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Patek Philippe Gondolo 5124G-011 Review
Today I went to try the Patek Philippe Gondolo 5124G-011 and it was love at first sight !
The watch was launched last year in Basel. I was there but -- at that time -- I didn't pay too much attention to it. Thanks to the review and teasers of other fellow purists I remembered that
I did see this watch a few days ago in display so in a very sunny easter Saturday I visited my local AD to try the watch. As you know my reviews are mostly visual ones so here we go !
Here is my first live view of the watch:
The watch has a unique art-deco case consistent with the Gondolo line. This new model (5124G-011) has a very different look than the previous reference (001). The dial is now
of a fantastic navy blue sunray dial
The movement is
Caliber 25-21 REC PS: a square movement that fits perfectly in this watch. I am obviously very happy that patek is using a proper movement for this watch as I always disliked the shortcut of using a round movement in a square case (widely used by many manufacture even high-end ones)
The colour will change according to the lighting:
At a more natural light we see a different shade of blue
Here is a side by side comparison with the bigger brother Ref. 5200G-001. This reference was launched in 2014 and features the same dial but a different movement with 8 days
power reserve and day-date function.
It is slightly thicker and taller but also less broader. This specimen was reserved for another client so it seems to be a popular reference:
Finally a photo without the plastic!! Obviously many shops have to insist on keeping the watches wrapped in plastic but is also important to see such a special dial without any alteration
so here it is in all its splendour!!
At this point the watch did indeed take my breath away. Why ? Well first of all I was in love of the case shape: very art deco and very unique. Something really different. In 2012 I considered
the previous model (with salmon dial) as my first Patek but then I decided to go for the 5127G. I think that the updated dial and strap do make the watch more contemporary and even
more unique.
It did take my breath away so I had to give it a new home

Here the great moment of boxing
And now home under natural lighting. The blue can indeed appear as a dark navy blue or light one depending on the light:
Love the blue strap and classic patek buckle:
The movement: simple but gorgeous:
The case shape is curved so an added comfort and a very unique style:
And a final one
I was pleased to see that in 2015 Patek revamped this model of the gondolo line for the joy of lovers of simple watches. The result of this upgrade is fantastic as the unique color and
overall class of this watch is difficult to convey through photos. A relatively simple update to the dial and strap created a very new and versatile watch. The bigger brother 5200G is also an
amazing watch but the classic style of the 5124G-011 was even more interesting to me.