Wedding Watch - Help!

[aj_tucker]

Hi all,

My fiancee has agreed to buy me a wedding watch for our elopement in Tuscany in September - I'm a lucky man! The challenge is settling on one watch, so I need your collective wisdom.

Selection Principles:

1. I do not care about 'value retention' as I never plan on selling the watch.
2. I strongly prefer gold. I am open to Platinum or white gold. I have zero interest in steel. I have dark brown skin and gold just looks best on me. 16cm wrists, so no bigger than 40mm.
3. I would like to keep the total price less than $50k.
4. The design must transcend time - I want it to look good in 40 years as it does today.
5. I am only seriously considering Patek, and to a significantly lesser degree, Lange.
6. Time only makes the most sense, but I have a soft spot for chronographs. I don't really care for calendar complications.
7. I prefer white / cream dials with applied indices or numerals - with a particular fondness for Breguet numerals.
8. I prefer modern to vintage; my lady would like to find / buy the piece and going the vintage route may just be too complicated.
9. My lady loves a moon phase and she also believes gold looks best. That being said, she wants me to love the watch above all else.

Here are the watches I'm seriously considering:

• 5196P: Love the watch, ticks a lot of boxes. But the dial has a lot of white space between 10 and 2 and can sometimes not look right. Plus, it's not gold. The other 5196 models are a bit too plain.
• 5107g (white pulsations): My favorite chronograph, but lease favorite metal. Not sure if I can source one under $50k at current market.

Considering to a lesser degree:

• Lange 1 Moonphase in Rose Gold:...Not Patek. Wedding watch kinda feels like it should be Patek.
• Patek 3940R: Don't like calendars, but this is a timeless piece. Probably over budget.
• Patek 5205R: Love the design but the dumb calendar would kill me (I think).
• Patek 5170J: Interesting option. Only recently started thinking about it. This is a watch no one seems to like for some reason - plenty available and no one seems to talk about it.
• Lange 1815 Chrono in RG: the sunken subdials are just wrong and there are no applied indices.
• Patek 6119R - not sure about the hobnail bezel. Might be too plain.

As you can tell, no one watch is 'perfect'. I'm open to hearing about others, but would mainly like to hear your views on the above, particularly if you own or have owned any of these pieces.

Thanks for your time!

[huydoan]

5196P is my choice. rare, less service cost, tough case (harder than gold and steel), and elegant design. if it was 100m water resistant, certainly a daily beater

[Yobrooks]

Look at the classic 5146g. Great watch, can wear daily, 39 mm, moon phase, cream dial, AC. Love it.

[Fenrira]

You should have a look at the 5227r or j. It has a timeless design, gorgeous case and an officer’s case back. Seems to tick almost all of your boxes as well. Keep us updated on your decision!

[Ichiran]

Originally Posted by Fenrira

You should have a look at the 5227r or j. It has a timeless design, gorgeous case and an officer’s case back. Seems to tick almost all of your boxes as well. Keep us updated on your decision!

+1

Can also engrave the wedding date or message on the caseback.

[qrc36]

Lange Saxonia thin, in either white dial or sparkly copper blue?

[ts3]

My first thought was 5170G while I was going through 1-9. No big fan of white gold but it ticks many boxes and looks a lot better than 5170J in my book.

Then again I think a simple two or three hander or a PC work better for a wedding than a manual chrono. The 3940 in any metal is a timeless classic which I would consider ahead of 5196P. With your wrist size the other 5196 will look large with their plain dials (just like the 37mm Saxonia Thin which also came to my mind). The 5227J or R will look large on your wrist as well but you might think about a 5107 or 5127 in gold which look smaller as a result of their smaller dials. When in the market for a simple dress Patek, I ended up with a little 3998P which is probably what I would wear myself in your circumstances.

Apart from the 3940 I would not think about any of the other watches you are considering to a lesser degree but I might add the 5110 WTs for consideration.

[QuantumOceanLawyer]

I assume you mean 5170. I am a huge sucker for a pulsation dial and I think that watch is super timeless. Hard to look classier and will always be that.


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[AJW232]

If it wasn’t for your preference to not have a calendar complication I’d say the 5396r-012 would be a close match; rose gold, classic, sub 40mm, breguet numerals, moon phase and can be found unworn and in budget on chrono24.

An alternative would be for your partner to get in touch with the AD “Fratelli Piccini” on the Ponte Vecchio and see if they have anything that would be suitable. That way you’d also save on tax.

[Pw92676]

Originally Posted by Ichiran

+1

Can also engrave the wedding date or message on the caseback.

I was thinking the same.

