Patek Philippe

....when this watch was first released, I put my name down for it. The AD still hasn't been in contact. Having said that, even if he did get in contact I would probably decline the watch. Two reasons. 

from my own experience and also people I know...

I was discussing about the "wow" factor with a fellow purist and it seems indeed to be a good clue about what we are really feeling.

It remains high for me but trying to kown if high enough indeed

Thanks a lot for your feedback Joe, we may feel alike on this matter.

Cheers, Mark

And I can see how you either love or hate it.

I am however in the middle camp. It is gorgeous but one of those pieces I do not see in my own collection. Today at least, knowing from experience how tastes evolve in unexpected ways quite often.

However today I find this piece to have too many competitors it would lose out against. Secondly I am not too keen on the election of the date windows. They seem off balance.

Having had the chance to handle it I must note however that it is and incredibly elegant and comfortable piece.

Which leaves me neither here nor there.

This is not a consensual piece but it has a strong "spirit" and a refined one imho, in spite of its casual and original style.

You feel as I do, hard to decide!

Thanks a lot for bringing your feedback here keks.

Cheers, Mark

love it !

The deign is excellent and better than all the other regulators on the market.

Personally I like the apertures because they make the dial clean.

Here is a shot of my 5575 and 5205 from my watch maker friend!

Cheers

Gordon

p.s. Based on my sources , few batches have been produced this far

the apertures make the dial cleaner. This is indeed a good point.

I think it is a very balanced dial and case, even if the dial is not symetrical.

Thanks a lot for your input and I hope you keep enjoying your 5575

Cheers, Mark

except I'm not a fan of a regulators ... at all,

for some reason they just don't click with me, never had one and probably never will,

but hey let not afraid you from having one, like I said the looks are great IMO, but it's just not my thing

than what I would have thought. However, I fully understand why of course.

Not to everyone taste for sure but with big assets imho.

I feel it's a reference which is hard to judge in the end.

Thanks for sharing your opinion from that reference!

Cheers, Mark

Very innovative and a lovely movement but I only wish it was one or two millimetres smaller which might have been a bit of a challenge due to the size of the movement. The dial when catching the light can look quite different and I actually like the layout. Some will find regulators difficult to read at first but even though this watch is not a typical looking classic Patek, I think it is a lot more Patek if one looks at the movement and the functions of the watch.

Great post and even better photos Mark, thank you.

Sham

and you kindly already referenced my post as an owner and almost daily wearer, so I can also answer to some of the points raised.
Interesting some have commented the watch looks 'flat' - maybe in pictures this is true, but in the hand and on the wrist it really is not. There are so many things at play with the brushed dial, blue markings, lettering, hands it is mesmerising. Really if you have the chance to handle this watch do so and then judge it as the pictures do not do it justice (and also WG helps it 'pop' much more than steel would - it is the right colours in the right metal.
Telling the time - actually really easy with use.
Apetures - again I could not see why these comments are coming and then I realised so many pictures of the 5235 are very enlarged and indeed the windows can look unbalanced. Again in the flesh and on the wrist the watch looks just right. You really cannot see the date window cuts into the seconds markers at life size. I do have some sympathy with the view that this watch could stand quite happliy on its own without the AC. I suspect the watch was always going to be be too expensive to manufacture for a 3 hand watch in PP's view (but as also an owner of a ALS RL PLM I do not subscribe to that view
So, my opinion a great watch worthy of the PP name.

I think that apertures, windows, symetry etc are elements people see very differently, this is very subjective and I can understand their view.

After that, each one has to make the pros and cons and to determine what matters most.

Definitely an unusual but legitimate Patek, this is an element I like: the fact you have something very bold for the brand.

Thanks for the feedbwack!

Cheers, Mark

mechanically but also aethetically. Quite a bold move from Patek Philippe.

The dial catches the light very well indeed, the brushed finish looks beautiful and is something we can't see really on pics.

