe Celestial Sunrise and Sunset 47mm watch in white gold
Patek Philippe Celestial Sunrise and Sunset 47mm watch in white gold
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What those 121 components achieve is remarkable. For the first time in a Patek Philippe wristwatch offered in the current collection, the dial displays the times of sunrise and sunset in Geneva—not as fixed approximations, but as microscopically changing indications that continually shift with the seasons. Two ovoid cams, each completing one rotation per year, geometrically replicate the tilt of the Earth’s axis as it varies over the course of 12 months. A proprietary, patent‑pending double feeler‑spindle, just 0.48mm thick, reads the respective positions of these cams via two flexible arms, translating that information into the movement of the two slender hands that indicate, on the graduated 1‑to‑31 scale of the date disk, the precise times of dawn and dusk. That same scale serves a dual purpose, tracking the date alongside sunrise and sunset times—with sunrise indicated on the right of the dial and sunset on the left.
More practically ingenious still is the synchronised correction system for the changeover between Summer Time and Winter Time—also pending patent approval. On watches that display astronomical solar indications, adjusting for these seasonal shifts has traditionally been a problem: civil time is advanced or set back, but the astronomical display falls out of step. Patek Philippe has an efficient solution: a single press of the corrector at 9 o’clock advances the displayed time by one hour and simultaneously rotates the date disk by a single date increment—the equivalent of one hour on the sunrise and sunset scales. The indications remain in agreement and the process is reversed by the corrector at 10 o’clock.
The case that houses all of this is 47mm and rendered in white gold, with an X‑shaped motif worked directly in relief into the caseband, evoking the tubular structure of space modules. Equally distinctive is the black composite strap, which carries the same X pattern in relief and flows seamlessly from the case via an integrated, lug‑free system.
Above Patek Philippe Calatrava 24‐Hour Alarm 41mm watch in white gold with a green dial and a matching alligator leather strap
Patek Philippe Calatrava 24‐Hour Alarm 41mm watch in white gold with a green dial and a matching alligator leather strap
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Sound the alarm
At Patek Philippe, a practical complication is held to the same standard as a poetic one: it must be as pleasurable to use as it is to wear. The Calatrava 24‑Hour Alarm—an alarm watch that chimes rather than buzzes—makes that point neatly. A classic 41mm Calatrava in white gold, it features a caseband that is guillochéd throughout with the Clous de Paris hobnail pattern. Striking a resolutely modern note, the textured lacquered dial is rendered in a deep navy blue or rich forest green with a black gradient rim, perfectly balanced by applied Arabic numerals and syringe‑shaped hour and minute hands, all cast in white gold with a luminescent coating.
The date is indicated by hand on a sub‑dial at 6 o’clock, while the programmed alarm time is displayed through a double aperture at 12 o’clock, set via a 24‑hour system adjusted in 15‑minute increments. A day/night indicator sits below, ensuring that the wearer does not accidentally programme a 3am reminder for 3pm. Powering these core complications is the newly configured self‑winding calibre AL 30‑660 S C—comprising 524 parts and 6.6mm thick—that is entirely visible through the sapphire crystal caseback.
Above Patek Philippe Calatrava 24‐Hour Alarm 41mm watch in white gold with a blue dial and a nubuck‐finished calfskin strap
Patek Philippe Calatrava 24‐Hour Alarm 41mm watch in white gold with a blue dial and a nubuck‐finished calfskin strap
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What distinguishes the Calatrava 24‑Hour Alarm from an ordinary alarm watch is the quality of its strike. Most alarm mechanisms drive a hammer directly against the inside of the caseback, producing a harsh metallic buzz. Here, as in a minute repeater, the hammer strikes a classic acoustic gong coiled around the movement. An inertial governor—again borrowed from repeater watchmaking—regulates the rhythm to 2.5 strokes per second, for 90 strokes in total. The effect? Not an alarm to wake the dead, but a luminous and elegant chime that is wholly in keeping with the watch’s character.
The Calatrava 24‑Hour Alarm is also, notably, the only water‑resistant chiming watch in the current Patek Philippe collection—a detail that required rethinking the lug construction while ensuring that the hobnail decoration continues uninterrupted around the entire circumference of the caseband. Maximising wearability are two interchangeable straps: one in alligator leather, hand‑patinated to match the dial colour, and the other in beige calfskin with a nubuck finish.
Above Patek Philippe Cubitus Perpetual Calendar Skeleton 45mm watch in platinum
Patek Philippe Cubitus Perpetual Calendar Skeleton 45mm watch in platinum
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Taking shape
The Cubitus Perpetual Calendar Skeleton likewise marks the arrival of something different: grand complication watchmaking within the relatively new Cubitus collection, launched only in 2024. A perpetual calendar in a 45mm platinum case, it is powered by the entirely new calibre 28‑28 Q SQU—a square‑shaped skeletonised movement whose architecture was designed from the outset to harmonise with the distinctive geometry of the Cubitus case. Openworked to echo the horizontal linear motif of the Cubitus dials, the movement introduces a monochrome approach new to Patek Philippe: the plates, bridges, balance and micro‑rotor share the same rhodium‑plated finish, with blued screws and a hand‑engraved Calatrava Cross on the rotor providing the only colour. This visual restraint even extends to the functional jewels, which utilise clear sapphire crystal instead of the usual red ones—except on the lever arms, where red is retained for precision timing tests.
Here, the perpetual calendar mechanism is a square‑adapted evolution of the calibre 240 Q. At its core is the 48‑segment cam characteristic of that movement family, completing one rotation every four years to track the 48 months of a leap‑year cycle. The moon phase, meanwhile, uses a large‑moon mechanism new to the regular collection: a single moon disk completing one rotation every 29.53 days, its surface laser‑structured to reproduce lunar topography with precision. A navy blue composite strap with a fabric pattern and stitching in contrasting cream completes the watch, secured to the wrist by a platinum fold-over clasp engraved with the Cubitus collection name.
These three new timepieces are different in character, yet all signal a manufacture pushing at the edges of what a mechanical watch can know, show and say. The sky above Geneva is mapped on the wrist. The hour is struck on a gong. The perpetual calendar turns inside a skeleton, visible to anyone who cares to look.
Credits
Photography: Ching
Art Direction: Jeremy Ang
Images: Patek Philippe
Topics
Annabel Tan is the Editor of Watches and Jewellery at Tatler Singapore, where she covers all things luxury timepieces and fine jewellery across both print and digital platforms. She is also the Editor of Tatler GMT Singapore, a role that deepens her fascination with the ever-evolving world of watchmaking. Outside of work, she’s usually on the hunt for her next favourite watch that she can’t afford, planning her next beach getaway, or catching up on the latest Formula 1 race.
