Luxury Watches I Rejected

There are luxury watches I just cannot buy. Patek Philippe's 5016, for example, is the apple of my eye and a watch I cannot buy. Price is the problem. After discovering the 5016 firsthand during the spring of 2017, I was confident that I'd found the ultimate watch. This Patek Philippe and other watches are featured tonight in an episode all about the watches I can't buy! More than any Patek Philippe Nautilus or Rolex Daytona, the unassuming 36mm Patek 5016 is a watch I simply cannot afford. Produced in roughly 200 examples between 1993 and 2010, the Patek Philippe 5016 is no secret; one example in stainless steel briefly became the most expensive watch ever sold in 2015. Paying over seven million dollars for a 5016 isn't necessary, but paying close to $1 million definitely is. In either case, this is a watch I cannot afford. Why is the 5016 such a desirable Patek Philippe watch? It's not just the rarity; this is a masterpiece. First, there's the minute repeater. A minute repeating Patek Philippe is like a V12 Ferrari - it cuts to the core of the brand's identity. Jean-Pierre Hagmann's famous Patek Philippe case with integral repeater slide is a fundamental part of the 5016's appeal. And the tonal quality of the repeater chimes is peerless. Any perpetual calendar is special, but the Patek Philippe 5016 adds a retrograde date display for additional dynamism. There's a moonphase that requires only one correction every 122 years. And the calendar itself need not be rese