A very interesting year for Patek, as Dje has already said, it has been the year for complications.
So lets start with the fifth generation classic perpetual cal. with chronograph. Anything trying to follow the 5970p needed to be special, I belive with the 5270, Patek have indeed created a worthy successor.
In "real life" the piece is even more beautiful than the pictures, actually this seems to be strangely true for most of the pieces from Patek this year.
So without further ado, lets have a look:
The 5270 appears to have slimmer profile then the 5970, the lugs are gorgeous, and the calendar display is very clear and uncluttered. The extra 1mm width is not noticeable, but the slimmer bezel, does give the piece a bigger appearance.
Its hard not to like this piece..as much as you may want to to protect your wallet!
The movement is technically superior to the 5970 boasting all the new patented refinements already analysed by Dje.
The screwback is as for the 5970.
The 5270 is a wonderful piece for sure. Ultimately wether you prefer this or the 5970 is a matter for personal preferences, especially on the dial aesthetic. If push came to shove, would I depart from the 5970 for a 5270? It would be a very very very close call, but ultimately, I would keep my first love the 5970. What the 5270 does though, is give those who have the fortunate capacity to look after more than one perp.cal chrono, to savour two similar, yet very different classics. If only to win that lottery. If I hade a 1518,2499,3970 and 5970...I would not hesitate to add a 5270
Next, the Aquananut. Must admit did have reservations about this one from the press pics. Again, in reality it is far more elegant than you would think from the pictures. I loved this piece too, as you can see....
The movement is quite unique for a "GMT" piece. The date will automatically correct for the local wether you go forwards or backwards. Also the small square boxes indicate the night/day i.e. the state of the 24 hours, so above its 10am local time but 9pm home time.
I would love to own this as a perfect daily beater LOL! but at over £20,000 I may just have to dream about it...
One piece I really did not like from the press pics was the new 5050..the 5496p
Yet again though, when you see it... its another story. This is a really fabulous piece, when you have it in your hand its hard not to want it.. worthy successor to the 5050? absolutely, judge for your self:
Ladies first.....
This year was special for the ladies too.... atlast they get an automatic Nautilus, and you could see my wifes brain ticking away.... I better put some more overtime in..
Although I am not a bling man..I do like the thought of perhaps a steel large jumbo nautilus with diiamond bezel and dial.... (slaps himeslf ...), where were we.. ahh yes:
That black dial is actually a very special type of mother of pearl... you would never tell from looking at it,
also new was a non chrono version due to public demand for the cushion case:
Thats not all, Patek are pushing the boat out with complications for ladies too....continuing from the annual calendar, travel time and chronograph, Patek add the world time for ladies in a new 36mm case:
But that not all.....Patek are really reading unchartered territory with two supercomplications, a ladies version of the split seconds, and a minute repeater at 400,00SFR. Will these be a big success?? who knows, not even Patek know, but bravo for being the first to try.
As for the rest, the new 5208 can't add anything to what Dje has not already said. The use of Silinar and Pulsomax and Spiromax, were crucial for this piece to operarte efficiently and for keeping the height of the watch down to just 15mm.
Again when you see it , its an awesome piece. For probably the first few years its going to be Geneva only.
The new WG 5101 features alovely blue dial (just like they did for the 5500 millenium piece in wg), and a new version (replacement??) of the 5016 the 5216.
price..800,000 SFr
new version of the 5960 too, the blingtastic 5961p, however look at the dial, the first "monochrome", what do you think??? I like it.
Best, Imran