The latest rattrapante perpetual calendar moon phase chronograph based on the Lemania caliber is also an important and sought-after collector's piece, especially in this white gold version
Platinum is an extraordinarily beautiful material that is difficult to work with. This is why a platinum watch generally costs much more than the same one made of gold. Yet the world of collecting is capable of subverting any rule, and a white gold watch, such as Patek Philippe's Chrono Rattrapante perpetual calendar and moon phases reference 5004, which we are going to discover together, is worth far more than its platinum counterpart. Why? Why is white gold in this case worth more than platinum?
The answer is simple: merely a matter of numbers. Production was far greater for the more valuable material, which evidently optimized the manufacturer's marginality, given the extreme difficulty in making each piece: a simple law of the market, if demand is greater than supply, better to sell the more expensive pieces. Plus in this particular piece, there is the rare black dial to highlight.
One last curiosity: the reference 5004 owes its importance, including its collectors' importance, to being the last split-seconds chrono with perpetual calendar to use the Lemania caliber as its base. Once production is over, it will be the new Patek Philippe manufacture caliber CH 29-535 that will take its place. Once again a moment of transition between the old and the new, which moreover Patek Philippe celebrated with a special series of the 5004 in steel.
Considered absolutely of the great classics of modern Patek Philippe production, the Reference 5004 was officially introduced in 1994 and remained in the catalog until 2010. It is Patek Philippe's first mass-produced rattrapante wrist chronograph with perpetual calendar and moon phases-a set of complications rooted in the brand's history and which the Geneva-based company itself today communicates as "grand complications."
Along with the reference 5070, it is the latest Patek Philippe model to employ an external caliber based on Nouvelle Lemania .
The watch's aesthetics originate from the reference 3970, itself based on the iconic ref. 2499, with some minor differences: the dial features Arabic numerals instead of baton numerals, as usually found on ref. 3970; the case is thicker and 0.8 mm larger, giving it a much more prominent presence on the wrist, while remaining very elegant and understated. In practice, the presence of the 24-hour and leap year cycle indications-already present on its undoubled inspiration-are enormously useful when it comes to adjusting the watch, and result in a more articulate, but never cumbersome, dial design.
In terms of practicality, the presence of the 24-hour and leap year indications are of enormous use when it comes to adjusting the watch. Not to mention that this tastefully organized layout is neat and pleasing to the eye, allowing the wearer to fully admire the dial and read the time without distraction.
Pictured on these pages we observe a ref. 5004G in white gold: it is estimated that fewer than 140 examples were made. Consequently, of all 5004s (excluding those made in special series in stainless steel), white gold examples are believed to be the rarest case color. By comparison, an estimated 300 were produced in platinum, so well over twice as many.
We have talked about steel, and it is only fair to tell the story: in 2011, Patek Philippe announced the discontinuation of the reference 5004, celebrating it with a final series of pieces in stainless steel, a metal the brand had never before used for its highly complicated pieces. The dial was also different from normal production pieces in that it featured black oxidized hour markers instead of the usual applied Arabic numerals.
Production of the ref. 5004 began in 1994 and is discontinued today. Patek Philippe replaced ref. 5004 with two other split-seconds chronographs, both with platinum cases: the cushion-shaped ref. 5951 released in 2010 with manufacture caliber CHR 27-525 PS Q and reference 5204, released in March 2012 at the Basel Fair with manufacture caliber CHR 29-535 PS Q.
Let us look together at the most recent results obtained at international auctions by the reference 5004.
| Auction House | Location | Date | Year | Aggiud. Euro | Reference | Special features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips | Hong Kong | May 24-25 | 2023 | 209.000 | 5004R-014 | rose gold (A) |
| Phillips | Hong Kong | May 24-25 | 2023 | 254.000 | 5004G-013 | white gold |
| Phillips | Geneva | May 13-14 | 2023 | 964.700 | 5004A-001 | Steel white dial |
| Phillips | Geneva | May 13-14 | 2023 | 339.000 | 5004R -014 | rose gold white dial |
| Phillips | Hong Kong | Nov. 28-29 | 2022 | 326.800 | 5004P -033 | platinum black dial |
| Christies | Geneva | November 6 | 2022 | 399.000 | 5004J | yellow gold silver dial |
| Phillips | Geneva | Nov. 5-6 | 2022 | 284.500 | 5004J | yellow gold silver dial |
| Phillips | New York | June 11-12 | 2022 | 360.000 | 5004G-013 | white gold dial |
| Christies | New York | June 8-9 | 2022 | 523.000 | 5004R-018 | rose gold black dial |
| Christies | Geneva | May 9 | 2022 | 232.000 | 5004P | platinum silver dial |
| Phillips | Geneva | May 7-8 | 2022 | 466.000 | 5004P | platinum silver dial |
| Sothebys | Hong Kong | April 26 | 2022 | 356.000 | 5004G | white gold black dial |
| Christies | Hong Kong | November 27 | 2021 | 172.125 | 5004J | yellow gold |
| Christies | Hong Kong | November 27 | 2021 | 229.500 | 5004P | platinum black dialplatinum black dial |
| Christies | Geneva | November 8 | 2021 | 611.925 | 5004A | steel |
| Phillips | Geneva | November 5/7 | 2021 | 769.000 | 5004S | steel |
| Christies | New York | April 26 | 2021 | 133.725 | 5004J | yellow gold |
| Christies | Dubai | April 8 | 2021 | 249.620 | 5004R | red gold |
| Christies | Dubai | April 8 | 2021 | 142.640 | 5004P | platinum |
| Sothebys | New York | December 15 | 2020 | 170.740 | 5004P | platinum |
| Sothebys | New York | November 27 | 2020 | 143.781 | 5004P | platinum |
| Christies | Geneva | November 19 | 2020 | 132.584 | 5004R | red gold |
| Phillips | Geneva | November 7 | 2020 | 297.000 | 5004P | platinum black dial |
| Sothebys | Hong Kong | Oct. 9 | 2020 | unsold | 5004G | white gold - white quad. |
| Christies | Geneva | July 20 | 2020 | 209.074 | 5004G | white gold - black dial |
| Christies | Geneva | July 20 | 2020 | 163.180 | 5004G | white gold - white dial |
| Christies | Geneva | July 20 | 2020 | 203.975 | 5004G | rose gold - black dial |
| Sothebys | Hong Kong | July 11 | 2020 | 195.075 | 5004P | platinum - white dial |
| Christies | Hong Kong | May 20 | 2020 | 263.925 | 5004P | platinum quad. white diamond indexes |
| Christies | Hong Kong | May 20 | 2020 | 160.650 | 5004P | platinum white dial |
| Christies | Hong Kong | May 29 | 2019 | 183.600 | 5004P | platinum white dial |
| Christies | Hong Kong | May 29 | 2019 | 126.225 | 5004R | red gold white dial |
| Christies | Hong Kong | May 29 | 2019 | 252.450 | 5004P | platinum black dial |
| Christies | Hong Kong | May 29 | 2019 | 430.083 | 5004j | o.g. - quad champagne tachometer |
| Christies | Hong Kong | May 27 | 2019 | 146.880 | 5004P | platinum |
| Antiquorum | Geneva | May 11 | 2019 | 146.046 | 5004R | red gold |
| Phillips | New York | December 10 | 2019 | 165.000 | 5004R-014 | rose gold |
