Quote:
Originally Posted by BigAppleBill
The VC Traditionelle is a Calatrava killer.
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You said it. I spent weeks considering a new 5196g that an AD had on-hand for me (and a few other preowned Calatravas as well), but this piece, which I got new from an AD, just made me forget about the Pateks entirely. I considered the case against VC: poorer resale compared to PP, especially. But I don't buy watches with a plan to resell them soon or think of them as investments---and anyway, market trends and fads can change in the long term. This watch is stunning, and I suspect I'll come out ok if I try to sell it years and years from now (when my son tells me he'd rather just wear his 50th-generation Apple Watch to his wedding or something).
Patek is un-disrespectable: no question they make some of the finest watches in the world, and if I could afford one of the higher-end Calatravas, I'd probably go for it. But at the brand entry-point for dressier watches, the Traditionelle satisfies me way more than the solid-caseback, small-movement, slightly-smaller-cased, grayish-dialled, and (to my very subjective eyes) overall
less-interesting 5196. I even prefer the matte black of the strap on the VC vs. the glossy one on the PP.
All that said: if anyone's looking for a gently-preowned 5196g from an extremely reputable dealer (a Rolex and Vacheron AD) with their own 2-year warranty, PM me: I've got a lead on one. $18k, which is a damn good price. It's not (yet) listed on their website, so you won't find it by internet searching. I turned it down before getting the VC from someone else (as this place didn't have the Traditionelle in wg), but the extremely cordial and knowledgeable sales rep made it hard for me to do so! (To be clear, this is
not the brand new 5196 mentioned above that I was considering from a PP AD.)