The New Patek Philippe Ref. 5370P-011 with Blue Grande Feu Enamel Dial
Just as there are people who seem to have been born with a special shine, there are also watches that seem to have been designed to shine even in the darkest places and in the new Patek Philippe reference. 5370P-011 certainly fits into this reserved category. We could spend hours here trying to find the best adjectives to describe this watch, but we don’t think it’s necessary, just say that it is a masterpiece.
It may not be the preference of many watch enthusiasts, because it is a complex piece, but it is undoubtedly something that vintage watch enthusiasts and Patek lovers will idolize, as this watch is both very well designed from an aesthetic point of view. and very well achieved from a mechanical point of view, which is rare today, which is why many claims to be one of the most successful Patek models in recent years.
In 2015 Patek Philippe launched this watch for the first time with the Ref. 5370P and based on two of its previous models: Patek Philippe Ref. 1563 Split Seconds Chronograph and Patek Philippe Ref. 1436 Split Seconds Chronograph. If from the point of view of the dial, the first of the references mentioned above seems to have been the source of inspiration, from the point of view of the case, the crown and the pushers, the second seems, without a doubt, to have been the “mold”.
But even before we start to analyze this new variant, let’s relive the main features of the Patek Philippe Ref. 5370P whose attributes remain almost entirely in this variant. Let’s start with its characteristic enamel black dial with Arabic Breguet numerals, which is simply fabulous, these enamel dials are very rare, as they are very difficult to produce and very expensive if you want to know more about these dials, we suggest you read the article published by GearPatrol. On the dial we can find two sub-dials, one at 3 o’clock with a 30m counter and another at 9 o’clock with a second counter, the hands such as the dial numbers and the case are in white gold, in the case we can see two pushers: one above and the other below the crown that controls the chronograph function and the crown with a central pusher that controls the split-seconds function. The case comes with sapphire glass on the front and also with sapphire glass on the back through which it is possible to observe the brilliant manual movements that equip this watch. The movement produced entirely by Patek is the CHR 29-535 PS, one of the main innovations is to have an isolator for the split-seconds function that basically allows the rattrapante to return to its initial position, reducing the possibility of dragging. This caliber allows up to 65 hours of power reserve, 30m of water resistance, in terms of dimensions, this watch has a diameter of 41mm and a thickness of 13.86mm and comes with a black alligator strap.
So, what brings this new variant different from the black one: a shiny blue enamel dial and a blue alligator strap and yes, those are just the differences because it is difficult to improve what is already perfect, it is hard to say which it is the most beautiful variant, it will have to be a personal choice of those who intend to acquire one of these pieces. The price of this new variant is $263,093, slightly above the $249,200 of the black version, we do not know if it is an inflationary effect, but what we do know is that this will only be a small irrelevant detail for the likely number of enthusiasts interested, given the small number of units produced.