I’ve been collecting for a fairly long time, and as I get older (I’m 37) I find myself being less interested in sports and dive watches. I’ve probably followed a pretty similar path to a lot of young collectors, in that I was obsessed with Tag, Swatch etc as a child, and when I reached my mid 20’s I started off with an IWC Pilot chrono, to modern rolex, to vintage rolex, to AP, and various others.
My collection is smaller than it has been, and my most recent purchase was a Lange 1815 Up Down. My daily rotation is my Rolex 5513 or my JLC Master Control sector dial, with my Lange maybe once or twice a week. I also have a variety of Seiko, Swatch, and a Seamaster Deville that I enjoy occasionally.
I’ve never owned a Patek, and I’ve recently become obsessed with the 5196. I had the opportunity to try the R when I was recently in London, and it really is spectacular for such a simple watch. My 1815 is RG, so as much as I like the R, I’d go for the G. Unfortunately the P is out of my price range!
To me it’s just perfectly balanced, and I find it hard to explain what it is, but it just has that X factor. That being said, the only way I could purchase it would be to take advantage of the Rolex madness and sell my 5513. I’m trying to figure out if this would take my collection too far to the dress watch side. However, I have a suspicion that the 5196g will work well as a casual watch too, although without owning one I can’t tell if I’m just trying to convince myself of that! So, are there any 5196 owners out there who could chime in on this topic? Do you find the 5196 to be more versatile than a simple dress watch, or am I just seeing what I want to see? I’m not expecting it to feel right in shorts and t shirts, but I’m definitely more on the jeans/casual side than tailored jackets and pocket squares!