PATEK PHILIPPE. A FINE AND VERY RARE 18K GOLD PERPETUAL CALENDAR SPLIT SECONDS CHRONOGRAPH WRISTWATCH WITH, MOON PHASES, 24 HOUR AND LEAP YEAR INDICATION AND POSSIBLY UNIQUE CHAMPAGNE TACHOMETRE DIAL

Superbly preserved in an important private collection for almost a decade, this example of reference 5004J can undoubtedly be considered one of the most important key pieces amongst this now legendary reference.

In 2008, Philippe Stern asked Stern Creations to make a few sets of special dials with different colours and features such as tachymeter and pulsation scales. Around 12 sets were made and delivered to only the very best clients of Patek Philippe. The present watch is one of those exceptional pieces, the entire graphic is completely different from the standard for the reference featuring a sublimely beautiful champagne gold dial with Roman and dot numerals instead of Arabic or baton, coupled with a bold oversized tachymeter scale. Furthermore, the gold dial with 1 Roman numeral in yellow gold and the tachymeter scale is confirmed by the original Certificate of Origin.

Reference 5004
Introduced in 1994, Patek Philippe's reference 5004 was in production only until 2009. This perpetual calendar chronograph watch remains particularly desirable to collectors because it features a split second complication. Recognizable by its prominent oversized co-axial crown, it was, along with the chronograph-only reference 5070, the last of Patek Philippe’s complicated watches to use an outsourced caliber base, in this instance Nouvelle Lemania, which was specially developed for Patek Philippe and finished in their workshops.