Friends,
Following the report I wrote after Baselworld 2015, about the two first generations of the 5270G reference, I think it is high time to introduce and have a close look at the latest iteration of the reference: the new 2015 Patek Philippe 5270G and 5270R.
INTRODUCTION
Since the Patek Philippe 5970 reference left the catalogue, it was difficult to find a right successor as Patek collectors and fans were used to the older and very well known reference.
The 5270 has undertaken to face the same kind of challenge the 5170 faced at the beginning of its career when compared to the 5070: to take over from what was a great ‘millesime’ in Patek fans' and collectors' hearts.
Well, even if the 5270G with brushed silvery dial and blackened elements (1st generation) succeeded in bringing a much more up-to-date and modern watch which attracted new customers, and even if the 2nd generation with its specific scale at 6 o'clock (which time will tell if it was a good move or not) and back to a more classical outfit (white gold hands, sandblasted silvery dial) was nice and had its fans, I would say that with the third generation, I could hold a beautiful version in my hand (and the best one from my personal perspective).
I loved the 5970 but with the 5270's fantastic movement in the new case and 3rd generation's dial layout, this last generation can proudly fly on its own.
The new Patek Philippe 5270G-018 (Silver dial), 5270G-019 (Blue dial) and 5270R-001 presented this year at the Baselworld Fair are stunning and I will use Oliver's pictures of the rose gold version to illustrate my post as well as Bruno's shots of the white gold versions (thank you guys).
DIAL SIDE
First, as a reminder, the case dimensions of this reference are 41 x 12.5 mm.
The case still has its very appealing and updated lugs' shape which is perfectly suited to the case and especially the concave bezel curves. I particularly like the grooved upper edges of the smoothly refined lugs.
The pushers are rectangular with brushed sides: the perfect balance, as it limits the amount of light reflections. Patek rose gold is known to be quite smooth compared to other brands. In such a watch it allows to keep a more discreet perception. Elegance is in the right proportions.
It is classical and modern, especially regarding the perfect proportions.
This being said, the first thing that I was attracted by, surprisingly I may say as it could seem to be a mere detail, is the combination of scales which work perfectly together: their design and graphic look is truly beautiful. It is difficult to explain but is more obvious when holding the watch compared to the zoomed pictures that we are used to seeing.
There are 4 appended rings which are, from the inside toward the outside: Minutes railway, Tachymeter scale, Tachymeter numerals, and Chronograph second hand's scale.
Again, difficult to explain, but I think they make a very nice graphic combination and was the first thing that I noticed and was very much attracted by at first sight. It makes a very interesting pattern.
The second element I wanted to bring forward is the scales and dial overlapping at 6 o'clock.
As a reminder, the 1st generation's subsidiary date dial stopped just above the scale (no overlapping): this was possible because of the absence of the Tachymeter scale. The 2nd generation had the famous "belly" and this 3rd generation has a light overlapping sub-dial.
This design configuration looks fantastic in this last generation. “To each, his own.” People who prefer much lighter, purer and more modern dials will prefer the 1st generation. For others like me, who like the detailed information from the scale, making it more "technical" in spirit and more classical, this overlapping choice brings lightness compared to the 2nd generation's bottom side and doesn't look cluttered.
Frankly, I'm not someone with a great design imagination compared to watchmakers in charge of the new design but I couldn't find any better way to do it and am very excited by the outcome.
Credit: Bruno.M1
Another point that I noticed from the first pictures at Basleworld 2015 is the change on the sub-dials from Leaf hands to Stick hands and wondered if it was a good move.
That the dial is a little more decorated (additional scales) may explain the need to lighten other parts a little bit. I feel that keeping the Leaf hands for the sub-dials would have made it look a little busy. In the end, I must say that this is the second great surprise of this new version.
These little hands are extremely thin and bring much lightness and a little modernity to the dial. It reminds us that watch mechanisms are made of very small and thin elements; so it brings coherence and lightness as well. In my opinion, it is a very good choice.
For the rest of the dial, there are applied markers, as before (in rose gold) and golden painted frames in the Day and Month apertures as well as Day & Night and Leap Year indicators. These painted frames bring a little more refined and luxurious touches to the dial side without looking overloaded with for instance polished metallic elements.
