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Great analysis
I agree with most of your points. Those CH 27-70 movements are beautiful. The 5070 and 5970 represent the end of an era, where inward angles were applied to a "mid-range" Patek Philippe movement. There's nothing inherently wrong with industrializing a manufacturing process, in order to offer your luxury goods to a wider audience.
I think much of the disappointment comes from collectors who don't necessarily have a full grasp of what they're buying when they acquire their first Patek. The marketing always leaves much to the imagination. The imagination says, "Patek is the best," which a new collector is likely to interpret as "is made without consideration to cost".
If you've been collecting for a long enough time, the expectations are closer to reality. Very few beautiful objects are made without consideration to cost.
You can assess the technical advancements going from the CH27-70 to the CH 29-535 and decide that these technical improvements outweigh the loss of a few inward angles that don't serve a functional purpose in modern watchmaking. If you feel otherwise, you'll gravitate towards independent brands that hand finish. This is different from buying the watch first, becoming a brand evangelist, then being surprised by the fact that there is cost engineering in the watch.
Philippe Dufour vs. Patek Philippe: A Tale of Two Standards in Finishing.
When it comes to artisanal perfection in watchmaking, few names resonate like Philippe Dufour. His Simplicity is a benchmark in hand-finishing, while Patek Philippe represents haute horlogerie at industrial scale. This article compares their approaches, h...
The old Lemania Pateks
are beautifully hand-finished, even the spokes of the wheels are hand carved and finished. Those glorious wonderful days.
A great reference article by Nicolas
Since 1998, and the release of the yellow gold version with its black dial, till 2008 and the birth of the platinum, which replaced the White Gold and the Rose Gold models born in 2003, Patek Philippe offered us their vision of THE manual chronograph, thr...
Thanks for sharing this. I’m particularly interested in the pre- and post-2009 finishing levels at Patek.
For example taking a 240 movement in a Geneva Seal 5130 and compare it to a Patek Seal 240 movement in a 5130 - are there really any differences? And how about a 240 in a 5230P vs 240 in a 6006G - exactly the same finishing standard, despite the much high...
Geneva Seal 240 (e.g., 5130) vs. Patek Seal 240 (e.g., later 5130)
Finishing standard: When Patek Philippe moved from the Geneva Seal (which focused primarily on traditional finishing in the canton of Geneva) to its own Patek Seal in 2009, they stated publicly that the finishing requirements would at least match—and in s...
Great analysis
I agree with most of your points. Those CH 27-70 movements are beautiful. The 5070 and 5970 represent the end of an era, where inward angles were applied to a "mid-range" Patek Philippe movement. There's nothing inherently wrong with industrializing a man...
I agree —
The CH 27-70 represented a sweet spot for Patek, where even ‘mid-range’ models had those extra flourishes like inward angles. The CH 29-535 brings undeniable technical gains, but with a touch less romance in the finishing. For me, it comes down to knowing...
Very interesting differences in techniques and philosophies
based mostly on scale of production (I think). I would be interested to hear Emmanuel’s thoughts on this. I remember him saying it was important for his Patek to have the Geneva seal rather than the Patek seal. I wonder how he thinks Patek’s pre 2009 fini...
I should not even reply...
My 2+ decades in this hobby still makes me woefully unable to contribute. Perhaps due to visual acuity.
Very interesting and insightful post 👍👌👌
I can only agree with your conclusion, both are valid approaches even if personally I made my choice and collect pre 2009 PP watches like 5970, 5070 and few others… But tbh when I look at the 6196P or 6119R for example, I see nothing wrong with the moveme...