Please give me your views on the 5127....

[topcat30093]

I have loved the design of this piece for along time.

Recently, I have been looking at getting one.

The photos that I have seen made me lean more towards one in R/G, what are your individual thoughts?

I have spoken with 4 UK AD's two of whom have the model in stock, one of the dealers advised me that the 5127 in R/G was currently a particular difficult model to get. What do you think?
The AD told me that the 5127 was perhaps the best Patek to wear as a daily wearer, due to the advantages of having the protective shoulders, screw in crown & case back.

Please give me your thoughts and include as many different photos that you can.
Regards Tony

[carnegie]

Hi Topcat,
I have been torn between the annual calendar and 5127, I came to consensus that I have to own both! So, I have 5127R and I just love it, indeed for every day wear it is nice and clean and looks very elegant. It is also nice that it is easy to set the date on it. After all, I just need the date,not the moon phase or month. I will absolutely keep it, and my next one will be 5205G, just like yours. I think it is the best AC that Patek ever made so I really like your choice. I think that would be a beautiful Patek couple. Go for it! I will on the other hand go for 5205 to add to my 5127.

[Puffy]

I LOVE it!
it's also one I'm considering.. I like the rose gold but will probably settle on the wg..
Also agree the protective shoulders are handy and make it look more contemporary and sleek

Sent from my GT-I9100

[Stuxnet]

The bottom line is that they are very simple, and timeless. You will never get tired of looking at whichever watch you buy. I liked and owned Rolex for years and always knew I would buy the 5127. When I was in the AD, I was lucky to be able to pick between all 3. I picked the yellow gold for 3 personal reasons which you should consider, maybe...
1) Skin tone. How do the three look against your wrist/arm. Get a significant other's opinion. Sometimes something you like may not/never suit you. It happens.
2) How are you going to wear it? Long sleeves, under a suit? All the time? I have stainless steel rolex watches. So I chose a dressy yellow gold watch.
3) What's your next watch going to be? When I was buying the 5127J, I said I would buy the 5167 and the 5140 (someday). So I have a casual, dressy, and grand Patek. One for every situation. Also one for each kid (drunk on PP advertising cool-aid) and one left for me. I did just buy the 5167. One day perhaps the 5140J.

The shoulders are why I like the 5167. Very smooth lines. Streamlined. Architecturally very sound. Nothing sharp.

[Stuxnet]

Sorry, forgot to post some pics. I'm think I'm finally getting the hang of this.

[topcat30093]

Thank you for the replies todate

Stuxnet, you make some valid comments, which need to be taken into consideration.

Carnegie, please note that thoughthe 5205 is a beautiful looking piece and like you agree its currently imo, the best AC.
The legibility of the hands against the dial can be quite difficult to read in certain light.

Two things I would appreciate your thoughts on:

The 5127 is a 37mm size watch, how have you found moving down a size from the traditional 40mm?

I assume, hopefully correctly, that the legibility of the hands against the dial are very good?

Thanks

[Richmond1958]

This is my "grail" watch as its a perfect example of what a men's date dress watch should be. Other similar watches would be a Jaeger LeCoultre Master Control or Omega Deville. Simple, understated, and very, very classy. Hope to get one some day.

[Puffy]

Originally Posted by Richmond1958

This is my "grail" watch as its a perfect example of what a men's date dress watch should be. Other similar watches would be a Jaeger LeCoultre Master Control or Omega Deville. Simple, understated, and very, very classy. Hope to get one some day.

the Deville is nice... i'd love to own one

don't get the Master Control though... it tries to look like the Calatrava but somewhat fails... massive bezel, tapered bracelet...

the Deville has its own personality, and a great one..

[jerseyden]

A design that will never age, although I would go for the white gold.

[carnegie]

Hi Topcat,

Thanks for the comments on 5205. I am surprised that legibility is not so good. It looks very crisp and sharp on the photos. Let me ask you, if you get 5127 are you still going to keep your 5205? If the answer is yes, than I would definitely go for colored gold (I really prefer rose on that model), since you already have white gold watch. However, if you will only keep one watch, than I would keep your 5205 of course. It will keep it's value better and is more versatile. Don't get me wrong, I really love having 5127R but it is more dressy than my other watches because it is thin and and smaller size. It is really comfortable and very legible!

Now when you have the 5205 with black, would you recommend getting 5205 with grey dial instead?

Thanks and enjoy one more photo

[herbie911]

I like the 5127 in WG as it looks more modern with the crown guards and rounded bezel. I think it looks most up to date among the Calatrava range. It is also most versatile. I wear it to work in a suit and it looks just as good in jeans when I visit my local supermarket. The 5127 also looks bigger than its 37mm size. It has a bigger wrist presence when compare with my 36mm 114270 Explorer but not much smaller than the 40mm 5711G+R. Here is a photo which I posted in the past where one can compare a 5711 vs 5127. It is really an awesome watch which I think most 5127 owner will agreed with me! I just can't fault this watch!

[topcat30093]

carnegie, difficult for me to answer, as I have not had the opportunity to "Road Test" the pair side by side, though, I suspect that the lighter dial, should be easier to read.

In natural light, unless in really bright sunlight overhead, there is no issues with reading the time. But what I have found is when you are inside and using what available light there is.

There is a lot of reflection coming back from the sapphire crystal. Perhaps if it had a coat of anti reflective covering on it may help.

Question is, would I still but the watch if I knew than what I know now!!!!!!!!!!

Answer, possibly not, even though I love the watch, the layout of the apertures and usually favour dark dials. In this case a lighter coloured dial maybe an advantage. Perhaps, it is my eyesight which is getting worse and not the colour of the dial Hence, my recent thoughts regarding the 5127.

[carnegie]

Thanks topcat,

This is very good to know. I guess I will have to see 5205 in person. I am looking to add a nice calendar watch. AC or PC. I am not a big fan of Lange, though. I know they are nice but just not my taste. So PP seems to be the only choice. The issue is though that calendar watch has to be nicely designed not to appear too busy. I will also look into 5140 and 3940. These seem to be nice as well. Let us know if you decide to get the 5127R. I must say I really love this watch. It is very sophisticated and feels good on the wrist.

[Lol-x]

The 5127 in Platinum with black dial is amazing....my favorite but not in my price range, however it can be had for a significant discount as a pre-owned item.

[Rolexavidfan]

Hi Topcat, if you are a date-watch kind of a person, then the 5127 is for you. And if I were in your shoes, I would get an RG version -- it is the more modern gold IMHO. However, if you don't mind not having a date and can work on a manual watch, I would go for the 5196 R version. It is simply one of the best looking and iconic Patek Calatrava IMHO.

Also, I am sorry to hear about the "legibility" issue of the 5205 black model. I guess it is also the same issue I would read on the SS Daytona Black. Because of the previous reviews made on this regard, I actually went for the 5205 silvery grey model and the SS Daytona White. And in both instances, I was very happy with their dial legibility at night despite my advancing age.

[carnegie]

I would really appreciate if you could post some images of the slate dial 5205. There are not many photos out there.