Patek Philippe 5960A Black Dial Review

It has been a joy to wear this 5960A.  One thing that has become even more clear to me is that watch dimensions on paper vs. on the wrist have many other factors in play.  40mm width x 48mm length x 13.5mm thickness.  The 13.5mm thickness on paper seems substantial, but the fact that the 5960A is made of steel, designed to be curvy at all the visible angles, and sits on my wrist very evenly, makes it feel much less obtrusive.  It is actual wearability trumping the raw stats. The premium is not only in the brand name.  With the Black '60A, the return is seen in the quality of the dial.  The faceted hour indices & faceted main hands create great reflecting contrasts against light.  Look at how the mono-chronograph counter hour ring floats above the inner minutes rings.  Then, the outer minutes ring with the lume plots sits slightly above the black dial -- it makes the blackness feel like a void -- a great visual trick.





The main red chronograph hand floats above the dial.  This idea of a space zone above the dial can be seen in the pic below. You can also see that the crystal has a bit of thickness to it.





I thought the little power reserve hand would bother me as it moves clockwise to block the "Patek Philippe" name.  But no, the fact is the movement is automatic and the self-winding takes care of maximizing PR so the hand is typically always pointing at full reserve after a few hours of active wear.





I've found that I love to see these red hands in pause.  And I do not like the reset position pointing to 12.  So I always leave the chronograph hands stopped in a split position.  It is easy enough to reset & start.