Patek 5070G-001: A Collector's Dream

Brief History

The Patek Philippe 5070 line was first introduced in the Basel Watch Fair in 1998. This was the first waterproof chronograph watch that Patek had introduced in the past 40 years prior (the last Reference being the 1463 “Tasti Tondis”). It was an instant hit with only a limited 250 pieces being sold out retailing at $30,000 per watch. The White Gold version photo’d above was introduced three years later in 2001 featuring a whole new look. A full white gold case with the trademark 42-millimeter case size and white chronograph dial with black numbered markers and hands also made of white gold. Although not the most popular model amongst the Patek line, this timepiece ranks as some of the most well-respected and most sought after among true collectors. Due to its limited run for production and being the only iteration to have different colored numerals to the case to make it easier to read, the white gold stands out among the rest.

Movement

While Patek is well-known to only use in-house movements today, for this specific piece, they had opted to outsource to a Lemania movement using their Calibre 2310. The 5070 was the last timepiece Patek had ever produced without an in-house movement until their successor 5170 introduced in 2010. The Omega Speedmaster Caliber 321 uses the same base movement making this a truly one-of-a-kind watch. It represented a shift in Patek’s approach to producing their own in-house movements that they use today.