[rolex_addict]

5146 with cream dial

[JR16]

5227r prob best but no numerals

5146r or j- gets you a few numerals , if you can handle the calendar lol. If I you are planning to daily your watch, this would be my first choice.

5196p- my choice for platinum in your budget - gets your the numerals. But sounds like you’d be happier with gold.


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[uniqueMR]

I will only focus on what you considering and ignore lesser degree:

5196P, is your answer :)

[mrN]

Patek 5960R


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[JerBear]

I don’t have a recommendation but congratulations on your wedding!

[MrWeha]

I'd say the best two options are either the 5170 or the 3940 imho.

The first seems to be among your favorites so you should probably go with that although i personally think the 3940 is an all-time great watch and the perpetual calendar would kinda fit the "theme" of a wedding

[IBDOC]

6119r.

[Sherman5726]

5205r or 5146j/r

[CountryBoy]

5146J or 5369R

[CountryBoy]

5227G for easy engraving. Also timeless and less than 40K.
this is a good option if engraving would help you not mind the white gold attribute.

[Moondoggy]

5135 best bang for your buck. Enjoy regardless.

[daveathall]

My absolute dream watch is the 5227r, so I am biased, but besides the indices is everything you want. I just think it is the perfect watch, can be worn through the day in jeans and T shirt and at night wearing a suit. It would be the only watch I would ever need.

Many, many congratulations on you wedding.

[mjm700]

I also thought 5227R immediately. Practically made for the occasion and I think it would be stunning on. Spend the extra cash on a matching set of RG cufflinks! Congrats!!

[Rollieo]

6119R. Hobnail bezel didn’t immediately do it for me, but looking at the watch more it’s an absolute beauty. The new movement is incredible, and it fits the case back so well.

Which makes sense since they designed the movement specifically for this watch. If you look at a lot of the other watches, the movement is TINY compared to the case, so you see this tiny little exhibition window.

The boxes I had to check for my dress watch -

- time only
- perfect symmetry and clean dial
- thin (less than 9mm)
- rose gold
- incredible movement with exhibition case back

I considered Lange and VC, and tried some on. Didn’t do it for me. And ultimately, Patek is the brand. They make timeless watches that will be relevant 50 years from now.

[Rollieo]

This thread deserves some pictures.

6119R

[EUguy]

An Ellipse with matching cuff links perhaps? ;-)

[aj_tucker]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Hearing a lot of responses and good ideas...

5146J -- not my cup of team, something just doesn't look right
5227 -- @ts3 was right that it looks a bit too large on my narrow wrist. Fear the same for the 5027 or 5127.
5110 - Lady vetoes the world time complication.
5396-012 - whoa! Never saw this one before. It's a stunner! I don't like the calendar, as you recall, but wow - this is an incredible piece. Thank you @AJW232 for recommendation. I'll also reach out to that AD and see what they have available.
5960R - a little too sporty
3940R - love this piece. Timeless and will always be gorgeous, maybe more as I and the watch continue to age. On the lookout for one in a suitable price range, which is a tall order.
5135 - lade insists the watch be round.
6119 - also a stunner, really looking to see one in the metal and gauge the fit.
Ellipse - I wish! i love this watch and no one else seems to. But, alas, lady says no on the shape.

I do love Lange, but their games lately make them ... less interesting. I will certainly add a Lange to the collection at some point, Lange 1 Moonphase or, if budget allows, Zeitwerk. But, for now, I am not a fan of their tactics. I think they'll be effective to bolster brand and exclusivity, but maybe not.

So, I think 5196P, 5170g, 6119R, or 3940R are the short list. I'm heading into Midtown NYC to give a few a try if I can find them.

I've heard the 5196 line wears a little long and doesn't always sit well on the wrist. Anyone have experience with that one, regardless of metal?

[jon_jon]

I own the 5196P and the 5170G white dial. They are both great choices. The 5196 sits a bit flat on the wrist, but since it is not a large watch, it should be ok. The 5170G is a classic watch and fairly dressy with the Brueguet hour markers.

I have not seen the 6119 in person, so I can't comment on it. As for the 3940, it may be a good value watch. I own the 5140P and with the subdials, it has a busier dial. But Patek is known for having made one of the earliest PC wristwatches back in the 1920s. So a 3940 is definitely a classic watch to own and wear.

[V25V]

Originally Posted by Yobrooks

Look at the classic 5146g. Great watch, can wear daily, 39 mm, moon phase, cream dial, AC. Love it.

This.

[CoveWatch]

Of the choices, I'd go with one of the 5170 variants. I like that piece a lot and seems you do as well and checks off.