Patek Philippe

When we look at new models released by Patek Philippe, more often than not the inspiration for the new model comes from a prior reference. From my perspective, to really understand a modern watch one needs to see how it evolved. Take, for example, the 507...  

Good read and you are correct the 5970 is....has always been and will always be Iconic. "Iconic" Words from the man himself 5070 and 5970 even with their boring dials and inferior re worked Lemania based movements marked with the crappy Geneva seal will b... 

And for the most part I agree! But it must be said that the person who described the 5970 in the manner you refer to did so in a specific context,namely to give advice to someone (me) who explicitly asked for buying advice between that watch and the 5170P... 

one can be positive about one watch without having to denigrate another. So often, statements are made as "absolute truths" whereas in fact, there are very few absolute truths. If the only way of giving buying advice is to denigrate one of the watches bei... 

5070J is and has become my favorite modern PP and for more than a year now I think...let the trashing begin ...but it's my truth and I ain't ashamed of it...having said that I would never make a statement about other PP reference in a way I think of them ... 

Hovewer, it does not mean that I NEED the advice in order to make decisions. I think "this or that" threads are very entertaining, and that we all can learn things from them that we did not know before. I think this goes particularly for members who are f... 

you don't NEED the advice.... yet you ask for it.....

Because I think that systematic reflection about watches is central to the forum. For that to happen somebody need to ask the the good (or stupid) questions 😄

pointless questions...

You've defined my job to a "T".

seek the advice/opinions of others on prospective acquisitions, including "Should I buy X or Y". They know the watches literally inside and out and all the history but sometimes another person's perspective resonates in a significant way. Never a need to ... 

You are experienced and knowledgeable watch collector in the World ...you know watches literally inside and out and all the history ...but you ask for advice on watch A and B. Watch A sings to you watch B is something that based on your knowledge and expe... 

Usually arises where person is torn between watch A and B.

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you certainly now are a full-fledged Vlad.

The first one is what one likes and what sings to us. People must indeed not get too much influenced by others' tastes. That's why I posted not long ago about what we see or read in our daily media among which PuristSPro and that can influence us. It is g... 

I agree..... I learned..I read...and I learned again and read again...and I'm still learning and reading...guess it all boils down to ... there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we kn... 

I am fully signing this quote from your statement, Mark. But as a matter of fact I must admit that the discussions on this forum do influence - and also enrich - my view on watches from time to time. For instance, I am not a big fan of the 5070 for differ... 

I think your process is good. I think we all learn and move forward when immersed in constructive and objective discussion. It is how a good forum should work and it leads to better decision-making. Good luck with the 5070 evaluation.....at teh end of teh... 

.....if i was considering buying a high-end watch, would i ask the opinion of others? I would say for the most of my watches, I probably would not. I think I know my own mind and tastes well enough to not need to do so. However, as you state well, when on... 

Everything starts from something else... that's part of the reason why many of us come back to the brand time and time again. 5070 is such a legend!

Have so much character in my books,The 5070 is clearly borrowing the DNA from Patek’s history,And I think the watch is in great demand as we all can see. As for the 5970,Is one of the best perpetual calendars with modern proportions,The movement isn’t a c... 

You have some elements of style, such as the hands, nut not much more.. Except... The charm, and the spirit. It is something shared with some other brands... JLC for example. I have no problem seeing this link between past and present. At the contrary. As... 

On a different note, a 46mm time only version of Ref 2512 sold at Sotheby's NY in December of 2012. Amazing, amazing watch in every way. It was an extreme pleasure to strap it on. Someone (not me) acquired an extraordinary watch.

In other words we are what we were , with obvious modifications In the watch world ( and most other spheres of life ( this remains a truism ) Looking at the PP museum we can see where the present collection has evolved from Even the most recent 5522 has i... 

.....possibly too much!

Agree very much about how at the upper echelon of watchmaking like Patek Philippe, there is a great deal to be appreciated when the whole far exceeds the sum of the parts. The result of perhaps world class skills & execution and also a part played by a st... 

......the guideline for etiquette on the forum is "how would you act if meeting someone for the first time at a cocktail party". One can be objective, factual, respectful, knowledgable etc etc and it does not need to cross the line to rudeness of any kind... 

They express, as in many art fields, the standards and philosophy of their time. That's why, for me the movement issue is not about better or worse. They all work well, within similar standards considering a mechanical watch is not very accurate. A good w... 

.....you take my DB5 v DB11 comparison too literally. I am merely making a bigger point that a car from a vintage era cannot be readily compared with a modern rendition of the same car. That is the bigger point. One cannot use words like "better" too read... 

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-... 

We can all disagree about watches.....thankfully. Taste and preferences are such fickle beasts. We all differ in how we view a watch and its importance and attraction. To me, what is important is very specific to me. That is why there really cannot be any... 

PS: do you know the diameter of the 2512?

On 2512 split seconds, I believe it is 46mm but would need to check.

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Choices are very personal and there might not universal truth but that doesn't mean that we should not seek it Your essay was a great example of history and knowledge playing role in the way we appreciate watches. My main point was that we should be also ... 

.....platinum is a rarer metal than gold in terms of supply (but clearly not demand), but rarity is not everything....gold has traded over platinum in price terms for several years now. So yes, there are plenty of anomalies that deserve exploring. And yes...