Vintage Watches Patek Philippe 5970 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Collector's Guide The 'Last Lemanias' remains the king of contemporary Patek Philippe complex collections, having been out of production for over a decade. nice replica watches

The Patek Philippe Reference 5970G photographed here is available for sale through our private sales team. Watch comes complete with box and papers. If you happen to be interested in this example or a Patek Philippe as complicated as it is - or hard to find watches in general.

You've heard and read it all, and I've heard and read it all. The last Patek Philippe Perpetual Chronograph in Lemania. Possibly the best watch ever made by Patek Philippe. John Mayer described it as "doing what you can, and... as much as you can". Revolution's Wei Koh called it "the most beautiful classic watch ever made". Lots of compliments for the referees. 5970, of course. but why? The reasons are scattered all over the internet in the watch world: the importance of the movement, the proportions of the dial, the size of the case, the American Courier Typewriter font – the list could go on and on. Distilling the 5970 was no easy task, but to many it represented classic Patek Philippe style and complications, flawlessly housed in modern packaging.

Patek Philippe Caliber 27-70 Q
Talking about the 5970 with horology-centric best watches for men lovers, the first thing that comes up is the movement inside. You'll hear phrases like "the last Lemanias" over and over again. For watches made in the mid to late 2000s, this sentiment actually goes back to an even older Swiss watchmaking practice, the use of ébauches.

For most of the 20th century, watchmaking in Switzerland remained a collective effort, with many manufacturers using the same basic movements made by movement specialists such as Lemania, Valjoux and Frédéric Piguet. This was the era before watch bloggers and commenters emphasized the importance of an "in-house" movement. The world's top watch manufacturer Patek Philippe is no exception. For example, the 1518 and 2499 used a Valjoux base movement, then on the 3970 Patek switched to the now legendary Lemania CH27.

Omega, like brands like Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin, used the same basic movement as the 3970 and 5970, Omega's Caliber 321, in its first Speedmaster movement. In fact, VC continued to use a version of the CH27 in the Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955 chronograph.

The romanticism associated with the Lemania base Patek Philippe caliber 27-70 Q is rooted in the history of ébauche Swiss watchmaking and, moreover, considered by many collectors to be superior to the subsequent 'in-house' caliber 29-535 PS Q. Patek heavily modified the Lemania movement to create the cal. 27-70 Q, which is widely regarded as the best basic movement ever made. It has the most satisfying crown winding and tactile clicks evident in the chronograph action. When John Mayer said "as good as it gets... as good as it gets" when he saw the 5970G in his first Talking Watches, he was referring to the feeling that "the Lemania movement is probably better than anything Patek Philippe will do" going forward. "Replica Richard Mille RM 47

Dial proportions and details
Another area where the 5970 is probably better than anything Patek will do going forward is the dial. Thierry Stern has been quoted as saying that Patek Philippe's designers worked hard to make the best use of the extra space on the dial, compared to the 3970, due to the increased case diameter. The team "tried to make it as simple as possible, and we tried about 20 different watch faces," Stern said. The result is nothing short of perfection in the eyes of me and many collectors.

The extra space is filled with a slightly larger six o'clock subdial to make the date clearer - a positive side effect of being more focused on the stunning moon phase disc. In addition, more space is left on the edge of the dial compared to the 3970 for a clearer minute track and chronograph markers with limited overlap.

The dial font is even part of the 5970 legend. Neither too modern nor too vintage, these fonts are very much part of the design language of the Patek Philippe Perpetual Chronograph as we know it. Mayer again named the typeface "American Courier-typewriter" in his second talking watch, explaining that "it's 80's Wall Street banker Wolfe bullshit, I really like it, I don't Know how the lifestyle is, but I think the aesthetic is really cool."replica watches online shop


Specification
Patek Philippe confirms that the 5970 was produced from 2004 to 2010, with a number of end-of-series examples sold in 2011. That said, Patek Philippe did not confirm production numbers, but John Reardon, now Collectibility and formerly Patek Philippe USA (or Henri Stern Watch Agency, as it is officially called), estimates that around 2,800 5970 watches were produced in all four metals .

For advanced Patek Philippe collectors, the 1518 and 2499 are the ultimate, long considered mountain tops. Roughly speaking, the total production of all metals in 1518 was only 281, while the total production in 2499 was only 349. These are very rare watches that are only available in the very, very top collectible market. While it's a bit absurd to say so, given the 1518 and 2499 totaled 630 pieces, the 5970 is serviceable - just as any Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronograph could be "usable"; 4.4 times easier to do the math.

On paper, 5970 was Patek Philippe’s perpetual calendar chronograph option from 2004 to 2010 – the shortest reference model in the family’s history. The case is 40mm in diameter and 13.5mm thick, an improvement over the previous model. 3970, 36mm in diameter, similar thickness, both share the same movement. Considered the collector's sweet spot, the 5970 is less airy than the 3970 and not as imposing as the ref. 5270 is next. The movement inside is, of course, the Lemania base Patek Philippe 27-70 Q movement, which, in addition to single pieces and special series, also offers four standard models: 5970R, 5970G, 5970J and 5970P.

