FabR[Senior Patek Moderator]
26166
Very happy this beauty has arrived Nils! We already discussed it in private many times and from every possible angle over the last year, so I really don't have much to add....except that it looks great on you, and it is time for the big decision! :-)
Dec 03, 2022,21:49 PM
For me, it was kindly delivered to one of the Italian ADs right before I arrived in Summer 2021. It was love at first sight when it sat on my wrist, and not even a couple months later, after a useful chat with Patek about production numbers, I decided to pull the trigger.
To give a bit of context also for our members, I obviously see myself as a Patek collector but also, humbly, as a Rare Handcraft "student" and collector (I reserve the term "scholar" for the only subject in which someone bothered to give me a PhD and then a professorship, which is Algebra, but I guess you get the point!
)
Any serious Rare Handcraft collection must include all four "main" techniques that Patek Philippe, and specifically the last two generations of the Stern family, have literally saved from extinction and raised to the level of the coveted horological artworks we admire today --- wood marquetry, enamel, miniature painting, and hand engraving. In particular, the latter is the oldest among the decorative crafts employed in horology, and is deeply rooted in Patek's own history and tradition.
As it happened, hand engraving was the one still missing from my collection in early 2021. And the 5088/100P is, by far, my favorite of the hand-engraved models *currently* offered by Patek, not least because it cases the "correct" movement, the iconic caliber 240
To be always honest, would I prefer the "original" 5088P, a lovely limited edition offered right before the introduction of the 5088/100P in 2015? (I believe at least a couple of our distinguished members have this reference.) Probably yes, side by side I might have chosen the 5088P. But I don't buy second hand, and I find the two pieces equally and *totally* exceptional, both on technical and stylistic grounds
Now, while we arrived at the conclusion that this reference was "necessary" to complete my own Rare Handcraft collection (OK, more came after that and also in the future, but that's a different story! ;-)), is the 5088/100P equally necessary for an excellent *watch* collector such as yourself? Strictly speaking, no. It would elevate almost any collection, due to its quality and exclusivity (and unparalleled elegance!), but it remains a VERY niche product.
Perhaps, at the risk of sounding like an emoticon, the most trivial of all questions is the only one that really matters at this point.....How does it feel on the wrist?
All in all, if this is your first Patek RH, I would say go for it my friend. If you decline, we both know this one is not coming back for you (in fact, I'm already surprised by such a late delivery ;-) And yes, like many of us did after buying this reference....start checking the time on your phone rather than a watch, and change that incredibly boring and serious strap with a brighter one!!
As your moderator, I hope I gave you (and all other members) a brief but fair and balanced perspective on this spectacular Patek --- in the context of both my humble collection and Patek Philippe's own offering.
Cheers!