Comments:
XXX (No reason to feature it! Oliver)
This message has been edited by small-luxury-world on 2012-12-08 14:51:17
Why are Patek Chronographs so expensive?
Hello,
I am a Patek Lover and fan.....
I want to ask why Patek Chronographs are so expensive. What I mean is that - the chronographs were usually just Lemania based Chronographs. The Annual Calendar is a unique piece to Patek - invented by Patek itself. Why is a 5070 worth so much more than a 5035?
Personally I love a good chronograph - I own a Breguet Type XX but I can't see why the Patek Chrono is so $$$$$
Forgive me for being so straight.... but I think the Annual Calendar is a much more complicated piece......
Why is the price so much lesser than a Patek Chrono?
Yes
I have wondered this too. The Daytona (also a chrono) carries a high price point in the Rolex range. People love chronos and the market seems to reflect the demand for them.
The 5035 seems particularly under-valued, especially when measured against the more recent version of the annual calendar.
For some reason, however, enthusiasts have not really take a shine to it.
Personally, I considered 5035, but I thought it felt a little too thick for my taste.
Plus, I wasn't crazy about the romans with the green lume material so visible on the interior of the numbers. I t makes a very dressy watch look somewhat casual. The numerals should be all precious metal IMO. (This is not a diving watch).
I have no idea if these are factors that effect market value for others as well. I ended up buying the 5134 (about the same cost as the 5035), which is thinner and overall felt much more modern and interesting to me because of the GMT feature.
In any event, there is no doubt that the 5035 is overall a beautiful and historically significant piece by anyone's standards, and hence, like every Patek, a prized piece.
Because they are Pateks. This is the first thing a Patek fan and lover should know! ;) [nt]
No message body
Once upon a time...
Patek Philippe was the best made and best designed watch money could buy, and The Most Expensive. That was true, without argument by most, for many decades. The legend of the name became synonymous with The Best and Best Design, most Classic, Finest, and The Most Expensive.
Today, Patek, in my view, MUST charge exorbitant prices to insure that they can still claim at least one of the above.
Oh!
This message has been edited by Mostel on 2012-12-05 20:12:26
First of all, which chronograph are you talking about?
There are quite a few: PP 130, 530, 533 ... 1579 ... 5070 ... 5960 ... 5950 ... 5980 ...
Why so expensive? Different answers, depending on the watch - rarity, beauty, reliability, le confort, ... - a well balanced mix out of those.
To understand the complication of the chronograph, one has to go in detail - column wheel vs ..., flicking minutes, synchronizing clutch and brake, finishig ... .
To understand the chronographs from PP is even more difficult, because from my point of view there are at least three levels and they are produced from different people in different departments.
By the way, there is no special complication department for annual calendars. Just food for thought!
If there are no differences for you, you should not spend money on it. No offense, just honest!
Oliver
Why so expensive? Different answers, depending on the watch - rarity, beauty, reliability, le confort, ... - a well balanced mix out of those.
To understand the complication of the chronograph, one has to go in detail - column wheel vs ..., flicking minutes, synchronizing clutch and brake, finishig ... .
To understand the chronographs from PP is even more difficult, because from my point of view there are at least three levels and they are produced from different people in different departments.
By the way, there is no special complication department for annual calendars. Just food for thought!
If there are no differences for you, you should not spend money on it. No offense, just honest!
Oliver
Hi Oliver , I do agree , but ...
"There are quite a few: PP 130, 530, 533 ... 1579 ... 5070 ... 5960 ... 5950 ... 5980 ..."
5170 coming soon ??? LOL !
Best regards .
Guy
Because there are Chrono's and there are chrono's
By the way, they are not that expensive. If we take the 5070 you are talking about 2nd market high price due to the fact that its in very demand. The 5170 is IMO one of the finest chrono. You want an answer? The only way is to toy around with it. Check how the hand triggers, how its running, and the reset. Check the smoothness of the pushers... and take any other chrono and compare. There is a world of difference in those tiny details that only a watch lover will notice and will care for. If you do not have a general feel of excellence, than its all the same "more or less".
Chrono's are a very complex complication. People tend to forget it. They are made in huge numbers in movements like Valjoux, basic and raw. You will find it in a million watches, it works fine too. Does the job and thats it.
You are asking a good question though, to understand it you must go into details. What is the difference between a 500$ suit and 10'000$ tailor made one. Both are suits 
A fiat Panda will take you from point A to point B, so will a Ferrari, as porsche's slogan says: "Its not about going from point A to point B, its how you get there" ... Or something like that.
