Patek Philippe 5101P Tourbillon 'Salmon Dial'
Patek Philippe 10 Day Tourbillon 5101P
If you’re not a fan of relentlessly positive reviews, it might be wise to look away now as the venerable 5101P is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest watches that Patek Philippe has ever produced, or anybody else for that matter, but if I must be reasonable and tone down the hyperbole - it’s one of the top 5 watches in the world, ever.
Clearly I’m not refined enough to stray too far away from the smokey blue dials of the Genta classic, but this 10 day tourbillon is a different league.
The 5101P is a Grand Complication piece, and something that Patek Philippe really excels at.
More to the point, it was released in 2003 when the Tourbillon at close to 200 years old was long retired along with pocket watches, and the idea of bringing it back wasn’t on anyones radar.
Fast forward a couple of decades and its a complication regularly used to showcase the watchmaking prowess of many a “big brand” but in the early Y2K’s this watch was Patek Philippes zenith, and its importance cannot be overstated.
It is incredibly rare, as only a few were made over the course of the references lifetime.
Given that it had a price tag of around $300,000, I can understand why it exists in limited numbers as the watch more than anything was a labour of love that only appealed to a handful of buyers:
Those who could afford it.
Those who appreciated its subtlety.
And those whose interest was piqued by an elderly pocket watch complication that had been dusted off from the archives, miniaturised, and presented in a wristwatch that looked rather similar to the Chrysler building.
It’s important to put the 5101 into the context of the market at the time. (Get me!)
If you’re old enough to remember the 2000’s it was a time when Panerai was in full 44mm swing, Hublot had arrived on the scene, Richard Mille were shaking the market to its core courtesy of huge tonneau cases, Rolex introduced the LV, and you were nothing if you didn’t have a collection of massive brightly coloured G-Shocks.
The 5101 draws its legacy from a couple of pre-existing sources.
It shares a similar case design to the 514, a rectangular piece that the brand released in 1936, and its movement is a modification of the double barrel
10-day 2820 calibre found in the 5100 “Manta Ray” of 2000.
In order to create the 5101, Patek fettled the Manta Ray’s movement to include a tourbillon.
Again, in historical context, a ten day movement was already something special. Nothing else was coming close.
IWC had a 7 day movement which gained time when fully wound and then lost it towards the end of its power reserve due to being based on a single barrel, FP Journe had a 5 day movement, while Rolex, Blancpain and others were still celebrating 72 hours.
A chronometer rated 10 day movement was a huge achievement, and a chronometer rated 10 day movement with a Tourbillon to ensure even more accuracy - genuinely crazy horology back in the day to the point that the 5101 swept the awards board and most notably walked home with the Aguille D’Or at the GPHG awards.
The case is thick platinum and has a very distinctive tiered style which is completely Art-Deco while remaining timeless. It could have been built in any decade from the 1920s onwards and still look modern, which is one of the joys of the design period of the 20s and 30s.
Its 29.6mm wide, length is 50mm and 12.5mm thick.
Dont let these stats fool you though, it may be slim but it’s long so in reality wears like a 42/43mm piece. It has presence by the bucket-load without being overpowering.
There is the Patek signature diamond nestled between the lugs at 6. According to Thierry Stern, “A diamond is also something precious, so it fits with the nobility of platinum”
It’s a really nice and tasteful touch, as due to the location of the setting, the diamond is only really visible to the wearer where it serves as a reminder of what you’re wearing.
Moving onto the dial, it is an absolute treat.
It is a gorgeous salmon tone, a colour which lifted many a watch since its introduction in the 1930s, and era-wise is the perfect choice for this piece.
Patek originally offered this dial colour “by customer request” and referred to it as “Golden Opaline”.
Time moves on, and the “salmon” nickname has stuck with collectors.
It is a a perfect colour (in my opinion) as if you do salmon “right” it works well with any skin tone.
Although it originated to compliment rose gold watches, if you pair it with platinum, as Patek have, and you create a beautiful contrast as the warmth of the salmon compliments the cool metal.
Another dial touch going on is the use of blackened gold Breguet numerals and hands which provide exceptional legibility against a lighter dial.
I don’t know about you, but I am of “the age” now where I struggle with silver or gold hands against pale dials. No contrast, no see without squinting.
No such trouble here.
The blackening of the gold is brilliant in that as well as darkening the hands, it also gives them a rich matte appearance, so theres nothing flashing or glinting above and beyond the case and the diamond.
It is an exercise in subtlety.
The minute track is printed in black along with the evenly spaced text, and thankfully, Patek has used the same font throughout the dial.
I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but sometimes the most fantastic watches become cursed by the great “what has been seen cannot be unseen” and weird mixed font choices AKA “duff typography” has a lot of “could have been better” dials to answer for.
Fortunately for us all, before I go off on a tangent, all is good under this particular hood which, by the way, is a glorious curved sapphire set flush within the bezel so as not to disrupt the sweeping arc of the case sides.
The more you look at this watch, the more the nice touches reveal themselves.
The rear of the watch uses another sapphire crystal to offer a window into the workings of the hand wound movement, and what a movement it is.
It is also an absolute mouthful to convey being calibre:
T 28-20 REC 10J PS IRM. Like the watch, it’s long, but everything is there for a reason:
T for tourbillon
28-20 refers to its size - 28 by 20mm
REC for rectangular
10J for ten days
PS for petit secondes
IRM - indicator reserve marche - power reserve indicator.
The closer you look at this calibre, the more impressive it becomes.
It is beautifully finished with Geneva Stripes, mirror polished chamfers and every sweeping curve has been softened with no sign of machining anywhere.
Even the visible jewels are set into flawlessly bevelled gold chatons (cups).
The tourbillon, which uses a one minute rotation is the showpiece and features a rounded bridge, 72 components and an astonishing 8 converging interior angles.
It is a work of horological art that in my opinion completes a masterpiece.
This watch has been referred to as Patek Philippes Magnum Opus, and those two simple words tell you everything you need to know about the 5101P.