Patek Philippe

akitaishi
295

• Show profile
• Show other posts

Some thoughts..

Both watches are excellent on the outlook.

5204 has a bigger dial while 5004 is slightly smaller.
I am not sure if I am accurate here but i have read somewhere that 5204 is the replacement reference of the 5004, or something along those lines.

While 5004 is smaller, It actually has a busier face. Both the dial at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock is "double mapped"
The 5204 however does not "double map" its dial at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock position.
Together with it's slightly bigger dial, it looks less busy.
It seems to me that if the movement of the 2 reference can be interchanged, it would have been perfect. This is because the busier dials of the 5004 could do better with slightly more space while 5204 dials would not be any way affected negatively by a smaller dial.

The 5204 simplifies 2 complications of the 5004.
1) It turns the 24 hour indicator to a day-night indicator.
2) it turns the leap year indicator to a "numeric" leap year indicator.

On point number 1, many people would think that this simplification is trivial. For me, I have no problem with either. (although i will mention a slight disadvantage later) A day/night indicator should sufficiently function as the a.m/p.m indicator for the 5204. 5004 having the 24 hour dial simply has more detail.

Putting myself in the shoes of owning and appreciating a 5004, I could imagine myself appreciating the "accuracy" of the 24 hour dial. I could constantly look at the 24 hour dial and see if it indicating the 24 hour accurately. For example, at 3 pm in the afternoon, the needle on the 24 hour indicator should be exactly midway between 12 and 18. This is the fun which a "day/night" indicator on the 5204 will not get to enjoy.=) To be honest, I did not really notice the day/night indicator on the 5204 when I first stumbled upon some pictures. On some 5204 pictures, that window showed a white dot and on others it showed a blue. I did not know what to make of it until I read some reviews. Thus, I could say that the day/night indicator on the 5204 is not intuitive to everyone; especially those looking at the watch for the first time.


On point number 2, I think the 5204 having a "numeric" leap year indicator is not a problem also ; provided that whoever looking at that window know what those numbers indicate. It's not an issue at all and takes very little time to figure out even for someone looking at it for the first time.


I think there are 2 group of preferences here. There are those who like details featured on dials and there are those who can do with a simplified dial. The first group would like the 5004 and the second group would like the 5204.

However, I must say that the 5004 is not flawless. Having 2 double mapped dial, it is inevitable that when the shorter hand on each dial coincides with the longer hand of the dial, that is when there could be a slight confusion. Visually, one would see one needle and 2 dial markings. Though this does not occur 2 frequently, when it happens, the dials could be "ambiguous". Of the 9 o'clock dial for the 5004, it happens once every minute. Of the 3 o'clock dial for the 5004, it could happen when the chronograph times a duration up to 30 minutes. I guess that's a small price to pay for a big addition of detail.


Balance:

For the 5004, the center of the needle are collinear forming a straight line that is describes the case diameter.
For the 5204, perhaps having the luxury of space, the centre of 3 and 9 o'clock dial are not aligned with the hour and minute hand dial centers. In fact, the dial for the 5204 are lower than the diameter. That makes the 5204 dial a little heavier below the 3 to 9 o'clock dial.

As a result of this, the dials push more onto the day/moon phase dial. So is there any problem ? I would say a slight one. From looking at many pictures of the 5204, there is a little distortion of the chronometer second markings(at 6 o'clock, where the words "swiss made" are)  for the 5204 due to refraction ! It is significantly more observable for the 5204 than the 5004. I have not seen either in the metal but pictures of both reference gives me this feeling.

So my verdict is that 5004 is still a "little teeny weeny" bit more attractive to me(of course) than the 5204 discussing the above points.
I guess if I would to pick between the 2, I would go with 5004 as my wrist takes on a sub 40mm dial watch better and that itself is enough a tie- breaker.

Cheers.