Thank you for your kind words Sham, it's my pleasure

Cheers, Mark

"The 5235 is our very first regulator. All our watches are important, but because this is the first time we're making one in a wristwatch, we have to be very careful. Still, I designed it to be more aggressive, less sober than other Pateks, but still in a very classical, clean way. It's more up to date, I think it's a modern adaptation of the traditional regulator. I wanted to use colors (the strap and hands are both blue) and I think we created something out of the ordinary.
When I started with the idea – I had the dial in mind, and nobody wanted to make it. I had to fight to make it, but the result is very good. When people are going here, I like to go there. Still, our clients look for clean, readable dials without gimmicks, and that is what this annual calendar regulator is. I think it’s a very cool watch and I think it will attract some great attention from both our existing clients, and even some new ones. "

and think it sums up quite well the final result. Nothing to add really.

Thank you for the reminder

Cheers, Mark

I love the look of this watch. I am considering this along with the 5960/1a. If the price keeps dropping, as I'm seeing it do on several sites, I may have even a harder decision on my hands.

it isn't a real regulator according to Mr. Stern, cf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy6CZs3bWpk. However, I still like the 5235, despite it having a ''broken track'' of production and only the visual appearance of a regulator. The former makes it more interesting for me. The 5235 was introduced in 2011, but due to different factors - it wasn't ready for sale until late 2013 or 2014. 

Interesting to learn what was the idea at the beginning of the project, thanks for the link

I thought that people called it like this because it looks like one and it is easier to remember it that way compared to the 4 digits references.

As you emphasized, I don't see from the official description the term "regulator" (to be confirmed though).

If I remember well some regulators were also called like this because of their exceptional precision, more than the hour and minutes layout.

______________________

This message has been edited by Mark in Paris on 2015-11-22 13:46:14

Patek refer to it as a 'Regulator-style' in both the 2014 and 2015 catalogues and web-site. Interestingly, they have removed reference to the movement being 'ultra-thin' in the 2015 catalogue (though it still says that on the web-site) and mention regulator only once in the descri[tion (as opposed to twice in 2014).
I think it conforms very well to a true regulator except for the addition of the annual calendar (which personally I am happy about). Still Patek are inconsistent though since at launch they definitely called it their first regulator and "a modern adaptation of the traditional regulator".
No matter, the question is, is it a great watch? Yes for me.

Perfect conclusion hashluck.

Cheers, Mark

In the video, Mr Stern said 5235 is not a real regulator. But what's the difference between 5235 and a real regulator? I thought regulator means the hours, minute and second hands in separate pivots and with a high accuracy due to its "reference clock" function for the watch makers. It seems to me that 5235 has fulfilled these definitions. Thanks!
Henry

Stern's comment was due to the fact that 5235 has apertures for the annual calendar function and therefore is not a "true" regulator.

Just my own interpretation.

Your thoughts ?

Gordon

I guess Stern's meaning may be something related to the movement itself. May be the all three hands of a true regulator should be driven by different gear chains?
Or may be it is related to the accuracy of the movement? But I couldn't find these info online.
Best
Henry

They've appeared late of 17th century and were the more accurate clocks ever.

One of the characterisitcs is that, to avoid unecessary frictions, the hour and minute hands are placed on their own wheel. Maybe, on the 5235, it is not the case?

Also, even if very accurate, I imagine it is not the most accurate of all watches from the catalogue, thus it wouldn't respect the same "spiri"t than true Regulators.

I think it is something more honest and rigourous to say what Thierry Sterns says as we see many other brands using regulator just because the 2 hands are not coaxial.

Cheers, Mark

I can't hear it due to the background noise.
Regulators were used as a reference point for watchmakers to set the time on wristwatches back in the old days. However, I'll check my ''library'' to see whether I can find a ''valid'' definition. I'm not certain, but I think ''real'' regulators must have a deadbeat seconds complication. It makes sense because accurate timing is paramount in this instance.

have a deadbeat seconds hand

the deadbeat seconds complication, cf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aNNNmVXWiQ.

Main revolution with the second hand in the 5235 on the PP front is a hacking second hand

No message body

as I replied just above to Henry. It is not as precize and designed to be as accurate as a Regulator.

That's why T Stern says it reminds him of but that it is not in the design.

On the contrary of all who call there watches regulators because the hour and minutes hands are separated!

Cheers, Mark

a reference with an excellent design. The brushed finish on the dial also really add much charm to it.
Cheers,
Gordon