A last note: I sometimes find silver dials a bit cold though more discreet but what I love about rose gold cases is that the gold hue reflects and warms up the dial colour; I love that.
Here is our "Top-model" wristshot:
And two additional shots from Bruno showing how the new white gold versions look like with this last generation's evolutions.
The blue dial:
Credit: Bruno.M1
And the silver one:
Credit: Bruno.M1
MOVEMENT SIDE
I won't talk too much about the movement as we already discussed previous versions for the 5170, which shares the same base: the CH29-535 (in the PS Q specification).
The movement is very well finished, with very thin beveled edges (whether on bridges or cams and levers), beautiful Cotes de Genève (which remain hard to make without flaws) and extraordinary perlage patterns.
It is very well balanced and was made with very fine taste, in terms of rubies with golden chatons or colour choices; it doesn't look "heavy".
The main lever used for the chronograph clutch mechanism is beautifully shaped and finished: it marvelously hugs the bridges’ round shape. It may be the element I like to admire most on this side.
As mentioned before, the evolutions are functional and clever ones, especially in a field where sometimes brands bring complications just for marketing purposes but not for working improvements.
You will find more details about these improvements at the end of the post in the Appendix. Please, note that the QP version has additional improvements (I'll edit my post to include them later).
Moreover, I particularly appreciate it when I know that a movement contains the brand's watchmakers' work after they've been working from a blank page right from the beginning (inspired from their previous experience, of course).
This movement contains more engineering work and intelligence than previous models and is a great evolution.
However, I think that all previous movements marked Patek's history, especially when considering finishing mastery at the time they were made.
CONCLUSION
As far as I'm concerned, this is the reference I would pick if I was to take the plunge.
But this doesn't mean that we can establish a ranking of the different versions since the launch in 2011. We have found in recent years that the 1st generation has many fans and the 2nd one appeals to many other collectors.
In any configuration, I think the 5270 reference is still one of the most appealing modern Chronograph Perpetual Calendar, not only in terms of aesthetics but also mechanics. It is one thing to make an in-house movement inspired from older famous calibers but it is something else to make it with smart improvements and adding another "brick" to the construction.
Anyway, even if you should have a look in-the-metal to really judge it, I'm curious to read how you feel about this new version.
Cheers, Mark
PS: Below is an additional link to the quick presentation post about the two previous generations of Patek Philippe 5270:
www.watchprosite.com
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Appendix: Six patents behind the CH 29-535 PS movement (From Patek Philippe website)
IMPROVED SYNCHRONIZATION BETWEEN THE CLUTCH LEVER AND THE BLOCKING-LEVER
Ordinarily, the clutch lever and the blocking-lever are synchronized by the column wheel. The engineers of the CH 29-535 PS eliminated this intermediate step by fitting the clutch lever with a finger piece that directly synchronizes both the clutch lever and the blocking-lever. This solution simplifies and improves the precision adjustment of the control sequences because the watchmaker only has to adjust one point instead of two as was the case in the past. Moreover, this approach suppresses the jump of the chronograph hand when time measurements are started and stopped.
IMPROVED PENETRATION ADJUSTMENT BETWEEN THE CLUTCH AND THE CHRONOGRAPH WHEEL
The adjustment between the teeth of the clutch wheel and the teeth of the chronograph wheel is performed by a large eccentric column wheel cap, working directly with the tip of the clutch lever instead of the conventional eccentric placed next to the clutch wheel. This new system enables a more precise adjustment of the penetration between the clutch and the chronograph wheel.
SELF-SETTING RETURN TO ZERO HAMMERS
The reset hammers of the chronograph counter are equipped with a self-setting system that makes it unnecessary to mechanically adjust the minute hammer function and thus increases the reliability of the mechanism.
OPTIMIZED TOOTH PROFILE
The wheels of the chronograph mechanism feature an exclusive patented tooth profile (presented for the first time in 2005 when the ultra-thin caliber CHR 27-525 PS split-seconds chronograph was launched). It eliminates the risk of hand jump in both directions when starting a measurement ; limits the quivering motion of the chronograph hand ; increases energy transmission efficiency, and reduces friction as well as wear in the movement.
PIERCED-OUT MINUTE COUNTER CAM
A new minute-counter cam was created with a slot to prevent abrupt blocking in response to the reset command and therefore eliminates hand quivering.
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