Incoming! My first Patek Philippe - 5230G-001

[0xalate]

Hey everyone!

First of all, I'm long time lurker of this forum, but finally decided to create an account and this will also be my first post, so bear with me :)

TLDR: I got myself a PP 5230G-001 yesterday

Attachment 1141554

I've been eyeing a Patek Philippe for a while now. I grew up in Malaysia and would walk past a row of amazing Swiss watch boutiques in a mall as a 10 year old kid. That's how I knew of Patek, hoping one day I'd be able to own one.

After saving up quite a bit over the years and now in my mid 20s, I decided to pull the trigger yesterday. I wanted the first Patek to be "substantial", but the ones on my wishlist (5167A, 5164A, 5968A, 5172G) were obviously hard to get without purchase history. The cool thing about Patek, and if you're a true fan / collector, you'd come to appreciate the beauty of each piece and how it's made, even if you'd never add it to your collection. In my case, I managed to narrow it down to the 5146G, 5205G and 5230G. The former two annual calendar complications were amazing. Just pure, no BS Patek. Patek was a king for annual calendars, and their whole lineage is amazing dating back to 1996.

That said, they didn't attract me as much as the 5230. Here's why:
1) There's a utilitarian angle to why I prefer the 5230. I live and work in the Bay Area today. I have family in Malaysia / Singapore, and friends in other places like London. It felt natural to have a time zone (World Time in PP's case) complication more than moon phases lol.
2) Look at that 5230 dial! It's insane! This is Patek levels of finishing.

One thing you'd notice is that this still has the "Hong Kong" dial, and Patek has quietly phased this out mid last year in favor of having "Beijing" in the dial of the current 5230G-014 variant. Without going into whether this is a political play and/or a gradual shift in customer base, I totally understand why Patek Philippe went with this.That said, HK has and will continue to have a strong watch collector community, so having this "older stock" meant a lot to me. Also, this will be even more noticeable when I make the annual trip home to SE Asia and needing to set my time to Hong Kong at the noon position.

While in the shop, I asked if I could browse the Patek Philippe biography by Nick Foulkes. He noticed I was enjoying it so much, so he gifted a copy:
Attachment 1141553
Attachment 1141555

Oh, and because I purchased this piece from my local AD, he asked if I had others on the wishlist. One of which was a Rolex Sub (116610LN), so I bought that on the spot too. I was told it was in the Rolex shipment that just came in the day before. A total waiting time of 2 days for a 116610LN. Came into the shop without a watch, expecting that I'll be wearing the 5230G out the door, but got a Sub while I'm at it too haha. What a crazy day! Anyways, I'll save the Rolex for another post next week :)

I'd also like to mention something to the younger collectors in this forum. Dreams do come true, but I hope you'll continue working hard and hopefully one day, you'd be able to own an awesome collection of grail watches too. I am nowhere close to where I want to be, both in my career and as a watch collector. I had a tight budget to work with, and I still need to live frugally and save up more to purchase another Patek. But this serves as a milestone to motivate myself to work even harder than before. #roadtopatekperpetualcalendarchronographs

[Ichiran]

Congrats! Dreams do come true!

[Wil1981]

Congrats two watches in one day.


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[nyc2la]

Very cool story. And the Patek WT is fantastic. Congratulations!

[ap190482]

Great story. The day finally came. Although as pretty as the Sub is, its not a patch on the Patek! Enjoy it, wear it in good health and happy times. Now, for the next conquest!


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[alika]

Congrats and thanks for sharing your amazing experience :)

[1William]

Congratulations.

[sgwatchguy]

Congrats! Great story and a happy intermission, definitely more to come. Enjoy the new watches

[jon_jon]

Patek WT is a great watch! Congratulations

[Analysing You]

Wonderful! Congrats on your purchases


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[aj_tucker]

Mazel! wear it in good health

[Urosfan]

Congrats


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[campfire]

Congratulations. And thanks for sharing the cool story. All the best to you.

[Psmith]

Very nice

[El Patron]

Congratulations, very cool time piece! I have be eying that one myself..

[aj_tucker]

Really cool that you went world time / complications and not the Aquanaut / Nautilus route for your first. Keep us posted with reviews as you go along.

[noar85]

I am very interested in this model for a lot of personal and professional reasons (I am even more interested in the 5231J but several AD refused to put on a list as I have no connection and have never bought a Patek before)

The only "annoying" point is: Market resell value, If at some point I need to resell it (Found availability on the 5231J or just I am ready to buy it grey) the price difference is big!
They are so many models available on chrono24 brand new lot "cheaper"

That's the reason why I am still waiting a bit (COVID-19 impact my job as well so I am taking longer to decide)

Quick picture when I tried the 5230R-001

[nosignalbmwdriver]

Why give business with arrogant salesmen. I would strongly suggest you source one in the grey market.

