Historic lineage
The reference 5370P harks back to the much admired Patek Philippe split-seconds chronographs from the manufacture’s heritage. Prior to this model, Patek Philippe had not made a two-button pure split-seconds chronograph since 1971, at the very latest. Up to that point, Patek made only a handful of these watches, at a rate of less than one example every few years as special commissions for important clients. These include some of the rarest and most desirable watches made by Patek Philippe, being highly sought-after by collectors today. As the natural successor to the great split-seconds chronographs of the mid-20th century, the 5370P was described by Ben Clymer, Founder of HODINKEE, in the following terms:
“Let’s just call it like it is: the 5370 is the best watch Patek Philippe has produced in years. […] The expression I kept hearing from people I know and respect at Baselworld was ‘Pure Patek,’ and I really agree. This is the watch that reminds us that they do care about their past, and about what people want, not just about making sales.”
Classical design
The 5370P has a glossy black enamel dial, with two uniform subsidiary dials at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock respectively. It is made entirely in-house by Patek, taking over three hours purely for the polishing process. The dial is classically understated, balancing the outer-minute track and tachymeter scale perfectly. The watch displays six hands - hours, minutes, and seconds for the time, with split-seconds and minute hands for the chronograph; the latter, instantaneously jumping every 30 minutes.
Overall, the dial layout is cleanly designed, with highly-legible luminous minutes and hours. As is typical for a dial with Breguet numerals, the hands are feuille or leaf-shaped. The 5370P also has a stop-seconds feature, for accurate synchronisation when the crown is disengaged. The small "email" signature at six o'clock, signifies the use of grand feu enamel for the dial, placed on top of an 18-carat gold disc. The process to achieve this is the following: the solid white gold base is baked in an oven at 850° C and then allowed to solidify to a glasslike consistency by controlled cooling. The result is a deep, rich black that will not fade with time.
The movement
The 42mm platinum case, reminiscent of the Patek Philippe ref. 1436, features a concave bezel and elongated lugs, which are finished off with a white-gold cabochon at the end. Set between the rounded rectangle chronograph pushers is a "turbine" style crown, a visual giveaway of the 5370P’s split-seconds chronograph function. The reference 5370P integrates Patek Philippe’s CHR 29-535 PS calibre – “CHR”, short for " chronograph rattrapante" and “PS”, for petit seconde. The movement features many of Patek Philippe’s patented innovations and technical refinements in contemporary chronograph construction - based on the classic architecture of column-wheel control and with a slimmer, more dependable split-seconds mechanism.
The sophisticated complication controls the two chronograph hands, one of which may be stopped to measure an intermediate or lap time (or to retain a reference time), while the other continues its course unaffected. When released, the spilt-seconds hand instantly catches up with the primary hand and the two stacked hands move together.
As with all contemporary Patek Philippe watches, it has the Patek Philippe seal, guaranteeing its accuracy to -3 and +2 seconds daily. The movement is beautifully finished, with exquisite chamfering on all angles, countersinks, polishing and decoration, in the form of Geneva striping. It features a large, four-spoke Gyromax balance-wheel with four poising weights, beating at a frequency of 4 Hz (28,800 A/h) and boasting a power reserve of 65 hours.
The Set
This Patek Philippe ref. 5370P is accompanied by its original inner and outer boxes, literature, leather folder and stamped Certificate of Origin. The watch comes with its original black, alligator strap and corresponding platinum deployant buckle. It's fitted to one of our Zürich taupe nubuck straps.
Viewings can be arranged in Central London by appointment.
