and just
focused on different issues. It is part of the pleasure I think to discover
what we like (or don't) about a watch.
There may be some details we didn't notice and we don't want to know about
To answer your size question, I think:
The CH 27-70 was already used in other watches (it was the Patek Chronograph movement) and was naturally chosen for the 5070 and 5970.
I think
that, beside the question of the movement, they independently worked on how the
two watches should look.
My guess is that they are not targeting the same clients and are not worn the
same way.Thus, the 5070 could have been designed to match every type of clothes
(casual or dressy) and could be used as an everyday wearer. The beginning of the
bigger sized cases could help Patek going that way.
On the other hand, the 5970 is meant to be a more conservative watch, maybe for an older client target and, hence, keeping it at 40mm. The more important thickness would have made it huge in 42mm by the way.
That's how I see thing.
Today, the 5270 remains quite close to its predecessor whereas the 5170 is clearly choosing to refer to the old chronographs I mentionned in my original post. Hence, the 39.4mm.
Cheers, Mark