Baron - Mr Red shares his firsthand impressions of Patek Philippe's 2018 novelties from Baselworld, emphasizing the importance of trying watches on the wrist before forming a definitive opinion. He details his experience with three key references: the 5968A Aquanaut Chronograph, the 5270P Perpetual Calendar Chronograph, and the 5740G Nautilus Perpetual Calendar.
I am a big believer in "feeling" a watch on my wrist before being able to give a review on it. Obviously, sometimes one just cannot do that and one needs to rely instead on quality images. This year, however, I took the trip to Basel to "feel" the watches first hand. Looking at it through glass windows under harsh lighting can often provide a misleading impression of a watch, especially given the fact that Patek Philippe dials can take on so many hues according to lighting. Feeling a watch on the wrist creates a whole new dimension.
It is in this context that I evaluated this year's novelties from Patek Philippe. Three stood out to me as possible purchases. To be fair, I had somewhat narrowed my choice from seeing the novelties on the website. Three appealed to me, but I needed to "feel" them on the wrist. The three were the 5270p perpetual calendar chrono, 5968A Aquanaut chrono and the 5740G Nautilus perpetual calendar.
From the website, I had developed a preconceived probability of which I would buy. The pre-wrist probabilities had the Aquanaut at 80% likely to buy, the 5270P at 40% likely and the Nautilus at 20%. I thought the Aquanaut was just a home run for me. I was already imagining wearing it. So, the time of my appointment with Patek arrived and I went in to try them on.
Let me start with the Aquanaut. This is SUCH a cool watch. It screams fun. A steel, self-winding chronograph. Lovely touch of orange on the dial. Interchangeable rubber straps. Given how much I have fallen for the 5650G I bought from last year's fair, I considered the 5968A as a near-certainty for me. Putting a simple chronograph complication in the Aquanaut was inspired. A sporty complication housed in a sporty watch. There is no question that this is going to be a massive success for Patek. However, I put it on my wrist and my heart sank. At 42.2mm, it is not a small watch. And at a height of 11.9mm, it is not that slim either. On my wrist it was simply too big.
So, with a great deal of disappointment I put it aside and moved on to the next of my three. The 5270P.
Salmon dials are rare. They are reserved for special watches. I was expecting to be conflicted with this watch as I am already an owner of the 5970p and would not consider owning two perpetual calendar chronographs. I brought my 5970P with me for comparison. The first thing that struck me was the perceived difference in size. The 5970p is 40mm. The 5270p is 41mm.. Yet, on the wrist and even in the image below, that 1mm seems to make a lot of difference.
Let me show a cleaner image of the dial.
It is a beautiful watch. Be in no doubt that this watch will be in big demand. However, for me, it does not eclipse the 5970p. Some of my reasons are purely an issue of taste. For example, I love the contrast between white metal watches and black/blue dials. The asethetic works for me. As rare and desirable that salmon dials are (and they are), it does not tick my taste box as much as the variant I already own. Secondly, on a perpetual calendar, I do not like portholes. I feel they detract from the aestehtics. Clearly, this is just my personal taste, but that is the only thing relevant to me here in deciding on this watch. Thirdly, if you look at the symmetry of the dial on the 5970, it can be seen that the sub-indices are perfectly alighned along the 3-9 axis. That alignment is not there for the 5270p. To many, that symmetry is not so important. To me, it is. In a PCC, I want to see that symmetry as it gives the dial much more cohesion. On my wrist, I felt the size was ok, but it did feel a good bit bigger than the 40mm of the 5970p and at the margin I preferred how the 5970P wore. So, with these issues in my head, I had to reject the second of my three. I think the watch is beautiful, but it is not for me.
So, onto the Nautilus. Let me be blunt......I have a bias to declare. I really don't like Nautilus as a genre. I bought a 5711a several months ago and just did not enjoy it. I was extremely underwhelmed by it. I saw it as a triumph of image over content. I also tried a 5712A which I preferred, but only marginally. I just don't like them.
But then I put on the 5740G.
The perpetual calendar is a special complication. There is nothing sporty about a perpetual calendar. Indeed, with the moonphase being an integral part of a perpetual calendar, one could argue that the complication is quite romantic. Had Patek Philippe chosen to house this watch in steel, then I think it would have been wrong. The watch would not have made as much sense as housing it in platinum or white gold. That precious metal lends itself to the complication. I think white gold was a perfect choice.
Contrasting with the white gold case there is one of the more beautiful blue hue dials that I have seen. Take a look at this.....
Good grief! Look at that dial. Look at that colour!
Sized at 40mm and, crucially, just 8.4mm in height, the dimensions of this watch are spot-on for me.
As for the dial, I love the balance and symmetry.
For me, an avid Nautilus-hater, I think this is the most beautiful Nautilus that Patek Philippe have ever made. I think it is superb. On the bookies odds, the 4-1 outsider of the three just romped home. For what matters to me, this is the watch that I am most likely to buy. It would be the only Nautilus in my collection, but if i am going to own one Nautilus, this is surely the one.
