Patek Philippe

Patek Philippe launched the Ref. 5170 as the successor to the previous Ref. 5070, which was introduced in 1998 as the brand’s first “simple” chronograph, eighteen years after the discontinuation of the long-lived Ref. 1463, which remained in the brand’s lineup for forty years. The Ref. 1463 went into production in 1940 as Patek Philippe’s first waterproof chronograph. In the 1980s, however, the brand was forced to look for an alternative to the Valjoux 23 of the Ref. 1463 and opted for the caliber 2320 of the movement manufacturer Nouvelle Lémania, for the Ref. 5070. However, this decision did not solve the problem of chronograph caliber supply, as the Nouvelle Lémania, like the Valjoux before it, ended up in the hands of the Swatch Group in the early 2000s, which announced that it would not supply movements to third-party brands. So Patek Philippe decided to develop its own manufacture chronograph calibers. It should be noted that there was nothing wrong with the CH27-70 PS caliber, which was based on the Lémania 2320. In fact, it is considered one of the best wrist chronograph movements ever produced. At the end of 2009, Patek Philippe introduced the caliber CH29-535 PS, a chronograph movement developed in-house. This movement was first used in the ladies’ watch Ref. 7071 “Ladies First”. At Baselworld 2010, Patek then presented the first edition for men based on the same movement, Ref. 5170J-001 in yellow gold with a silver-plated white dial, applied Roman numerals XII and VI, applied ‘stick indices and pulsometer scale. This model was discontinued in 2013. Together with this model is the Ref. 5170J-010, a special edition limited to 50 pieces for the 250th anniversary of Beyer Chronometrie (Zurich), a long-standing retail partner of Patek Philippe, which was released in 2010. The Ref. 5170J-010 differed from the regular model by having a tachymeter scale on one dial. The next step was the release of the Ref. 5170G-001 in 2013 with a white gold case, a silver-plated white dial with applied Breguet numerals and a pulsometer scale. It was produced until 2016. The “Breguet” dial proved to be a popular choice, so in 2015 the Ref. 5170G-010 was released, a version in white gold with a black dial and applied Breguet numerals, but without the pulsometer scale. The first 5170 chronograph in rose gold, which was launched in 2016, was offered in two versions: Ref. 5170R-001 with a silvered white dial in the style of the 5170G-010 with applied Breguet numerals and without the pulsometer scale; and Ref. 5170R-010 (this watch) with the same design but with a black dial. Both 5170R-001 and 5170R-010 remained in the catalog until 2018. The history of the 5170 series ended in 2017 with the debut of the Ref. 5170P-001, a platinum chronograph with a blue gradient dial with applied baguette diamond indexes and tachymeter scale, which was produced until 2019. In 2019, the 5170 chronograph was completely discontinued and replaced by the modern Ref. 5172, which was given a redesigned case with round “Tasti Tondi” pushers (an attractive design element of the historic Ref. 1463), that replaced the rectangular pushers of the Ref. 5170 and 5070. In addition, the Ref. 5172 features three-stage lugs and a military-style dial design in the style of the Ref. 5070 with Arabic numerals and “double pencil” hands, both of which are luminous (the dial design of the Ref. 5070 was in turn inspired by the Patek Philippe split chronograph Ref. 2512 from the early 1950s).

Patek Philippe is considered one of the finest craftsmen in the construction and traditional craftsmanship of chronograph calibers, so that each chronograph of the brand is valuable as a masterpiece of high watchmaking art. Thanks to the characteristic Patek Philippe design and the complicated mechanical chronograph caliber of the top class, this Chronograph Ref. 5170R-010 in rose gold with charismatic black dial and Breguet numerals is a very harmonious composition with traditional manual winding, lateral clutch and column wheel. This reference added another advantage to this Patek Philippe chronograph – a complex instantaneous minute counter. Now that production of all seven versions of the Ref. 5170 having been discontinued, market analysis shows that the Ref. 5170R-010 accounts for no more than 1/10 of the total production run of this reference, which is good news for collectors. Therefore, this watch is certainly one of the first purchase candidates among all modern top-class chronographs.