Patek Philippe Officer's watch, Ref. 5053 pre-purchase thoughts and questions

[Ibn_Hasaf]

There has been discussion of Patek Philippe in the general discussion sub-forum. This has returned my mind to a direction that it has wandered before. I have, yet again, been thinking about the Patek Philippe Officer's watch, Ref. 5053.

(picture of gen from here, this guy has a lot of good pictures on his site, can they be assumed to be gen?)

I like mid-sized watches and, as I have mentioned before, have a strong aversion to bling. This watch is a thing of beauty in its simplicity.

I have noticed this particular rep several times before; yes, I am aware I am linked to a non-TD. Sorry about that, I cannot find the pictures I want on a TD site and I consider it dishonest to use a picture without at least making an effort to provide a link to the source (here I am worried about being dishonest while talking about reps). Keep in mind, when provided with the link, any TD can source any watch.

(picture of rep from non-TD, see notes above)


It doesn’t look that bad, just don’t look at the . . . too late . . . when your eyes stop bleeding you will notice that I was about to tell you not to look at the back. Someone at RWG claims to have scraped the painted cross off the glass of the display back without harming the glass.

Now to a question, on his website TT (Andrew) claims to be able to source this watch with a Roman dial. In my searching I can find what appears to be a 5053 Gen with Roman Indices, I cannot find a single picture of the rep of this watch with a Roman dial. Has anyone seen the Roman Dial and is it any good?

(pic believed to be gen)


Does anyone have any other comments regarding this rep? I have already noticed that it is: 1. Overpriced, for a rep. 2. About 1mm larger than gen. 3. The crown is a bit off . . . Those who have seen the watch, how bad is the crown? (I am probably not going to be sourcing any Gen parts for it this watch)

 

[wat44]

I'm surprised a rep from 2006 is still available

The date wheel is pretty terrible

 

[Ibn_Hasaf]

Thanks for the date-wheel catch. Further, if the Roman version is available, I will have to ask where the date-wheel is on the Roman model. It just sunk in that on the Gen the Western Arabic date is at 6, while the Roman is at 3.

I actually have not gotten to the point of contacting my dealer and asking about availability. Step one is deciding if I even what it. That date font is now really catching my eye.

 

[silverclaw]

I actually really want one of these too, in yellow or rose gold. I did some research, and it seems like the watch is in fact the right size, despite the TD listings.

The DW is wrong, the case back is wrong, the hand colours are wrong, but the watch is still gorgeous.

 

[ssouthall6]

DW font kills it for me

 

[silverclaw]

I got mine a while back, and it's not a good buy. I don't recommend it.

Some points:
Cons:
The watch is 39mm, incorrect.
The caseback flip mechanism sucks, pops out frequently.
The crystal is mineral glass, not sapphire.
The plating is quite thin, and feels cheap.
Date wheel sucks. it just does.
Springbar screw bar things are impossible to replace once you've lost them.

Pros:
The dial rocks, it's shiny and the font is perfect.
Strap is not as bad as other rep straps, it's actually usable
Very nice size at 39mm

 

[Ibn_Hasaf]

I got mine a while back, and it's not a good buy. I don't recommend it.

Some points:
Cons:
The watch is 39mm, incorrect.
The caseback flip mechanism sucks, pops out frequently.
The crystal is mineral glass, not sapphire.
The plating is quite thin, and feels cheap.
Date wheel sucks. it just does.
Springbar screw bar things are impossible to replace once you've lost them.

Pros:
The dial rocks, it's shiny and the font is perfect.
Strap is not as bad as other rep straps, it's actually usable
Very nice size at 39mm

Thanks, I appreciate the honest assessment.

 

[psychom3]

Thanks for the review silverclaw, had considered it but not now.