Patek Philippe

At the weekend, i had a visitor to stay who had with him a sealed 5131G. Over a bottle of some Mouton Rothschild (he needed a little persuasion to open it!!!) , he carefully broke the seal and unveiled this classic watch. I have to say that the watch had hitherto not really appealed to me. However, in the flesh....good grief it is stunning. The white gold just brings out the blue in the enamel with such effect. The picture does no credit for the watch at all. However, i want to say that while i will never crave this watch, it remains one of the most stunning on-the-wrist watches that i have seen. Rarity is a strange beast, but with this one its true beauty is in the wearing.

very very nice...

>US$50k!

I'm a sucker for enamel dials, and on the 5131, the dial is really superb, warm, with a delicious cissor hand.

That was the version I was expecting for a long time, from PP.

Ok, it is not a flawless watch:

The enamel dial looks a bit too small, the typo of the 24 cities is a bit weird, and most important to me, the engraving " Patek Philippe " " Genève " at 12 and 6 is, in my opinion, not really necessary.

But it is a charming watch.

Thanks to PP, they reserved them to some flippers, so the grey market price makes this watch unaffordable.

My banker appreciates, I don't.

Best,

Nicolas

Yes, it is a shame that they had to engrave PPP on it...totally unnecessary. However, the blue on teh enamel is breathtaking, and i can forgive it the engraving! I do wonder how many of the original owners choose to flip. My guest did not buy his through an AD, and had to pay a King's ransom for a sealed version of this watch. But he opened it in front of me and he never intends to sell it...it has been his dream watch and now he has it. NFS...never for sale.

To become a great watch, i think it is quite typical to have flaws. This one, on the wrist though, leaves me speechless.

And that I would love to!

Mainly to judge the impact of the engraved bezel on the appeal of the whole watch.

Totally agree with you, Mr Baron: Some great watches are born with some flaws.

Isn't this called " Charm " ?



Best,

Nicolas

Forget the 5070.....



Cheers

Hi Kari,

It is well worth the wait when you get it on your wrist !! 

Enjoy soon.

Cheers,

Gordon

 

I completely concur with Nicolas' statements above.

I am a big fan of enameling (grand feu, cell enamel, and enamel paintings) so I will almost like anything with enamel work on it.

Not a big fan of the engraving on the bezel. But I can live with it.

But what really bothers me is the fact that there are so many "flippers" who buy this watch. The World Time is probably my favorite petite complication, and I can't have one.

Congratulations to this special individual who actually opened his watch! He should be proud of this watch and if I had one, I would wear it often.

I heard soo many conflicting stories and rumors. To me this world time reference is a work of art with each dial being unique. I cannot help but wonder how many collectors have acquired this masterpiece directly from their AD at list without paying a king's ransom to a non-authorized Patek dealer. Even if I was in a position to afford ( which I am not ) buying from a so-called "flipper" at the silly inflated price, I would never allow myself to do it, especially on a current production Patek. Will I ever acquire one from an AD ? I can only dream, and dream, and dream.

The thing is, if this watch was available to me at list price I would still not buy it. That sounds weird after i have already stated that teh watch is breathtaking on the wrist and one of the most beautiful. But is it not possible to admire something without actually wanting it? I think yes. I admire this watch a great deal. It is stunning to look at. It really has flaws, and Nico put his finger on the biggest one. But even with them, it is so beautiful. But, would i rather wear a Daytona Paul Newman or a 5070P? Absolutely. You could probably buy both these legends for the price of this 5131.... but still, it is a true beauty.

Not the great chef Nico from UK ??  Are you referring to him ??

AS for this Patek 5131G or J, is this dial really worth the premium ??  I personally think VC has made some extrodinary enamel dial wristwatches with also writings on them " Mercator ", not to mention the complication.

I am just curious, why so much attention, it kind of reminds me, when Patek 5960 & 5980 first came out, any patek or non patek collectors were all talking about this watch, then there was Rolex Milgauss green glass.  IT's been some time now, and look where these watches are now.

If my AD would consider offering me this enamel dial patek tomorrow, i probably would consider ......... !!

more famous than him!!

I would also consider a visit to my AD if he called me for this 5131G...

Dreaming is free, as I tjink any PP AD would consider calling a lot of people before me.



Your comparison with the Mercator, and especially the cloisonné model, is meaningful.

But a WT is a WT, and PP is the King of the WT, to my eyes.

An enamel version is really something to be seen in the flesh, just to be sure about the 2 or 3 things I mentionned.

Best,

Nico...From Paris.

...from 5960 and 5980. IMHO, the latter are meant to be "mass" produced. 5131 is not and can't be. Its enamel dial is very difficult to make. Although we see more 5131s showing up now, I doubt in the end there will be many in total.

So I want to congratulate every 5131G/J owner for getting this rare and (subjectively) beautiful piece.

That said, I share exactly the same opinions as Nicolas commented on the 5131, and to be honest, overall I don't like this watch. I recall when 5131 was just announced, a few friends of mine had the same instant reactions. None of us liked the font on the dial nor the engraving on the bezel. That, to me, killed the watch.

Of all the modern Patek world timers, my favorite is 5110P, though it is not perfect either.

To me, the perfect Patek world timers, with or without enamel dial, are 1415 and 2523.

your thoughts on the 5130 WT?  I particularly like the hands on this model and te guilloche work in the middle is quite nice.

... because of several reasons: 1) same useful world time function as the 5131, 2) very cool looking blue dial with sunburst guilloche, and 3) very stylish on the wrist.

Between the R and P, you should view the two dials under different lighting to see which one shows the time more clearly (i.e. which one's hands can be seen more easily). With the P, the (darker) blue dial might make the hour and minute hands harder to read vs the silver dial for the R. This issue happens to the 5130/1R-011 and 5130/1G-011, both of which have darker dials.

Good luck with your selection !!

abou the 5980, but the 5960 is still hard to find....

Cheers

5980 is also hard to find and quite an interesting watch
(with a very high price unfortunately)

Cheers

They ARE not hard to find anymore.

That was the meaning of the post you answered to.

Best,

Nicolas

At least where I live they are still hard to find...

Cheers

Hi,

Last time I was at the Paris salon, both watches were available.

I don't know if that's still the case or not (I've already tried on a 5070R available at the Paris salon too, it's no longer available, for this one I'm sure   ).

Cheers

Dje

Three two different ads here and they did not have either...



Cheers

Hi,

Great experience!

I've had this watch on my wrist and no doubt if I had the money and the opportunity (this one is for you Nicolas) I would kill my bank account!

IMVHO there's no point trying to make oneself a definitive opinion without having had it on the wrist.

You're not ready to pay the MSRP price and/or don't have the relationship with an AD to get one? Don't ever try it on, that's better for you!

The worst part (or best part) about this watch is that because of its beauty it has stopped me from any wish to get a 5130G!

Cheers

Dje

Hi Baron,

Sounds like you are referring to Nico Rosberg. No?

he certainly drives his car like that

No message body