A fiat Panda will take you from point A to point B, so will a Ferrari, as porsche's slogan says: "Its not about going from point A to point B, its how you get there" ... Or something like that.but if you compare a Breguet Type XX to a Patek....
The Breguet surely must be great bang per buck?
Breguet - a brand superior to Patek...... with such legandary customers like Sir Winston Churchill, Arthur Rubinstein, Napolean.......
Surely a Breguet Chronograph with flyback feature is better than a stock standard Patek chronograph?
really?
Breguet made by Swatch with a Lemania movement is superior to Patek? This is new Breguet and not the old Breguet that Napoleon used to own.
sarcasm?
You know all Patek chronos until recently have Valjoux or Lemania movements, right?
New generation are all in house
I've got a feeling this new generation of in-house PP chronos will become legendary. Precisely because they're a return to inhouse.
partially true
true to some part, indeed. However, PP, unlike Breguet has not gone through bankruptcy and has been continuously making watches. Also, PP Lemania movements are seriously re-worked while Breguet Lemania movement is identical to Lemania movement used in a bunch of other watches (Omega Speedmaster, VC, etc). There is a big difference in these two brands. I also heard that Breguet customer service is not by far the service you get from Patek.
Reply
I do not understand your arguments. Lange has not been continuously making watches either - does that mean Langes are no good? Breguet currently makes fine watches, notwithstanding any prior history, who their owners are, or any other irrelevant factors.
Separately, I agree with the member above who says that Patek's new in-house movements are a great new era for Patek.
sadly true..
the present Brequet is is not the glorified company of Abraham Brequet that catered to royalty and leaders of business.
Looks like you have a Breguet XX
and that you have adapted very well the advertising material of Breguet...
Anyhow, it is very difficult to state objectively "this is better than that".
Best, Kari
Maybe it was not clear enough in my replies before.
If YOU don´t see the differences, please don´t bore others with your mantras. It seems you don´t want to learn anything from others and you are not open for discussions.
Please make your homework and come back when you are ready for serious discussions.
Oliver
Please make your homework and come back when you are ready for serious discussions.
Oliver
But.....
Surely Fricks' reply is only a part of the story. VC makes chronos easily as fine--commanding not nearly the price--forget LIST price--what do VC's really sell for new and used.
Patek is a cherished illusion, a dream, and for a few, a reality that delivers and is worth it.
MY experience is that Patek is an illusion, but I still have a lot of interest in the brand, because of the Power and Aura of the illusion/dream that they sell so successfully. And I am attracted to the occasional new model, but I can't really imagine ever paying for a Patek again--too many disappointments on all levels. To me, it is more than 'my taste'. the watches, IMHO, are overrated and overpriced, but! So what. Who cares what I think. Patek is Patek. I post these type of replies for the Beginner--just to provide balance/contrast in a deluge of slavish, sycophantic praise.
just curious
I am just curious why are you disappointed with Patek? A Patek AC is about the same price as an AP Annual Calendar or VC Annual Calendar watch. So, why not choose the Patek. They are crazily expensive but so are these other brands, including Breguet.
Patek is independent, innnovative and most of all: incomparable!
But surely not inexpensive and that for a very good reason: to develop a movement costs time and a lot of money.
The reason why a Patek chrono is so costly is simple: they issued with the 5070 for the first time since 60 years a chrono again.
That was quite something and the connoiseurs bought it as they know it was something very special.
The 5070 was in big, big demand therefore.
The latest 5170, sadly, is actually the first inhouse chrono (manual) BUT with the latest price increases it is quite "available".
And a last note: an annual calendar from Patek, in particular, is very simple construction as it is only based on wheels.
Best
Moritz
The reason why a Patek chrono is so costly is simple: they issued with the 5070 for the first time since 60 years a chrono again.
That was quite something and the connoiseurs bought it as they know it was something very special.
The 5070 was in big, big demand therefore.
The latest 5170, sadly, is actually the first inhouse chrono (manual) BUT with the latest price increases it is quite "available".
And a last note: an annual calendar from Patek, in particular, is very simple construction as it is only based on wheels.
Best
Moritz
Oh my god, ArchieLuxury has bypassed the forum....
Incase people didn't already figure it out!
XXX (No reason to feature it! Oliver)
This guy in an absolute clown!
patek prices
patek has started to lose sight of the reality on the ground and what their timepieces should cost - regardless of the class of maufacture and quality of the workmanship, today i see many patek's offered at discounts and there are still no takers....i think they need to come to terms with reality of the global markets....i say this despite being a patek collector who has not bought a watch of theirs since 2007/2008 because it doesnt make sense anymore....at some point in time the market will resist these prices as is evident over the last 2-3 years