But my rebuttal to Tay would be that, first, with just 349 examples of the 2499 in all four series made, putting aside the up-to-3.8-million-dollar price tag (Cartier Replica Watches), it is a watch that is really only accessible to a small handful of people. Mike Tay, the majority of us ain't. Conversely, the 5970, estimated to be made in around 2,800 examples, is accessible to at minimum 10 times as many people, making it the type of watch that a normal, albeit well-off, collector can buy. Further, with prices around US$125,000-$150,000 for a gold example in all three colours and US$190,000-$250,000 for a platinum watch, and bearing in mind that prices have increased by 15 percent since we first reported on the excellent investment value this model represents six months ago, the 5970 has very strong potential for appreciation.
Second, and recognising this is a very personal perspective, I feel that the 5970 is the more beautiful watch. That's right, I said it. Which is not to say that I don't consider the 2499 -- especially the first and second series Arabic index models -- beautiful. Of course I do. To me, they eclipse even fellow Swiss export Ursula Andress rising out of the sea in Dr. No in their totemic concupiscent hotness. It's just that, to me, the 5970 is the most perfect, balanced and wearable watch ever designed. Its lugs are more flared, attenuated and seductive with a dynamically charged Latin tempestuousness that reminds me of the perfect diamond-shaped female calf, while the dial has the most balanced expression of perpetual calendar and chronograph information, and features the most perfect integration of seconds track, tachymeter and date display in an achingly beautiful cynosure of design brilliance -- all thanks to a man called Thierry Stern.
What you may not know is that back in 2001, Thierry Stern was given the challenge to design a new perpetual calendar chronograph to replace the venerable 3970, designed by Stern's father Philippe. OK, let's place this in context, Philippe Stern is one of the greatest living legends in Swiss watchmaking. He is behind the creation of the integrated manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates, the establishment of the Calibre de Cartier Replica Watches Museum and the invention of Patek's patented annual calendar. He's also the motivating force behind Patek's push into silicon components. Said Thierry Stern in an interview with Nick Foulkes for Revolution, "Looking back, I can see that it was my test to see if I could become an adult in terms of design at Patek. The only brief my father gave me was: 'OK,Tudor Replica make your own choices.'" After thinking about it long and hard, the younger Stern decided to create a watch that would represent a bridge between his father's generation and his: "I decided to design a watch that could be worn by my father or myself... For me it is one of the few pieces, perhaps the only piece, which is a mix of two generations of the Stern family."
Father and son duo, Philippe and Thierry Stern at the Calibre de Cartier Replica Watches manufacture
One of the most notable features in Patek's chronographs is the tachymeter, which is a scale used to calculate an average speed over a pre-determined distance, usually one kilometre. You start your chronograph when beginning the kilometre and stop it at the end and the chronograph seconds hand will show the average speed of the object, for example, a horse or a car, over that distance. Because of the chronograph's roots in both sports and auto-racing, the very first Calibre de Cartier Replica Watches perpetual calendar chronograph, the 1518, featured this scale at the perimeter of its dial, giving it a decidedly more aggressive, instrument-like expression.
