Mike H
[AHCI Moderator]
11053
I would have bet it is no but...
... but the comments from Kari let me have a very small doubt.
You can try your luck but I assume you should prepare your arguments well if you write a letter to Geneva.
But in case they agree (which I still doubt), be prepared to not only pay a bunch of money but also forget your original dial (for this I am certain, they will NEVER give it back to you). So you'd better be sure before you ask so as not to regret your choice !
Both grey and black dials are nice on the 5205G but they really look different to such an extent that almost the watch itself looks different (I exagerate only a little). I mean they look so different that I believe they address a different clientele. And if you choose the dark dial originally, you might not feel happy in the long term with a silver one.
Ideally, find a friend who owns a 5205 with silver dial in your city and try to convince him to do a temporary swap for 1 or 2 weeks and then decide...
Good luck and let us know the outcome.
Best,
Mike
Would Patek change the dial on my 5205G?
I have just returned my 5205G back to Patek for them to carry out some warranty work. Basically the DAY pusher is sticking in when pushed and so the day doesn't change over, unless you then manually wind the watch past midnight. When that happens the push...
Doubtful
Highly unlikely and even if they were willing it would probably cost thousands of dollars.
It depends...
I asked in the past both from the London and Paris Salon it the dial of my 5120J could be changed the the ones of the bracelet version. In both places they told "no Chance". I wrote a motivation letter and delivered my watch together with that letter for ...
I would have bet it is no but...
... but the comments from Kari let me have a very small doubt. You can try your luck but I assume you should prepare your arguments well if you write a letter to Geneva. But in case they agree (which I still doubt), be prepared to not only pay a bunch of ...
Additional comment:
In London Salon they told me that in case the dial has to changed due to readability issues, the chances are much better. I was very surprised to get the dial changed by Mike H is 100% right; I did not get the old back. Best, Kari
Thank you for the replies so far.
What is the issue with a dial change? Is this a Patek policy, as I don't understand what difference it would make? My AD is going to ask the service centre tomorrow, so hopefully will have a better understanding! Kari, firstly, may I have a copy of your l...
I will try to find the letter...
I bought 5120J as my first Patek because it was the only one the AD had available and I needed to get the watch without delay! I made a deal worth of over a billion and wanted to celebrate that with a new watch... I did not all in all like the watch too m...
Thanks Kari..........
But I am still getting my head around making a billion "Something" deal!!!!!!!!!! What a feeling that must have been :) And you certainly celebrated it in style :)
Nothing really special
In oil and shipping the amounts are big but the margins are small. I have a tanker shipping company and we ship every month crude oil worth over half a billion. And still in today's market my pockets are nearly empty! Best, Kari
Kari, my friend it still sounds impressive.
Update from my AD. Patek will change the dial, should I choose. The only uncertain thing, is whether they will have to also carry out a service at the same time, which would more or less double the cost. But if they don't have to then it may be a possibil...
I chose the lighter dial on the 5205 ...
Because of legibility upon conferring with my trusted AD. Further, I was smitten by the Patef print ads showing the 5205 in lighter color tucked under a suit. The rest as they say is history. I hope everything will turn out well on your end.
Very happy for you, this is great news
I would not have imagined they agree even if it is not much hassle for them, so this is excellent news! 5205G is a great watch, whatever the dial. Enjoy it and wear it in the best of health. Best, Mike
I am very happy on your behalf!
I think that if a watch like Patek is having the same basic reference in different versions, we should be able to get just the one pleasing us most. And sometimes it happens that we do the wrong choice in the first place. Please send us a couple of pictur...
Gents, thank you for your replies & comments......
Patek will not look at my 5205 now until the New Year. So, I will have to wait & see whether they could replace the dial without a service or have to do a service as well. If the latter then I shall not even consider it. But just have the warranty wor...
Don't dream...
You will not get a new Certificate. But you will get, if you ask, a detailed receipt of the dial change job. Keep that with the Certificate. You will not get the old dial and hands either. Best, Kari
Interesting Kari, we're pulling out of some hard and soft commodities areas and will
be focusing on electronic trading... basically turning into a software developer!
Good luck with electronic trading!
In my business it has never really functioned. I understood that electronic trading is always quite challenging. My other kid brother was involved with that both in the States and back at home with the result that last summer he defended his PhD Thesis. T...
We can work a lot more clients that have an institutional day trading desk. Keep our
spreads tighter and maximize profit by relying on our low-latency gear doing the work... after all you don't have to pay a system a bonus :) would love to have a look... puffy dot watches dot gmail dot com
Sounds like a business...
I am so old and old-fashioned that I'm trying to make money with simple basic industries like oil and shipping. And my business concept is simple: I use money of others and if everything goes to hell, I loose my reputation and others loose their money. If...
The link of the thesis is sent
I had a quick look and it looks as boring as my younger brother is. However, he's not totally stupid so perhaps you can find something clever from the book. Best, Kari
PatekServiceLeavesMuchToDesire
I completely agree with you, There should in truth be absolutely no question with getting your Patek dial changed to whatever is your liking, when you are prepared to pay for it and it is made for the same watch with matching hands all manufactured and av...
Which friendlier watch brands?
Hi Rishad, Which friendly brands did you invest in instead of Patek? I know that Rolex does the same.
Omega
Hi, Omega is one. I've found them far more forthcoming and customer friendly in my experiences when speaking of service and spares for vintage watches. I sincerely hope they retain these good standards in years to come. To give an example, I wrote to Omeg...
Why retain old dial?
>>I never understood why a company must retain an old dial, specially when customers specifically want the old one back and they paid for both dials, old and new. I though it was to ensure the dial would not be used in a fake. fnk
Thanks
Thanks fnk, That's the first logical reason I heard for a company retaining old dials! I do however feel the company is going about it the wrong way, whatever the reason. I'd see no wrong in a manufacturer asking to retain an old dial when changing dials,...
Well I had the opportunity to see the lighter dial.......
And I am sold on it. I visited my nearest AD this week and spent quite a long time viewing it in various light conditions. And I have to say that it is a LOT more legible then the darker dial. So, I may well being changing over in the New Year. :)