Watch collection as a hobby may be the most popular of all time, and few categories can be as hyped as cheap Patek Philippe stainless steel sports watches. Specifically, Nautilus and Aquanaut. However, the popularity of these steel sports watches has only recently emerged. The timepieces that made Patek Philippe the master of today are their complex timepieces. Our watch here combines the versatility and durability of a bracelet stainless steel watch with Patek Philippe’s sophisticated watch technology. This is a Patek Philippe 5960/1A black dial. It may be the best stainless steel Patek Philippe model on the market.
Patek Philippe 5960/1A is the pinnacle of Patek Philippe’s long history of creating innovative and complex movements. This watch was released in 2006 and combines the annual calendar complication invented by Patek Philippe in 1996 with an internal automatic flyback chronograph. This is Patek Philippe’s first watch that combines these two complications, and it is also the first self-made automatic chronograph movement in Patek Philippe’s history. This watch reminds people that although Patek Philippe has more than 100 years of watchmaking history, they have still made many milestones in the near future. The 5960 also stands out with its distinctive movement and modern design, which is different from many other complex watches of Patek Philippe. This more sporty appearance, together with its automatic movement, has won a lot of praise as an excellent daily wearer.
Fast forward to 2014, and Patek Philippe will further lean towards the versatility of this model for everyday wearers by launching a steel version on a steel bracelet. By this time, the steel sports watch market has begun to heat up. The introduction of such a complicated model in a sporty and durable package has played a role as a bridge for young Patek Philippe collectors to switch from Nautilus to other brands. The brand is more interesting in the field of watches. In 2017, Patek Philippe launched the stainless steel watch you see here, but now it has a black dial. However, both steel-to-steel variants were discontinued in 2018, which means that this particular reference was only produced for one year. In addition to many desirable mechanical and design features, the scarcity of this timepiece makes it one of the more collectible modern Patek Philippe.
Although it has never been sold like this, this watch exudes a strong racing watch vibe. The matte black dial is combined with the silver brushed outer track. The polished and faceted day, date and month windows exude a little checkered flag, while the bright red chronograph hands just scream, “I want to go fast!” Even the numbers indicating the minutes and hours on the single counter at six o’clock reminded me of the speedometers of the 1940s. In other words, although its modern, sporty appearance stands out from other complex models of best Patek Philippe, it is not a loud or overly casual timepiece.
The case and bracelet are highly polished to balance the movement of the dial. In addition, the steel bracelet has five small links, which is more formal than the brushed three-link bracelet. The case is slightly larger, measuring 40.5 mm x 13.5 mm, but it has elegant smooth lines and a concave bezel, both of which help to reduce the size ergonomically and visually. The lugs are thin and have nice curves, allowing various wrist sizes to be worn comfortably on this watch. Overall, this watch is visually very balanced, making it a perfect match for formal or casual wear. However, it should be noted that although its materials and styles are very sporty, this watch is only 30m waterproof, so although it can cope with most of the harsh daily tests, swimming is not one of them.
Internally, the 5960 defeated the internal caliber CH 28-520 IRM QA 24H. If the long name is not leaked, this is a feature-rich sport. This is an automatic annual calendar with a flyback chronograph and power reserve display. This combination of complications is another reason why this watch is so practical for everyday wear. At a glance, you can see the day of the week, date, month and am/pm indicator and elapsed time, with the second in the center, and the minutes and hours in six places on the subdial. With so many useful features, this 5960 can be comparable to Apple Watch.
In addition to a series of useful complex functions, you can also get excellent finishing results. The rhodium-plated movement comes with a Patek Philippe quality seal and 40 gems, a gorgeous Côtes de Genève finish and a 21k yellow gold oscillating weight. In addition, the movement is equipped with Patek Philippe’s advanced Gyromax balance and the Breguet balance spring with free spring, both of which improve the durability and accuracy of the movement.
In my opinion, the biggest competition for cheap Patek Philippe 5960/1A steel black dial steel is its white dial brother. This watch has many advantages in terms of history and function, if you are interested in it, nothing else will scratch it. The production time of the white dial variant is much longer than that of the black dial variant, but the production cycle is still relatively short-4 years-I think its appearance is more polarized-no puns-but it is completely in other respects The same watch.
However, if you just buy a high-end perpetual calendar chronograph on the market, then this Lange Datograph perpetual calendar is worth a look. This is an 18k rose gold manual winding perpetual calendar chronograph. The perpetual calendar has advantages because you only need to set the date once in your life instead of once a year, and because this is a manual winding movement, it is visually more complicated and, in my opinion, better looking. However, this also means that due to its 36-hour power reserve, you need to wind frequently. Coupled with the gorgeous rose gold case, it is not as versatile as the 5960/1A. But like the white dial 5960, it is indeed lower than the black dial 5960.
Interestingly, although this watch was originally made to attract young collectors, I think it is now the most attractive to OG Patek fans. It has all the signs that Patek Philippe does best and breaks all Nautilus mania. This watch is for collectors who are confused by the standard Nautilus, which sells for $400,000, and are content to spend their money on rarer and interesting steel watches.
On paper, this cheapest watches reads like it was designed in a laboratory and is the ultimate collector’s watch. It is rare, versatile, elegant and complex. If you plan to spend more than $100,000 on a stainless steel watch, please buy this watch and you will not regret it.