Patek Philippe

In recent years, the 5970 has cemented its status as one of the best and most beautiful references ever produced by Patek Philippe and is fast becoming a legend amongst the watch community. The watch was a triumph for the brand, a final swansong for Lemania powered Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronographs, and a crowning achievement for Thierry Stern.

As part of his succession onto the helm of Patek Philippe, Thierry Stern was given full creative freedom on the direction of the next perpetual calendar chronograph, a landmark complication in the field of watches and pioneered by none other than Patek Philippe themselves. It was an unofficial test for the young Thierry Stern, and the success of the watch would see him properly inducted into a leadership role. The young Stern recognized at the time that the market was moving in the direction of larger watches, and famously proclaimed that he aimed to design a watch that both he and his father could wear, but also wisely identified the important role of heritage and history in the eyes of collectors. The product of his considerations was a larger watch, but with all the elegance expected of the brand, and with a plethora of design elements taken from the pages of history to appeal to the emotions of Patek Philippe enthusiasts.

The 5970 was the largest perpetual calendar chronograph ever produced by Patek Philippe at that point in time, much larger than the previous 3970 which measured 36mm in diameter. Stern states that the change in size was for the purposes of legibility, though it is not a stretch to infer that one of his considerations was the trend towards larger watches at the time. Despite the change in size both watches were powered by the base chronograph calibre by Lemania, the 2310, though heavily modified. To ensure that the subsidiary dials did not look ‘marooned’ in the middle of the much larger dial, a tachymeter was added beyond the railroad seconds track, not only to fill up the dial but also as a call-back to the first and second series 2499 dials. The square pushers of the 1518 and first series 2499 were also brought back. It can be said that the watch is a perfect combination of vintage and modern design elements.

Produced in a single series between the years 2004 and 2011, only 2,800 pieces across all metals were ever produced, with the present yellow gold considered by experts to be the scarcest with only an estimated 300 examples made. The reference 5970 stands as a stalwart of collectible, rare and complicated Patek Philippe watches, and despite its relatively young age has already become one of the biggest hits of our millennia, making this an unmissable opportunity for any astute collector to own an example of a truly important and beautiful Patek Philippe reference.