Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5168G Khaki Green modeled by Mark from Regarding Luxury
In a year, 2019, that saw Baselworld shrink to close to 50% from its hey days in the early 2000. And with many predicting the eminent complete demise of the show, one of its three top patrons and presenters, arguably the greatest watch brand in the world, decided not only to stick with Baselworld, but have its best showing. At least that’s my conclusion from the five years I have been attending.
Patek Philippe blew it out of the park with its 2019 novelties, new models, rare models, and new movements. You name it Patek had an answer and for a fan like me, attending their press event and getting a chance to wear and photograph the novelties was like a kid in a candy shop. Let’s take a retrospective to explore again the new models, one by one, and summarize this huge year for the Genevois icon, here’s hoping that the up coming show in 2020 will be even better.
Patek updated 19 models in 2019 and some are completely new, while others were simple variations on existing models. After a 20 minutes press conference, I only had about 40 minutes to view and photograph the new models. So I selected the models that I found most interesting; and that I would want to try for a longer time; and circumstances allowing, want to add to my own collection.
Finally, it’s worth noting that that 5231G world time with cloisonné enamel in white gold would also be part of this list, but alas, I did not have a chance to try it on; nor was the Grande Complications reference 5078G minute repeater; and neither the mother of all of Patek collection, the reference 6300G with its whopping 20 complications.
I also got a chance to see the reference 5905R flyback chronograph with annual calendar which is now in rose gold with a brown sunburst dial and flat pushers rather than pump pushers like in the previous version and completing the platinum 5905P-001 and 5905P-010 in blue and black dials respectively. It’s a great addition to an already superb complicated watch, perfect for those wanting that model with richer and warmer colors.
And as all of these watches have been percolating to authorized dealers across the world the past few months, perhaps I’ll get a chance to see them live. Or maybe at this up coming Baselworld, perhaps I maybe able to have hands on time with them as well along with any new 2020 models. Until then here are the five I got to see with some time to photograph and form an initial opinion.
Ref. 5212A Complications Calatrava Weekly Calendar
Targeted at the business person, especially those working in the financial industry, this is a rare stainless steel Calatrava which also sports for the first time what Patek calls a “weekly calendar” complication. The semi-integrated mechanism displays the current week number, in addition to the day and date. The dial includes five hands. In addition to the regular time hands, the other two are to help with the remaining calendar functions: a shorten hand showing the day of the week, along with one showing the current week number.
The self-winding mechanical movement Caliber 26‑330 S C J SE comprises over 300 parts and affords the wearer a minimum of 36 hours of power reserve with a maximum of 45 hours. Designed for the business person as a daily wear. Adjusting the date is done via the crown while the other calendar indicators can be adjusted with two pushers located on the case. The adjustment is fail proof, which means that the wearer can adjust anytime without fear of harming the movement.
At 40 mm and less than 11 mm high, the Calatrava 5212A is the modern definition of the business watch. It includes all information that a business person needs. The legibility of the white opaline dial is remarkable since it indicates 7 pieces of calendar information. And to do this with a watch that would easily fit under any shirt cuff shows why Patek Philippe is the brand par excellence when it comes to classically designed timepieces. Now if they could manage to squeeze in more power reserve and an annual calendar, this could become the Grand Complication to own in 2020.
Ref. 5235/50R Complications Annual Calendar
Patek Philippe Advanced Research division periodically releases new technology that usually finds its way into new watches. The most recent one was for the compliance technology that was featured in the Aquanaut Travel Time reference 5650G. This included a partially skeletonize dial to show the bending parts as the user presses on the pushers on the left side.
Before the Aquanaut advanced research model, one watch that was released with novel technology was the Annual Calendar Regulator. Now discontinued, it is reference 5235G with Caliber 31‑260 REG QA. This was a white gold with grey dial regulator with a movement that included all the new improvements from the brand: Giromax balance with Spiromax balance spring that uses a Patek’s silicon material named Silinvar. The goal for Patek is to create a movement that is as accurate as possible. A watch that could serve as a regulator as in the old days. And if this was not enough Patek also included an annual calendar complication to the watch. And at just over 40 mm wide and 10 mm high this is a great day to day modern work watch.
For 2019, Patek revisits the Annual Calendar Regulator with reference 5235R indicating a new case material and dial. The rose gold case now sports a “ebony-black” dial with satin finish. This is a definite improvement over the previous model which was very grey and likely not to the taste of many. The new model colors scheme is more contrasty. I definitely like it better. The following TechNews #2 from Patek.com goes in details about the heritage of this model as well as the advanced technologies included therein.
