Patek Philippe

Dear Purist Pro members

I have been pondering about acquiring a 5970 or 3970 as my ultimate grail watch and the question of the practicality is always a point to consider.  5970/3970 are hot items and are so well liked almost by everyone, I must admit they are a pleasure to look at, to admire the craftsmanship.  But as we are investing this sort of money into the watch, do we care how much wrist time you want to get out of it?  I don't want to put a watch in storage all the time and only take it out once in a while to look at, I want to actually put it on my wrist.  So, my questions to all 5970/3970 owners or prepared to be owners (I think most perpetual are auto except when you have other complication):

1. what is the average wrist time per month
2. if you actually use your watch, I assume you alternate with other watches, how long does it take to re-set it every time you want to put it on (assuming you do not wind it manually everyday), I understand some people do not set the moonphase.
3. the time and effort needed to set it, would it deter you from wearing it
4. if you have a habit of daily winding, when you travel, do you bring your watch with you so you can wind it.
5. if your major enjoyment of the watch is to look at the display back, can the 5070 do the same job.

It would be interesting to know, I guess most 5970/3970 are in the safe more than on the wrist.

 

Regards

But this topic has been discussed many times before so have a look at past posts also...............

1. How much wrist time?????   I have an illness which means It is impossible for me to wear a watch for more than a couple of days. I start to get irritable and so change my watch at least once every 2 days...... Here is a scan of some complications from my collection......


So I guess I would wear either a 5970,5070 or 5960 at least 3/4 days each month.........
2. I keep my 5970p wound but only change the time on my 5970Rg.... The 5070 is no trouble at all . The 5960p gets the most wrist time and is kept wound up also.
3. The time I spend with my watches is a pleasure not an effort and yes it is worth every second as long as it does not take me away from my work or family....
4. When I travel I take a couple of watches or else I go insane A watch for swimming in and one for nightime....
5. I enjoy all aspects of my watches and yes the case back is a big part of the enjoyment.....
Again it is a very individual thing but I would go 5970 5070 then 5960p......In that order...... Don't worry about winding or changing them as this is all part of the different watches charm and character.....
Hope this helps with some of your fears............
What ever the choice one thing for sure.....You can't go wrong with Patek Philippe.......

First, it took me a while to obtain it and wore it very carefully for the first few months.  Then I developed a fear of screwing up such an expensive piece and started wearing something else and my 3970 spent a lot of time in the safe.  I would pull it out every six months or so, crank it up and wear it for a few days, then back to the safe.  When I had it serviced and paid the invoice, I realized that there is a cost even if it just sits.  That is true with any watch but the service for a 3970/5970 watch is quite different than a simple watch.  Now, I make a point of wearing  the 3970 as much as possible

So to your questions:

1. 15 to 20 days/month

2. Doesn't take long to set, just have to be patient to make sure you do it correctly. Maybe five minutes or so, ten minutes if you have to look up the age of the moon and get the leap year right if it's been sitting for a long time.

3. Setting it doesn't bother me at all, I rather enjoy the process.  Certainly won't deter me from wearing it.

4. When I travel, I don't wear my 3970.  Just a habit.  If something ever happened, I'd rather lose something else.

5. My 3970 has a closed back, but I have a couple of different watches with open backs.  I prefer the closed back pieces, but there are some who prefer being able to see the movement and some who won't entertain a watch unless it has an open back.  My major enjoyment is the reverse side, not the back.  

The PP5970 or the PP3970 is not a practical watch for everyday usage. It is manual winding and for watch lovers of this range the likilihood is that u have many other watches in your collection that u would want to rotate. U just can't leave this for more than 50 hours or so .If u leave this watch for ,mor than a week u need at least 5 mins to actually set it up properly. especially the moon phase.U have to go into the the Patek website to get the correct moon phase setting and u have to be very careful with the setting pin so as not to cause any scratches . Frankly a more practical watch  would be the PP5960. the annual calender chrono. Like I always tell my friends , cheaper  to look up the night sky than to have a moon phase because setting it right can a real chore..

Henry Hoe   

I prefer manual wind watches and find them about as practical as an automatic mechanical watch.   If you want true practicality buy a quartz. 

I agree with others that it is best to wear the watch which for me is usually 5 days a week, unless I choose to wear something else for a change.  I never travel with it though. 

I do not mind a manual wind, to the contrary I prefer them....