5970R
5970R was the first of two reference models launched in 2004, and of course had an 18k rose gold case with matching hands and hour markers. Considering the relatively "long" production run of about six or seven years, the R is estimated to be the most common 5970, along with the G, in about 1,000 to 1,250 replica skeleton watches.

The detailing of the case really suits the rose gold model in my opinion. The brilliance of the gold and the lack of contrast in the two white metal options hides some of the case styling. It’s in the 5970R’s soft, rich tone that we can best appreciate the delicately sculpted lugs. Patek Philippe has been known to hide some design flaws in the lugs, which only really show up after careful inspection and study. For the 5970, I clearly see reminiscences of the first series 2499 of the Vichet case, as the general shape is elongated and almost claw-like. There is also a reference element. The 'spider' lugs of the 1578 have a distinct bulge away from the dial. All in all, the shape of the 5970's lugs should be new, while slightly referenced.

5970G
Like the 5970R, the Platinum model was introduced in 2004 and an estimated total of around 1,000 to 1,250 examples were produced. Ordinary isn't a fair term for any of these watches. For "standard production" watches in the mid to late 2000s, running 1,000 watches is still relatively rare - though I don't like to use that term.

This iteration of the reference does differ from the other three in that it doesn't have much contrast at all. Except for the blue steel hands, hour markers and moon phase disc, the overall appearance is monotonous. This works great for the 5970 for my taste. As mentioned, case size is really the sweet spot for a Patek Philippe Perpetual Chronograph, but if the 40mm diameter and 13.5mm thickness give you complete pause, then the 5970G is the answer. I found it to be the most wearable of the four, and the only one that would really go unnoticed on the wrist.replica Zenith PILOT TYPE 20


5970J
On the face of it, the 5970J seems to be the most "normal" case metal, 18k yellow gold, which looks a lot more than the 5970J. Given the references to previous perpetual timekeeping detailed here, specifically the 1518 and 2499, we might expect the 5970J to be a common variant. But it is estimated to be the rarest of the four metals. This is where we get into the weeds and speculation, with nothing confirmed by the brand. This is because Patek introduced the 5970 in 2004 and the next two metals – rose gold and white gold – while the J is thought to have been introduced around 2008, perhaps only a year or two in total. The result was the most "normal" casing metal for reference produced in an estimated 100 to 300 examples.

The 5970J is exactly what you want in a Patek Philippe Perpetual Chronograph; gold lends an even more classic look to an already classic watch. There is no doubt that there is something special about the metal case, hands and hour markers, all of which complement the golden moon and stars of the moon phase disc – just like those on the 1518 and 2499 we know and love.

5970P
Dubbed many times as the "end-of-run celebration" of the 5970, the Platinum Edition was only offered and produced in 2009 and 2010, making it the second "rarest" edition after the J. The 5970P is the only standard production version of the 5970P watch with a black dial and has been considered the most collectible of the four since its inception. The "final run" of the 5970P estimates that 300 to 500 examples have been produced.replica Urwerk Watches

A small detail of the 5970P is the inclusion of "120" on the tachymeter scale. Possibly because platinum watches were produced last, the "SWISS" indication on the dial below six o'clock was moved down into the outer chronograph scale to make way for "120". Weird and kind of trivial, but once you see it, you can't see it again.

"special" variant
For the most part, the 5970 is nice and clean. It would be technically wrong to say that there are no dial and case series to track, but in reality there is only one series of dials and one series of cases to track. This is another way of saying that collectors don't divide references into generations like the 2499 has four different series variants. The 5970 case and dial are considered unchanged in all four references and case metals (except for a slight change in "120" on the P). Having said that, there are many "special" 5790s.

There are several special editions of the 5970. The first batch was a four-piece set. At the end of the run, circa 2010, Patek Philippe offered customers the chance to purchase a set of four "new" variants - one in each of the standard production metals. The set is as follows: 5970G Salmon Dial, 5970P Salmon Dial, 5970J Champagne Dial, 5970R Black Dial. In addition to this unique set of dial colors, each dial features Roman numeral markers at 12 o'clock and ball markers at one, two, four, eight, ten and eleven instead of batons. Furthermore, at the Patek Philippe Exhibition in London in 2015, certain Patek Philippe customers were granted access to two other special edition 5970s – four years after the model officially ceased production. The watches offered are the 5970G with a salmon dial, the talking watch, and the 5970R with a dark bronze dial tone. The pair notably feature more standard baton markings to differentiate the 5970G salmon dial from the 2010 set pieces.

I'm almost hesitant to enter the world of piece unique 5970s. Given the nature of Patek Philippe's most exceptional request process, there is simply no way of knowing how many unique 5970s exist. But, for fun, let's pick out a few, namely the ones with a guitarist not named John Mayer. Master guitarist Eric Clapton, the original Super Patek Philippe Collection, created at least two "potentially unique" 5970s with Patek Philippe. Mr. Clapton ordered at least one custom 5970R and 5970G, both with Breguet numerals and brick-link bracelets. replica watches for sale