There is indeed a rumour going around that the sector dial version of the 5296 is no longer in production. I have been told by my AD that the sector dial version of the 5296 will only be given to select stores around the world although I suspect the numbers will be limited. Having said that, I was still offered a nice discount on an existing 5296R by the same AD which is atypical for a model that is supposedly "discontinued"?
Therefore, until this is officially confirmed by Patek, I suggest that we should treat it as such and make the purchase decision accordingly.