Patek Philippe

In 1994 Patek Philippe launched their first serially produced rattrapante wristwatch in many, many years, reference 5004. The first made, 879’500, currently resides in the Patek Philippe museum while the second, 879’501, was sold to a retailer in December of 1994 (this watch was recently sold by European Watch Company ). Based on movement numbers from then to the mid 00’s, annual production was around 40-50 watches per year. Production past that point is obfuscated by the modern movement numbering scheme, which was probably the point.

The 5004’s case is larger than the 3970, at 36.7 mm in diameter. Despite the extra button, 5004 had the same 25 m water resistance rating as 3970. Most 5004 cases were made by Guillod-Gunther SA  (folded during COVID, now Queloz SA) based on the stamps before being taken in-house [maybe] around 2010. The most common case material is platinum, followed by rose gold. The least common is the steel swan-song model, probably made in 60-100 units with white/yellow gold somewhere in between. Based on 279 past listings on Everywatch.com I got the following breakdown by metal. 

All metals, even the early platinum ones, came with both a solid and display case backs. The early ones had a slightly less beefy crown. A five-link bracelet was also available on special order.

The catalog gave you five options: rose/white/yellow gold or platinum with the 5004 dial in silver or platinum with the 3970 black diamond dial. The day/month disks were offered in English, French, German, and Italian. There also are innumerable special order dials out there, and it isn’t unheard of for a 5004 to come with multiple dials. You'll also find 3970s with 5004 dials, as I guess not everyone likes American Typewriter. Many custom dials were ordered after the fact.

Pulsation or tachymeter scale dials are probably the rarest. Most 5004s have the 5004 leaf hands, though ones with 3970 dials often have 3970 baton hands. At least five have lumed leaf hands. Early watches don’t have counterweights on the seconds hands. The 5004 attracted many repeat customers. Michael Ovitz had at least two (possibly a set of four) 5004s with lumed hands, tachymeter dial (with his initials), and full bracelet made—one in yellow and the other in white gold. A few four watch sets were sold, one of these was auctioned Christie’s, box shown below. 

I’d say a total production of at least 800 watches is a safe assumption, which makes it rare enough to be collectable without being so rare as to fade into obscurity. 5004 was dropped from the catalog in 2011, but I’ve seen papers showing deliveries of non-steel versions well past that. There was also a single titanium 5004 made for Only Watch 2013 with an oddly automotive aesthetic. 

Despite the reverence the rattrapante enjoys today, it’s mechanically simple and has been successfully mass-produced by both Swiss and Russians. Patek made things much harder on themselves by using the 3970’s movement as a base, which didn’t have torque to spare, a problem Musy addressed with an isolator. Isolated rattrapantes have been a thing since the 1890s, but have only caught on relatively recently—probably thanks to the advocacy of Frederic Piguet. Breitling also uses such a system on the modern Duograph. Frederic Piguet’s isolator uses a lever to turn the isolator wheel, which is free floating. Patek would switch to this style on the 5204. 

There are three generations of rattrapante bridge, pictured below, with the third and final being the most common.

When including the QP module the 407 part, 28 jewel movement is 30 mm in diameter and almost 9 mm thick. It will run for 50-60 hours at a stately 2.5 hz when fully wound. Lemania generation QPs use a 48 month cam that is coaxial with the minutes recorder, instead of the 12 month cam used on all other QP chronographs. The month disk is instead carried by a separate 12-point star. The leap year indicator is jumping, unlike on the 3940, which is accomplished by a 4 pointed star astride the 48 month cam which is turned over by a finger. Interestingly, the month cam rides on ball bearings.

In the Lemania QP chronos (and the 2499/1518), the day, date, and moon phase are all advanced by the lever, which means just one pusher will advance everything in synch. The lever in current QP chronos only controls the date so the day and moon phase need to be adjusted separately. The 2499 and 1518 used 59-tooth moon phase, which is only accurate for about two and a half years. Lemania perpetuals switched to a 135-tooth moon phase, which is good for over 120 years.

5004’s successor, the 5204, came with significant technological upgrades. That comes at the cost of a wide (but marginally thinner) 40 mm case, a less charismatic dial, and a higher retail price. Customization is almost non-existent for the 5204, with the only options I know of besides custom colors being Breguet numerals and a tachymeter. That said, 5204 is my favorite watch in the current catalog, and according to Patek’s new water resistance standards, you can take it skin diving (I wouldn't)

Copyright of all material belongs to either Christie’s or Patek Philippe (including catalogs, oiling guides, patent diagrams, hero shots, etc)