r/patekphilippe

Hi guys - I'm in the market for a Patek 5167A and am going through the dealers on IG and from a few buddies who have worked with some various ones but wanted to get some advice on what to look for, what to ask, what red flags to look for etc as I've never done a purchase on a watch at this level from the secondary market. I have a great relationship with my Rolex AD and have a lot of those pieces but Patek nada but have always wanted this reference. From my research I think I have to buy something a bit older to be within my budet of sub $70k for a full set but a dealer has found me one but more or less wont provide any detailed photos of the watch without me first sending a $5K non-refundable deposit so they can get the watch (from their wholesaler I'm assuming) then they will send me photos. Is this normal?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Just a bit nervous about a transaction of this size more or less over the internet without knowing what im getting etc. I'm in a market without a Patek AD so I dont know how I'd authenticate it etc once I got it either.

I have been collecting watches for many years and owned more watches than I honestly needed. I kept buying, selling, changing rotations and trying to give every watch a purpose. Office watch, home watch, weekend watch, travel watch etc. In the end I was spending more time thinking about watches than actually enjoying them.

So I decided to sell everything and keep only three.
The Patek 5205G will be my normal daily and office watch. It is comfortable, low key and I can read the calendar much easier than my 5396.

The Day-Date Meteorite will be for special occasions, important meetings, weddings and anniversary etc. I love the DD but honestly the weight becomes tiring if I wear it the whole day, so no point forcing it to be my daily watch.

The Explorer II Polar will be for travel, holidays and anything where I don’t want to worry too much.

So that’s it. 5205 for normal life, DD for special occasions and Explorer II for travel. Hopefully this time I will stick to it 😂

These are the watches I am selling:

Patek Philippe 5396G
A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus in white gold
Rolex GMT-Master II Pepsi
Rolex Daytona Panda
Rolex Daytona black dial
Rolex Submariner Starbucks
Rolex Datejust mint green
Rolex Datejust silver dial
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph Panda
Omega Speedmaster
Cartier Tank

The most difficult one to sell will be the 5396 because I really love that watch, but keeping the 5396 and 5205 together will put me back in the same situation again.

If anyone is genuinely interested in any of them, message me privately and I can share the full details, condition and asking price.

Why is the Nautilus the only Patek to ever have a good bracelet? All others seem subpar for the watch it’s joined to. I think it would also make a lot of their other models more desirable in the modern era, which is what Patek wants to happen. Those of you who don’t want a bracelet, well, no harm—just put the watch on a strap or buy it that way.