The charm, time to wind is a wonderful procedure....

Cheers

1.  I wear my 5970 in rotation with a lot of other watches and only on days where I'm quite certain not to bang it around.  I'm not brave enough yet to be any more adventurous than to wear it under a dress shirt and suit to the office.  As a result, I only wear it a couple times a month.

2,3 &4.  I usually wind mine every day.  Like others have said, it's a pleasure to handle and admire it for the few seconds it takes to wind it up.  i do travel a fair bit though, but usually the watch has only stopped for a day or two by the time I get back.  In these cases I just manually advance the watch via the crown  to the correct day and time.  It is quicker and eliminates the risk of scratching the case with the push pin.  For me, it is a bit annoying sometimes to have to keep up with it, but the minor downside is more than made up for by the beauty of the movement not being blocked by a rotor. 

5.  The 5970 movement is a miniature wonderland that I love to look at and I think it's much more elaborate and better fits the case than the 5070. You also have the optional solid caseback if you want to switch it up.  Get a 10X loupe and some bright light and prepare to be amazed!

Good luck,

Steve

I just had a heart attack...(thought I saw someone wore a 5970R while swimming)

 

extremely happy to see that you are wearing and enjoying your watches,

To me it is a crime for someone to own a piece of history and artwork, and not allow it to be seen by the publlcs.

In answer to your five questions above:
1.  I, too, like to wear my watches and rotate through 6 different models, mainly the first three listed above.  (I love the 5100G but the blue dial and small hands make it very difficult to read).  So, the 5970P would get about 5 days a month and removed anytime during the day that it may be exposed to rough handling.
2.  I simply reset the 5970P by carefully pushing the button at the 11:00 position to the previous day's date, then using the crown to advance to the exact time of today's date.  Time, Day, Month, and date are then correct.  Very simple and takes about a minute.  Seriously!  Never noticed if the moonphase is affected, probably not, but I don't really care about this feature if it takes another 5 minutes to set.  
3.  Definitely not, although setting the moonphase would be a pain and probably  deter me from wearing it as often.
4.  Wouldn't take a manual watch on vacation.  Actually that is why I bought the 5960P, everything else stays home.
5.  Sure, wear the 5070 upside down, but who really does that.  Enjoying the movement is always a plus, but research shows that 70% of Patek's are chosen for the appearance of the dial.  (this should get a response)

The advice given in the first response meshes well with the watches I own and the way I wear them.  Some watches get a lot of wrist time, others less for whatever reasons.  The main thing is to wear the watches you like and don't worry about little imperfections that can always be removed in the future, and you can always give new life to your watch with a new strap.  I like my 5970P and 5070P best of all, but wear my 5960P (Grey Dial) most as it is ALMOST as nice, has an automatic movement and a chrono hand (full sweep) that can be left running without damaging the movement.  Good luck, and be sure to try on both the 3970 and 5970 first.  Size and dial may influence your decision.

thanks everyone for the very useful information. 

Phillipgeorge, if I did not read your message wrong, you are saying you can just advance the date by pushing the hole, then day, month will move forward as well?  I have a 5960 and a 5140 but since I purchased them, they are always on the winder, I have no real life experience in setting them.  The instruction just say we need to set everything one by one in a certain order.

Regards

Dear Friend:
Patek 5970 and 5971 have a Lemania movement as Vacheron 47112 and 47212.
I have both Patek and Vacheron.
The only difference between them is that Patek can be set by pushing the button at eleven o'clock to get to the right date and everything else, including the moon advances to the correct position.
It takes about 20 seconds for a month in the safe.
The setting of the Vacheron has an independent moon so i have it always with me so i can wind it everyday because of the moon setting.  I love to do it.
Vacheron is nicer and more precise but Patek is easy to set.
Best regards,
Jaime

Awesome pictue of you collection, or at least part of it.  Watching and hearing that JLC minute repeater must be a wonderful experience every time you move the slide and activate.  

Frankly I did not understand some of the responses above regarding how difficult it is to set the 5970 if it has wound down for a while.  As later responses pointed out, it is an easy process given the pusher that forwards all functions by one day.  if the watch has wound down for a few weeks, no problem.

that you have not asked is reading the information on the dial.  As my eyes have aged, I do find it difficult to read the sub-dials, including the date.  The 5970P has larger font on the date wheel than the other metals, which I suppose may offset some of the usual difficulty of reading detail on a dark dial.