One of the hard truths about luxury UK replica watches collecting is that for just about all enthusiasts, we can’t buy – or keep – every watch we would like to have. Happily, we’re fortunate that ours is a social hobby. And if you are around long enough, get out a bit and treat other enthusiasts with respect, you will have the chance to handle – and in my case – photograph objects of horological desire that are beyond your means.
So it was that I recently enjoyed the opportunity to check out three of my friends’ rare 1:1 best Patek Philippe fake watches, all with salmon dials: Reference 5059G-018 and Reference 3940G-029 perpetual calendars from Patek Philippe’s Vintage Collection and a unique Reference 5270G commissioned by a particularly fortunate pal.
First things first: Patek Philippe Reference 3940G-029
In chronological order of introduction, Reference 3940 comes first among this trio so I’ll start there. Reference 3940 was launched in 1985 and formally discontinued in 2006, but it wasn’t until 2015, around the time of Swiss made Patek Philippe replica watches’ Grand Exhibition in London, that a small number of new old stock cases and movements were used to create the salmon-dialed Reference 3940G-029.
I’ve written before here about Patek Philippe’s Vintage Collection, in particular on the topic of my own blue-dialed platinum Reference 3940. Long story short, while these small-run series of perfect copy watches based on discontinued references and featuring dial colors (and often designs) not seen during the original production period are often called “London” or “Saatchi Gallery” pieces, some of the London-period Vintage Collection timepieces remained in production afterward and other Vintage Collection variants (including my 3940P-027) did not appear at the Grand Exhibition in London.
Reference 3940G-029 did appear in the London catalogue, and despite the often-seen claim that only five examples were produced, newly made pieces remained available on a highly selective basis to important high quality replica Patek Philippe watches clients for several years thereafter. In my opinion, that’s a good thing as the combination of white gold case, coppery-colored dial, and fonts taken from the later Reference 5140 make for a winning combination. I won’t say that I like it better than my even rarer 3940P, but I won’t say that I don’t either.
As with the regular production versions, the Vintage 3940G-027 is delivered with both solid and see-through case backs, and the owner of this one has not too surprisingly opted for the sapphire crystal back that gives a clear view of the period-correct, Geneva Seal-stamped Caliber 240 Q movement.
Reference 3940 isn’t huge at 36 mm, but due to its thin profile and long lugs it wears beautifully, especially with a dress shirt – and the salmon dial gives an extra pop that kept this piece on my wrist for a few minutes longer than absolutely needed to grab a quick wrist shot under the trees.
Next in line: Reference 5059G-018
When I returned in earnest to the world of watch enthusiasm following a brief hiatus around the turn of the millennium, one of the pieces that obsessed me was online super clone Patek Philippe Reference 5059 watches with its retrograde perpetual calendar, officer’s case, and extravagant combination of large Roman and smaller Arabic numerals on the stark white dial.
When I finally had a chance to try one on, though, it was all a bit too much in a small package for me by the time I factored in the thickness of the fake watches shop site, its relatively modest 36 mm diameter, and all of the action on the dial.
Had I seen the version shown here with its considerably simpler Reference 5050-style dial adorned with pencil-thin applied Romans that draw the eye outward, I might have felt quite differently.
This reference was also included in the 2015 London Grand Exhibition along with other highly limited versions in yellow gold, pink gold, and platinum. I believe that there are considerably fewer of these out there than of the salmon-dialed 3940, but as with the 3940G-029 this watch was placed by Patek Philippe with a friend several years following the London event.
As I handled and photographed these Swiss movements replica watches, I particularly enjoyed comparing the “salmon” hues of the various dials as they are not identical. In particular, the 5059 dial tends much more to the pink side of things than the more copper-toned 3940 as seen below.
Comparing the 5059 and 3940 side by side, it also becomes apparent that when it came to constructing the Vintage Collection, AAA Patek Philippe fake watches felt quite comfortable applying different design rules depending on the reference in question. For instance, while the 3940G salmon dial uses the codes of the later Reference 5140, the 5059’s dial is a throwback to the Reference 5050 that preceded it. And whereas in the 3940 we see a period-correct Caliber 240 Geneva Seal movement, the 5059 shown here is powered by a later Patek Philippe Seal Caliber 324 S QR movement rather than the Caliber 315 S QR that powered the original Reference 5059.
I did have good fun photographing the back of the 5059; officer case backs always present a few challenges with light management, and I do like using the interiors of polished case backs to give an additional perspective on the movement. And I particularly enjoyed the way that the dramatic concentric striping on Caliber 324’s rotor caught the light, seen both directly and in the reflection.
On the wrist, as I mentioned above, I found the 5050-style dial a real asset to the appearance of this particular 5059; and in dappled light under the trees the applied numerals threw off enough reflections to add just enough interest for my tastes to the otherwise flat dial.