5204p

[FeelingTheBlues]

Greetings TRF,

I recently had the chance of looking at a few pictures of a rather special timepiece made by Patek Philippe and I was tempted to post a thread about it. What I like about this watch is that it has as many good things as it has special and "funny" aspects (in my humble opinion, that is) I'd like to point out in order to make people think about it in the hope that this will lead to a very interesting discussion.

Without further introduction, allow me to review the Patek Philippe 5204p.



The case: When I started to admire the case of the 5204p, I thought it would be interesting to compare it with the watch's older non in-house brother, the 5004.

Here are two pictures (which aren't mine) of the said watches to help my description.

5004



5204p



The first thing I noticed while looking at those two watches was the difference between the crowns and pushers. Although I personally prefer the 5004's "popped out" pushers I think the ones on the 5204p really enhance what I think this watch represents for the company: modernism. Indeed, given that it is a new watch with a new in-house movement I think it was only logical for them to make it look more like a modern piece and I believe the fact that the thin part of the pushers isn't as noticeable really helps to give the whole case such a look. As for the crown, I think it really is one of this watch's fortes! With all due respect to the 5004 enthusiasts (mind you, I really love this watch as well) I think the crown is just too large on it while the one of the 5204p makes the watch look more elegant and the pusher at the tip of it makes a much nicer "bow" with the pushers than the one on the 5004.

Note on the crown pusher: Bravo to Patek for keeping this special part of the watch! You don't see those types of pushers a lot anymore and I think it's great that they still offer chronographs with this feature.

As for the rest of the case, something that surprised me (in a good way) was the details that make you think Patek worked hard on designing this timepiece (mind you, I don't think somebody would ever have a doubt about the effort they put in their work). Notice how the lugs have "shoulders" on both their sides that are more pronounced and that seem to continue all around the case, although I usually prefer rounder cuts when it comes to lugs I think this detail really adds someting to the lines of the whole case. As well, modernism is still the word that comes to my mind when I see that they decided to make the watch bigger than the previous 36mm case but I'm glad they decided to keep it dressy with a versatile 40mm one.

The watch is only available in platinum, the most noble alloy Patek offers. As far as I'm concerned I think this color looks perfect for this watch but I keep an open mind, given that the 5004 looked great in colored gold I think it would be worth it to discuss on the possibility to see this model in YG or RG.

Small addition: This watch comes with a sapphire crystal caseback that is interchangeable with a solid platinum caseback. Perhaps somebody could give me details about this I must admit that while I think it is a rather nice addition I think it is a tad useless if you need to bring it to an AD everytime you want to change it. If that's the case I'll say that I'd much prefer to have only one option (with a preference for the crystal caseback in this case) or an officer one à la 5159.

The dial and hands: Here's the part where a lot of things popped in my mind! One can only be amazed by the fact that chronographs with perpetual calendars exist and the addition of a split second feature is even more impressive but, of course, all those complications can only make the dial look busy. Is it a bad thing? Not necessarily! I personally prefer to see simple and pure dials on watches but chronographs being known to be complications you usually see on sporty watches it seems like the whole mix makes the big load of markers and lines more acceptable. In this case, I think they managed to do it right!

The first thing you can notice is the replacement of the 24 hours and the leap year hands by small guichets (the 24 hours hand has been replaced by a day and night indicator), a good move from Patek Philippe who managed to make those two informations easier to read while the dial looks much simpler, allowing them to also keep the small date hand on the dial without any problem. Surprisingly, I am a big fan of the 5004 dial but those modifications really make a difference! As for the hands, their thin shape make them fit well with the rest of the dial since they don't pop out too much but are easy to spot! Please also notice the thin luminova rectangles on the minute and the hour hands that match the ones on the large rectangle markers, another touch of modernism on this watch!

Less good points: There's not a lot to dislike on this watch but I must admit that there are three things I noticed on this watch that I would have preferred to be a tad different:

- The moonphase indicator: When I first saw it I thought that it was upside down to make the center of the watch more white, something that, again, would make the dial look less busy. Although it has this great advantage I must say I always prefer to see classic indicators that show the moon going up since it looks more logical to me.

