Patek Philippe

5164R - lovely, great and completes the circle. I think I like this more than the steel 5164, but personally have stronger feelings towards the 5980R on the composite strap. Chronograph would make more sense on an Aquanaut to me and recall there were others also hoping we would see that this year. But thinking first we complete the 5164 by offering a rose gold complement to match the 5167 dual offering. Verdict: Like

5170R - perfect, another piece that was on my wish list, at least in the black dial configuration. This has to be my favorite iteration of this reference along with the initial J. Looking forward to seeing the R with black dial in the flesh but hope I find good reasons to not place it high on the wish list . Verdict: Love

5230G/R - Leaves me a little cold, at least on pictures. Not a fan of the font and layout of the cities. The case also strikes me as a bit cold and hard. Like the modern feel and the hands. Love the case diameter however, happy they did not upsize this as the overall trend seem to be. Verdict: Neutral

5396G/R - Leaves me cold. I love applied Breguet dial numerals, but here I do not find them to work. Not against the rest of the dial. Slate version cold on pictures, rose version not bad but the previous versions in G and R are far more desirable in my opinion. Including the first iteration. Feels like they are stretching it a bit by offering a third dial style on this reference. Verdict: Do not like

5930G - Question mark until I can see this on my arm. FIrst impression is confused. Like the idea of the complication combo but the execution is a bit messy. The seconds marker on the chronograph hand being white makes little sense to me, makes it look like cross of a GP world timer and a Breitling. The logo being what appears to be glued on top of the otherwise gorgeous guillouche dial is strange to me as well. Case strikes me again as a little cold, but I suppose rectangular pusher is what they want to go with these days and will not fight that. But somehow the romanticism of Patek seem to be missing here as well as many other new releases. What I can appreciate here is the size being appropriate both in diameter and thickness. Verdict: Neutral

5140P - Gorgeous but find here as well as with the 5396 that we have had enough dial iterations of this piece. If I had wanted dark dial the black diamond dial would be perfect, and the blue dial is gorgeous as well. Slate, as elegant as it is seem unnecessary addition on this ref. Verdict - Neutral

5160G - Not my cup of tea but can appreciate how it can be seen as beautiful on a spectacular reference. Classic Patek feel and look and exudes elegance even though it would not be something that suits my lifestyle. Verdict - Like

5204R - Sublime. This along with the black dial sibling are just extraordinary. Just fantastic in rose as well even though here I would lean towards the platinum. Verdict - Love

5327G/J/R - Huh? Replacing the 5140 with this seem like a step into a cold lake. Again applied Breguet numerals do not look right and dial seem off balance. Leave some reservations for changing my mind once I see it in the flesh, but do not get this one. Nothing new just worse version of what was great. Verdict: Do not like

5374P - Same thoughts as for the 5327. Verdict: Do not like

5496P: Again here, one too many dial iterations of a great reference. The brown dial was spectacular and was looking forward to it being discontinued with a short production run just like the black dial 5960P. But to then follow with a dial that seems to steal colors from the 5550G, which is an absolute stunner seem like lack of imagination to me. Verdict: Do not like

5539G - blue follow up to the black beauty. Necessary? Again, not sure. Blue seem to be the trend these days, but for this piece do we look for colors by trends? Verdict: Do not like

5950R - gorgeous reference, but never seen it in the real so sometimes question whether it is real or not. Both dial offerings in R look great, but would you go for this over the initial steel version? Ok the steel version with the black dial to make it even easier to answer. Did not think so. Rose releases part of the theme this year it seems, but for something like this a gray dial platinum version would have been interesting. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of trying the 5951P with a black dial and if we were to list grails it would be top for me. Not related to this 5950R but made me recollect that moment. Verdict: Like

5959R - again a rose complement to what is already been offered. Looks great with the black dial but not sure it is necessary. That is a matter that can be debated I suppose. Verdict: Neutral

6002G - Not my cup of coffee, but by the looks of it less in your face and easier to digest that the blue predecessor. Cool if you are a Bond villain. Verdict: Neutral

6300G - Not something I think will ever consider but the craftsmanship is spectacular. Had the privilege to handle the original version a few months ago and it was a spectacular piece, but not something to be worn. Ever. Perhaps with the morning coffee wearing a nice robe a beautiful spring morning by Lake Como. But not in my daily grind. Verdict: Like

The ladies pieces are overall not outstanding or overly exciting this year so will not bore with comments. 

In summary what do I think:

- 5170R and 5204R. It was worth the wait.

- Too many dial and metal iterations of references that have been going for a long time. 90% of the time evokes general feelings of disappointment.

- I do not think every reference (nearly at least) have to be made in every metal and color dial. Blue is trend yes, but do we need every piece to be offered with a blue dial? If we want colors, why not be a little more creative?

- Strap offerings continue to disappoint in my opinion. I would like to see more varieties of materials and colors. Yes standard brown and black croc straps are nice, but if we are going to play with this many dial varieties why not offer more strap varieties as well?

- The new world timers continue to journey of Patek away from what made me fall for the brand to begin with. Concave bezels, soft case shapes, romantic yet masculine together with gorgeous dials is what I enjoyed (5960, 5140, 5130, etc). I appreciate Patek to be a brand which chooses to move forward and as Mark mentioned in another piece often strives to create things we learn to appreciate, perhaps we are moving a little too far too fast here. The 5905 and 5930 are clearly signs of a more futuristic and modern look, but somehow loses the shine a bit for me. 

- The dials seem to often be a little too much at the same time. Perhaps Patek has had analysts read that Breguet dials and black and blue dials are gorgeous and decided to feed us with it until we do not want it any more? Is it too much at once and perhaps just feel like taking different parts and throwing it together hoping it comes out ok?

- To finalize, I still think Patek is a top manufacturer. I am very pleased with the little I have in my collection and proud to own them. However it is an increasingly competitive marketplace out there and to remain on top means keeping a fine balance. Offering too many versions of the same piece waters them down. Not too many years ago finding a reference was a semi hard task of chasing. Now every Patek dealer seem to have more pieces than ever in the window and in the store. Fun as it makes it easy to look and try them but the hunt used to be a big part of the excitement. Also part of what made ownership feel special. A privately held brand like Patek should in my opinion be more concerned with maintaining brand equity than growing sales year over year unless they are looking to be bought out.

Sorry for extended rambling, but despite my negativism this is a brand that I care much for. I hope that is not in doubt. Looking forward to the new Nautilus collection!

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