Introduced to Patek’s range in 1999, and now discontinued, this beautiful and classic Ref. 5054 is the RG model. It was also available in WG and Platinum.
Interestingly, the case is only 31mm, but it seems to sit much larger than this on the wrist. The case is 3.98mm thick, and has a dual position winding crown – pushed in for manual winding, and pulled out for setting the time. Both the date and moon are set by push pieces, and if you try to make changes whilst the automatic date change is engaged, an automatic safety device prevents internal damage.
The milled, turban crown is a noticeable departure from the more usual crown decorated with the Calatrava cross.
As you can see, the 48 hour power reserve is at 10/ 11 o’clock, the date and moonphase at 7 o’clock, and the small seconds at 4/ 5 o’clock on the porcelain dial, which features a railway track scale.
A beautiful polished Officer’s style case (which Patek call the “Directoire” case) with a hinged cover over a sapphire crystal back opens up to show 265 parts, a 22k gold off-centre mini rotor, and the Patek Calibre 240 movement. The only thing that beats an open caseback, to me, anyway, is an Officer’s case. Even if you aren’t a movement nerd you’ll find this beautiful and mesmerising.
First released by replica Patek Philippe in 1977, the Cal.240 was created as a thin base movement for PP’s perpetual calendars. At only 2.4mm thick, with a Gyromax balance, the movement allows for a perpetual automatic caliber with a total thickness of only 3.7mm. As is evidenced by the Ref.5054, Cal.240 ended up being used for a variety of replica watches from the brand, not just perpetual calendars.
The replica watch is water-resistant to 25m. Naturally, it doesn’t go anywhere near water.