Rare watch New Old Stock and sealed, sold in Monaco in 2005.
The final Patek Philippe chronograph to come off the manufacturing line before the pause in production was the legendary “Tasti Tondi”. Coincidentally, this was the timepiece which actually inspired the design of the 5070.
At the time, this “Tasti Tondi” ref. 1463 was really and truly a “first” in the watch industry as it was Patek Philippe’s first waterproof chronograph.
Amongst its various peculiar features, one of them really stood out – so much so that this feature became its common nickname: the “Tasti Tondi”, or, the “round pushers”, with a grippy finishing on the pressable surface.
This iconic reference became legendary almost immediately, and is still highly sought after by collectors today. It was produced for about 25 years until the line was stopped in 1965.
Only in 1998 did Patek Philippe restart the production of manually-wound chronographs with the ref. 5070, which in similar fashion to the Tasti Tondi, entered into the horological Hall of Fame.
Nowadays we’re used to larger-diameter cases on watches, but in 1998 a 42mm case wasn’t that normal. To counteract this larger diameter, the case is only 11.6mm thick, making the watch much more elegant and wearable. Making the watch even more tasteful are the square pushers and well-proportioned dimensions of the crown.
The caseback features a sapphire crystal, which allows the owner to gaze upon the mechanical marvel that is the CH 27-70, a Lemania based manual caliber, whose 18,000 vibrations per hour frequency allows for its 60 hour power reserve. Another little bit of trivia for you: the ref. 5070 was the last Patek Philippe to feature a Lemania based movement.
As previously mentioned, the layout of the dial is consistent in all its iterations: it features an outer seconds track for the chronograph with 1/5th of a second graduations and a tachymetre scale inside of the minute track, both very uncommon practices.
The two large sub-dials, one at 3 o’clock for the 30 minute functionality and the other at 9 for the small seconds, are both perfectly aligned with the centre of the dial, creating perfect symmetry. This is Patek going back to basics: elegance, simplicity and sleek in its dials, all complimented by the thin leaf-shaped hands
The rose gold version was produced alongside the white gold versionand was produced between 2002 and 2008. This version features a rose gold case with a silver dial and black typography.
In this case, unlike the 5070J, only the numerals and hands are in matching materials. Meanwhile the black graphics were used in order to better its contrast to the silver dial, increasing legibility.
