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Great post and discussion - thank you! This is a fatastic example of how accumulation of knowledge can lead to deeper appeciation. Yet following narratives is not always easy ...
PP is not the company that it was 20, 30, let alone 50 years ago. The scale, the customer base, the global market penetration make it a completely different animal. Mr Thierry Stern has the incredibly hard job of managing a (mostly) large production high-end luxury brand that raises quality, tries to innovate and at the same time maintains a connection with the glorious past.
As consumers and (sometimes) contributors to the healthy margins that PP collects we have the right to judge the design, the quality, the innovation, but also very importantly examine The Narrative that comes with each new model. I don't think an evaluation of vintage vs contemporary models makes that much sense but I personally find certain widely accepted misconceptions troubling:
- "All PP vintage models are special and significant in some way and should be appreciated" : This is not the case - a lot are indeed iconic (PP has been at the top for so long for a reason), some are bad designs, many fall into a grey area where everything is very subjective and opinions change with fashions. Sometimes knowledge makes us appreciate certain references more, sometimes less.
- "As long as there is an obvious connection between a new model and historical one, the dna has been carried over." : There are infinite ways to design a perpetual calendar-chronograph while borrowing clues from 1518 but that is not enough. If there are compromises, if there is no harmony, no continuity, then there is no dna. PP has been better than most in that respect but it hasn't been perfect.
- "If something is called an innovation then it must be one." : Most of the time PP is playing catch up with the industry on the technical side. The date safety mechanism on 5164, the compliant mechanism of 5650, silicon escapement / balance.... Now PP might have had reasons to wait, it is possible that what is on offer is not only different but better / more reliable. I haven't seen much evidence for that coming from the company. It is too easy to say "this is an innovation because we are doing it at PP for first time" and end the discussion there.
The bottom line is that we all want PP to make great watches. I think we should ask hard questions and occasionally disagree. Being respectful to different tastes is not the same as complacency.
The inspiration for the modern Patek Philippe.....DNA is everything
Great post J. And of course you are bang on the money.
Very valuable insight
and like i said....
Confession time :)))
I will not apologize for asking for advice from people who are more knowledgeable than me
No need to apologize neither it was asked for but as you said---
Yes, I do
I can assure from personal experience that many of the most experienced and knowledgeable watch collectors in the World will
Let's make and mind game here
Interesting point. If watch A "sings" to Mr. Q unlikely he will ask advice and if so, will take a lot to dissuade him from A
If I can participate D, I would say there are 2 kind of ingredients
Thanks for your musings Mark...
"People must indeed not get too much influenced by others' tastes."
Cayenne1200.....
It is an interesting point....
Indeed!
Watches with lemania movements
It is clear. For some other watches, the inspiration is lighter. World Times, for example.
Great and wise post! I would love to add something of value to what you wrote, but frankly I can't think of a single thing. All I can say is THANKS! [nt]
Joe , in medicine we are taught "the ontology recapitulates the phylogeny"
The 5070J black dial is spectacular
Absoluteluy and totally agree....
What I find interesting in watches is that they are related to their time very much
Mark....
Great post and discussion - thank you! This is a fatastic example of how accumulation of knowledge can lead to deeper appeciation. Yet following narratives is not always easy ...
...........
Yep.....let’s keep it that way!
No real disagreement here.