Ref. 5168G-010 Aquanaut Khaki Green Dial
Perhaps the fan favorite release is the white gold “Jumbo” Aquanaut. Following Patek’s release of a white gold blue dial (reference 5168G-001) slightly larger (42.2 mm) Aquanaut in 2018, the new model includes a safari Khaki dial with matching strap. Like all “simple” non-complicated Aquanaut models, this one also includes the self-winding mechanical movement, caliber 324 S C with date at 6 o’clock and sweeping seconds hand. While the Aquanaut is part of the sports collection from the brand, with 120 meters water resistance, and this model being larger than the steel 5167A. This is thin watch at 8.25 mm. This means you won’t have any issues wearing this with a suit.
For me, the Aquanaut remains the every day Patek. The beater Patek, if such a thing exists. And in white gold and with a slightly larger case, bold dial colors, the new Aquanaut fits squarely in competition to the luxury sports watch segment. It’s like the two seater convertible model in ones car collection, if you are lucky enough to have a collection of cars to select from. It’s fun, great for day-to-day driving to work and weekends strolls.
Ref. 5172G Complications Chronograph
The Patek Philippe reference 5172G is the watch for the connoisseur. A simple manual wound chronograph with column wheel and horizontal clutch. Patek uses its beautifully finished caliber CH 29‑535 PS which provides small seconds and 30 minutes chronograph.
The white gold case perfectly comprises the blue dial with its white gold applied Arabic numerals and hands with luminescent coating. At 41 mm and less than 12 mm high this is the watch for the CEO who has no time to waste and wants to make an impression with clients and at the board room filled with the much too common steel sports chronograph, or worse, Apple Watch wearing hipsters.
Ref. 5520P Grand Complication Alarm Travel Time
The last model is also the most complicated and interesting from an horological point of view. The Grand Complication reference 5520P Alarm Travel Time in platinum, priced at a cool 1/4 million dollars is the largest of the new models at 42 mm while remaining rather thin at a bit over 11 mm. The decidedly sporty looking watch seems like an over the top Calatrava Pilot Travel Time reference 5524 that Patek introduced a couple years ago which only sports three crowns instead of the symmetrical four in the 5520P.
But looks barely scratch the surface of this watch. This is a travel time Patek, so with two timezones but also with a novel alarm complication that Patek calls a 24 hours alarm. The new self-winding Caliber AL 30‑660 S C FUS with over 550 parts was created expressly for this watch — instead of adding an alarm module to an existing Caliber.
The novelty in the alarm mechanism is that in addition to showing on/off and having an independent crown to wind its reserve, it also indicates the alarm time in 24 hours in a double digital aperture under the 12 hours markers. Additionally, the alarm is precise to the 15 minutes and will strike for up to 40 seconds in a constant sustained cadence. A pusher at 2 o’clock allows the users to turn the alarm on or off, which is indicated in an aperture on the dial. Opposite that aperture is another showing the second time zone AM or PM. Four new patents have been applied for the novelties in this movement.
There is no question in mind that Patek Philippe “won” Baselworld 2019. I don’t say this lightly as even without the Swatch group, Patek still has a number of worthy competitors that come ready to show and amaze journalists and retailers. Think of the LVMH brands, e.g., Hublot, Zenith, and TAG Heuer. And furthermore, without the Swatch brands, the many smaller and independent brands now either have a larger booth or more attention. And this is not even taking into account and discussing the large collection of Rare Handcrafts timepieces that Patek also released and showcased at the entrance of their booth.
And of course, Rolex and Tudor, are still very much a presence at the show as they usually are. However, the models from Rolex left a lot to be desired for me, and the clear winner was from the booth just across. And for me, Patek Philippe did not show one nor just two variations on existing models, but rather what was impressive was the breath and depth of the collection they showed.
As an already fan of the brand, I came away with a renewed respect for Patek. The attention to details and their efforts in creating new innovation along with small improvements to existing models shows that Mr. Thierry Stern and company are not only listening to their customers, they also have a plan for the long-term sustainability of the brand and are jealously respecting, leveraging, and following their remarkable history and patrimoine, while also looking toward the future. patek.com
Editor’s note: special thanks to Mark from Regarding Luxury for modeling
Addendums 02/11/2020
various typo and English fixes
moved the Calatrava 5212A images to correct section
added photographs of the 5235R in appropriate section
One of the winners in the 2019 GPHG awards in the first week of November was a two year old upstart watch brand from Kuala Lumpur named MING Watches. The young brand won best watch in the Challenge category at the Geneva show to the delight of its founder and watch aficionados who have regularly helped sell out the brand’s 11 prior releases since its debut of the 17.01 watch.
MING watches are not limited per we but are produced in small batches of a few hundreds, which in effect make them limited. A quick perusal to their web site shows that all models, except for the two new 2019 models have sold out. Interestingly the new models are also priced much higher than the previous ones. However, before getting ahead of ourselves, how does one go about seeing or trying on a MING watch?