I know you have been thinking about these four chronos for a long time, and it is great to have a better understanding of your thoughts on these watches.
I was dying to see your comparison of the Duometre and the 5070. I was surprised by some of what you had to say about relative finishings and the overall conclusion, but I think you are right to finally say that they are not really competitors, after all.
Your comments on how PP dealt with a couple of visual issues due to the mismatch of the size of the case and the movement. I had not thought about how the design decisions work to ameliorate that issue. I think the strategy is less successful in my eyes on the rear view than on the dial side, as the movement still looks "sunken" into the case, as you put it. Nevertheless, I cannot argue with the overall coherent and beautiful result of the 5070. In particular, the blue dialed platinum is a triumph.
I will say that the side-by-side of the 5070 and the Duometre reveals how much larger the Duometre looks to me due to the design of the dial and the bezels respectively. The Duometre is perhaps less elegant looking, IMHO. The Duometre is, to me, however, much more interesting on several levels than the any of the other four.
And of course, when considering the Dato, I continue to prefer the dateless old version 1815. It is not just the lack of the date, but it is the relative thinness of the 1815 made possible by the lack of the date that gives the 1815 a much more coherent overall dimension than its more famous brother. Then, too, I also prefer the dial of the 1815, although I know others disagree on the placement of the subdials in particular. As you know, there are enough chronos in the world for all of us. LOL.
Thanks for another wonderful review. I learned and enjoyed a great deal.
respo