Patek Philippe

I have owned a 5100 and a 5059.

I loved my 5100 which was white gold with the beautiful blue/slate dial.  I like that color combination the best of the four metals because the blue/slate is more unique and the blue/slate dial changes color depending on the lighting.   Wonderful smooth, buttery crown wind which is necessary on a 10 day watch.  I believe the movements were destroyed after the watch was released so the series is unique in that sense.Becuase it was more comfortable on my wrist, this is my first choice even though it's not a perpetual.

As for the 5059, I very much like retrograde calendars because they look much better than those with register dates as found on the ususal perpertual, and watching the date change is much more enjoyable on a retrograde especially at the end of the month when date date flips back to "1."   Plus the officer case is different.  OTOH, i found this case a little uncomfortable on my wrist because the back side of the case feels convex d/t the officer cover so while i love the dial, i found it uncomfortable on my wrist.  Try it first - if you find it comfortable then this would likely be my first choice.

Both are great watches and you should be proud to own either.

Not a big fan of the 5040 becuase i find the dial too cluttered in the lower half so that would be my third choice of the three you mention.

 

I used it in a trade but hated to see it go.  Hard not to get attached to some of these pieces because they're so beautiful.

Here are photos that I believe I've posted on this site in the past.  The dial is difficult to photograph because the crystal is convex.

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Organize a photo session of your watch!

Best,

Nicolas.

Go to the 5100... it is a true beauty. By the way are you attracted by the PC complication?

Listen to your heart but for me, there is no close game here.

Fx

Don't resist...





Fx

Thanks for sharing.

nt

Although I never owned one (yet), 5100 is one of my favorites: 5100 G as a first choice, and 5100 R if choice 1 is really out of reach (but the G version is simply Arrrgh !).

Don't be confused: listen to your heart, listen to your friends here, but at the end make your own opinion.

It's not because we all agree on a particular option that this will be the right choice for you.

I am eager to see your final choice in 2 weeks with corresponding wrist shots.

Best,

Mike

the one I would most be inclined to wear. 

Actually, I like all three references you mentioned. 5040 is a very classic and thin watch while 5059 is significantly thicker.  Both wear very differently on the wrist. I slightly prefer 5040 since 5059 is a little bit too thick for its size. But I trust that different people have really different tastes. As far as design is concerned, I much prefer 5050 or 5125 (even it's "only" an annual calendar) to 5059/5040 when it comes to a calendar watch.

Other two non-watch related criteria:

A fantastic deisgn, a beautiful caliber, the pleasure to wind it 1000 times before it's completely wound up (who could consider that as a disadvantage )

The 5059 has not such a beautiful caliber though complicated, and proportions are question of taste.
And the 5040 even if very nice has not the power of the 5100 imho.

5100 all the way, especially in G with this dark blue dial !

cheers

Francois

I would, like many other members of this community, consider what I need to fill the "immediatete" gap in my collection. Personally, I do own a 5100R and a 5059P. 

You have mentioned that you think the case of 5059P is wrongly-proportioned. So it's been ruled out. You also said you prefer 3940 to 5140 because of the dial layout. For this, I share the same opinion. However, 5040's dial layout is another story, but of course the 5040G has to be the one with Breguet numerals (not railroad) and how about the color of the dial? You didn't mention if it is silver or the rarer black (like that of the 5041, as shown in my third pic).

Function-wise, if I don't have any perpetual calendar in my collection, I'd add a 5040 first, then later 5100. I have always had the weird thought that I must have a perpetual if I collect Patek. 5040 is a very good start coz it's value for money at the moment. 

For daily wear, a 5040 is just as wearable as 3940. For size, 5040 might probably fit you as well because I guess you don't have a large wrist (since you mentioned you do mind the thickness of 5059 and 5100, and the big gold Hublot the Russian was wearing. And I can be quite sure, you can't take your eyes away when it's on your wrist, subtle though it is. And that's why I'm hunting for one myself.

So my suggestion is, if I were you, I would go for the 5040G. I would also put on a brown old-looking leather strap to go with it. Oh, and one last point, I could then save 10K Euro for my next purchase. ; )

    

This message has been edited by Hamster07 on 2012-09-05 01:52:48

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The case is a strong design, very classy, not "weak", or "easy".

The caliber is a wonder, very smooth to wind up, with nice bevelage compared to "basic" calibers of Patek. The grey dial works well with the rose gold. It is a really special watch imho.

cheers

Francois

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