The remarkable and polarizing ‘double chin’ design was done away with when the diamond-set 5271P-001 was introduced at BaselWorld 2014. In my earlier post we already mentioned the 2015 PP 5270R-001, but what I missed was the quiet release of the 5270G-018 and 5270G-019: the white gold models with silver dial and blue dial, tachymeter, but no double chin.
The total of 5270 variations is now at 8 – a surprisingly large number taking into consideration that the original 5270G-001 was released just four years ago..
I must admit I am somewhat lost for words. I don’t think there has been any Patek Philippe before that has had such major and fundamental changes to its dial design.
First there was the version sans tachymeter: the original 2011 5270G-001. It was the first perpetual calendar chronograph to be powered by an in-house movement: the newly conceived CH 29-535 PS Q.
Than in October 2013, the KunstWerkUhr 5270G-015 was introduced. This model featured a silver dial with blue accents and marked the return of the tachymeter. It was introduced to commemorate the Munich KunstWerkUhr exhibition, celebrating the history of Patek Philippe. On this limited edition of 50 pieces, the seconds track was designed to fold around the date scale at six, resulting in a design feature that would become known as the ‘double chin’.
The limited edition KunstWerkUhr was accompanied by the regular collection 5270G-013 with silver dial and the 5270g-014 with blue dial some two months later – both of them featuring said ‘double chin’.
At BaselWorld 2014 however, the diamond-studded 5971P was added to the collection. The date scale now overlapped the seconds track, doing away with the unusual design feature that caused so much debate. And now for 2015, there is the 5270R-001: a regular collection 5270 with tachymeter, though sans ‘double chin’.
So now what? It seems that Patek Philippe listened to the comments posed by its collectors and gave way to a more traditional design for the 5270. Filling the shoes left by the much-coveted 5970 seems to have been a task slightly underestimated..