- The day guichet: Perhaps this is just something you will notice on Friday's but is it just me or are the letters bigger than the ones for the months? I think I would prefer to see them written in the same size to add symetry to the dial.

- The subdials: I must say I prefer the fact that the 5004's are aligned and not just a tad below the level of the third and the ninth markers. If anything, I think it would have looked better if the 5204 subdials were higher and aligned, perhaps they could have made them a tad smaller as well to avoid making them look out of proportion as well as to allow all the date markers to be the same size.

The movement: The case holds Patek Philippe's Caliber CHR 29-535 PS Q, the first Patek Philippe in-house movement that has a chronograph with a split seconds feature as well as a perpetual calendar.





Is there anything to add to this? I don't think so! As far as I'm concerned this is one of the most complete watches Patek could have created and, although I am more of a collection man, I think this could very well be an only watch for an enthusiast. Some will dislike the fact that it isn't an automatic movement but I like the little wink this detail gives to the past, I am sure the duty of winding such a watch every morning must be a real pleasure! Besides, not only are there a lot of small pushers all around the case to make the adjustments easier should the watch stops but the 65 hours power reserve also allows you to wear it for a rather long time before thinking about winding it.

The band: A simple black alligator band with beautiful square scales, I don't think there's a lot to say about it but I like the fact that it's black as it makes the watch very versatile and allows you to make it match a lot of outfits. It also comes with a fold over clasp in order to avoid damaging it too quickly.

Overall: You've read it a few times in this thread, modernism is, in my opinion, the word that is the most appropriate to describe this watch. When you compare it to its previous version, this watch takes one of the most impressive complications combos you could find in a timepiece and displays it on a beautiful dial (despite the few notes I've written) in a beautiful case. The small differences you see here and there on it really draw the line between the non in-house and the in-house timepieces of the brand, I'd like to say that they help us seeing the 5204p as a real rebirth of a horological masterpiece.

I hope you enjoyed this little review of mine, here are some pictures (which aren't mine) of it!

















Thank you for reading, feel free to comment!

[HL65]

Great write up on a great watch!! Cheers my friend...

[Ramiks]

excellent review thanks for sharing

[Cru Jones]

good stuff, carl. thanks!

[FeelingTheBlues]

Glad to know you guys liked it, thank you for the kind words!

[Puffy]

very nice as always carl

[FeelingTheBlues]

Originally Posted by Puffy

very nice as always carl

Thank you Anders!

[KnitScarf07]

Thanks a lot for the great write-up! Wouldn't have noticed the difference in crown size if you hadn't referenced it. I agree though, like the smaller one on the 5204.

[incontrol]

Thank you for the informative write up! I really enjoyed it! Unfortunately now I would also love to wear one!

[nick c]

[Monte Cristo]

A very nice write up Carl indeed some of the subtle differences are not so subtle once you've pointed them out! Day font and moon phase do look slightly odd.......so for those reasons I will not be spending $300k

[FeelingTheBlues]

Thank you for the kind words gentlemen! I'm glad to know you enjoyed it!

Originally Posted by Monte Cristo

for those reasons I will not be spending $300k

Clearly it doesn't take you a lot to refuse spending such a small amount of money, you sure are one fussy man!

[myopiccoog]

I like the piece. But 317k! Wow

[FeelingTheBlues]

Originally Posted by myopiccoog

I like the piece. But 317k! Wow

Quite wow-ish indeed...

[Bulliondesk]

Great writeup Carl! Thank you.

[eric23]

Great read Carl!

[FeelingTheBlues]

Originally Posted by Bulliondesk

Great writeup Carl! Thank you.

Originally Posted by eric23

Great read Carl!

Thank you guys!

[dddrees]

Great review, thanks for sharing Carl.

Both are wonderfull looking watches.

[FeelingTheBlues]

Originally Posted by dddrees

Great review, thanks for sharing Carl.

Both are wonderfull looking watches.

In the end, I can only agree with you Dan!

Thank you!