Originally Posted by noar85

I am very interested in this model for a lot of personal and professional reasons (I am even more interested in the 5231J but several AD refused to put on a list as I have no connection and have never bought a Patek before)

The only "annoying" point is: Market resell value, If at some point I need to resell it (Found availability on the 5231J or just I am ready to buy it grey) the price difference is big!
They are so many models available on chrono24 brand new lot "cheaper"

That's the reason why I am still waiting a bit (COVID-19 impact my job as well so I am taking longer to decide)

Quick picture when I tried the 5230R-001

[CoveWatch]

great watch, congrats!

[Bearxj86]

The 116610LN was not a coincidence imho. ADs have these in the back for occasions such as this. For what you paid for a 5230G, you might have been able to get a Hulk, Batman, or Pepsi but the 116610LN is certainly beautiful!

Originally Posted by tzhenghao

Hey everyone!

First of all, I'm long time lurker of this forum, but finally decided to create an account and this will also be my first post, so bear with me :)

TLDR: I got myself a PP 5230G-001 yesterday

Attachment 1141554

I've been eyeing a Patek Philippe for a while now. I grew up in Malaysia and would walk past a row of amazing Swiss watch boutiques in a mall as a 10 year old kid. That's how I knew of Patek, hoping one day I'd be able to own one.

After saving up quite a bit over the years and now in my mid 20s, I decided to pull the trigger yesterday. I wanted the first Patek to be "substantial", but the ones on my wishlist (5167A, 5164A, 5968A, 5172G) were obviously hard to get without purchase history. The cool thing about Patek, and if you're a true fan / collector, you'd come to appreciate the beauty of each piece and how it's made, even if you'd never add it to your collection. In my case, I managed to narrow it down to the 5146G, 5205G and 5230G. The former two annual calendar complications were amazing. Just pure, no BS Patek. Patek was a king for annual calendars, and their whole lineage is amazing dating back to 1996.

That said, they didn't attract me as much as the 5230. Here's why:
1) There's a utilitarian angle to why I prefer the 5230. I live and work in the Bay Area today. I have family in Malaysia / Singapore, and friends in other places like London. It felt natural to have a time zone (World Time in PP's case) complication more than moon phases lol.
2) Look at that 5230 dial! It's insane! This is Patek levels of finishing.

One thing you'd notice is that this still has the "Hong Kong" dial, and Patek has quietly phased this out mid last year in favor of having "Beijing" in the dial of the current 5230G-014 variant. Without going into whether this is a political play and/or a gradual shift in customer base, I totally understand why Patek Philippe went with this.That said, HK has and will continue to have a strong watch collector community, so having this "older stock" meant a lot to me. Also, this will be even more noticeable when I make the annual trip home to SE Asia and needing to set my time to Hong Kong at the noon position.

While in the shop, I asked if I could browse the Patek Philippe biography by Nick Foulkes. He noticed I was enjoying it so much, so he gifted a copy:
Attachment 1141553
Attachment 1141555

Oh, and because I purchased this piece from my local AD, he asked if I had others on the wishlist. One of which was a Rolex Sub (116610LN), so I bought that on the spot too. I was told it was in the Rolex shipment that just came in the day before. A total waiting time of 2 days for a 116610LN. Came into the shop without a watch, expecting that I'll be wearing the 5230G out the door, but got a Sub while I'm at it too haha. What a crazy day! Anyways, I'll save the Rolex for another post next week :)

I'd also like to mention something to the younger collectors in this forum. Dreams do come true, but I hope you'll continue working hard and hopefully one day, you'd be able to own an awesome collection of grail watches too. I am nowhere close to where I want to be, both in my career and as a watch collector. I had a tight budget to work with, and I still need to live frugally and save up more to purchase another Patek. But this serves as a milestone to motivate myself to work even harder than before. #roadtopatekperpetualcalendarchronographs

[Librandox]

Stunning piece. I love the boldness. Cheers

[dauster]

cool story congrats!

[Librandox]

Nice story. Congratulations and enjoy. I was going to ask if you got any other time piece from there before this

[macrowatch]

Great story of discipline and reward! Great pick and start of a collection!

[mdtddd2007]

Great story. And a nice pick up on the two best brands! Congrats!

[dauster]

Originally Posted by tzhenghao

Oh, and because I purchased this piece from my local AD, he asked if I had others on the wishlist. One of which was a Rolex Sub (116610LN), so I bought that on the spot too. I was told it was in the Rolex shipment that just came in the day before. A total waiting time of 2 days for a 116610LN. Came into the shop without a watch, expecting that I'll be wearing the 5230G out the door, but got a Sub while I'm at it I am nowhere close to where I want to be, both in my career and as a watch collector. I had a tight budget to work with, and I still need to live frugally and save up more to purchase another Patek.

Congrats but why did you not buy the watch at a discount in the secondary market ? Seems like you only bundled by accident with the sub. Especially with a tight budget. Just curious since I’m in a similar situation.