Horological Meandering

cisco
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I may have agreed in the past, but now?

Patek has ever a taste for very simple and pure watch, has always tried new technologies when they were available (Quartz in the 70s, silicon now). They rarely go nuts on their models (some exception exists as always).But I won't say their caliber is better than VC, or AP imho. We can go deeper

Mechanics

If you look at the chronograph movement, Lange and Patek are great, AP has to do better than modular and all VC lovers wait for their future in house chronograph caliber which will be great I am pretty sure.

If you look at simple manual winding caliber the Patek 215 is imho not so appealing as Vacheron 4400/1400 or the fantastic Lange 1.

For automatic caliber the Audemars and the Vacheron are really nic e, maybe the micro rotor looks nice because of this architecture, and has the advantage to be thin but I won't say than any has a better finish. Lange let the 3/4 rotor go and that is a mistake imho. It was maybe the most beautiful automatic caliber, but now, I am not so sure...

AP and VC have unmatched skills for skeletonized watch imho, both are amazing in that domain. Lange is not there, and Patek imho is not so far.

And if you look at Grande Complication, the Patek micro rotor with tourbillon / minute repeater is something astonishing. Only AP has a grande sonnerie, and even with the striking Zeitwerk Lange has not really shown something for striking watch, a shame for such a brand..

Aesthectics

If Lange has fantastic mechanics, you have to deal with most of the time thick watches if they are complicated, their flank is always straight. I have a 1815 and it remains really thin and small enough for me (just my taste). But for complication, I find that the thickness impression is not as well mastered as by Patek for example. Vacheron has some terrific design in the historic line (the ultra thin is something amazing, so pure, so beautiful, every thing is in the details), and the Patrimony are really beautiful with nothing too simple, the lugs, the bezel, so many details. Vacheron dial are something even for simple watch which sometimes lacks for Lange or Patek. AP has the iconic RO and Offshore, both fantastic in there 2 different style.

 AP is all RO? no more, with the last Millenary they (finally) did a great Job of having a strong aesthetics fitting the mechanics, a great watch imho. Some Jules Audemars are awesome, very classic but yet perfectly done. The Grande Sonnerie is a hell of a watch, so simple , so complicated.

But ALL THAT I WROTE JUST BEFORE IS JUST BULLSH...., because even if you can analyse every brand, every mechanics, in the end it is ONE MODEL that will get your heart, and that's the best one, whatever its name or brand.

Cheers

Francois