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Jholmeson

[Review] Calatrava palava - 5296 vs 5296 (2 versions)

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Jholmeson

This is my grail watch. It has the austere, simple Bauhaus styling of the Calatrava line but with the sector dial detail that dresses it down and makes it feel more contemporary than the plainer models. I had an interesting couple of months looking for a good rep and I think I’ve gotten about as far as is currently possible.

 

Gen pic:

 

Patek_5296G_021.jpg

 

Gen pic showing thickness and alternate angle on dial/hands showing how the dial changes from grey striped to all white and the hands from black to blue:

 

patek-philippe-calatrava-5296G_j_LRG.jpg

 

I wish Patek made this model in steel as the dial feels more contemporary and suited to a casual stainless steel case than the white gold the gen comes in. Both rep and gen are also available in rose gold but I think the blue sector dial clashes in that color.

 

It fascinates me how hard it appears to be to replicate the Calatravas effectively as they appear to be such simple watches. Not sure how much is market forces (no demand or profit) and how much is that the simplicity and thinness means that replicas have to be much more on point than busier watches that can hide imperfections amongst a mass of details.

 

I purchased a gen strap in shiny blue crocodile leather from eBay and got to take a fantastic trip to the diamond district in NYC to pick it up from an old Jewish guy who had a kiosk in one of the trading plazas there. If you’ve never been, worth a trip. It looks like a flea market full of glass display booths and loose packaging, except the booths are full of gen watches and diamonds. This guy seemed mostly to deal in Pateks and had them all stacked up in the red cardboard service boxes in a display case, easily several million dollars worth of stock. He was very friendly and offered to fit the strap to my watch, admitted it was for a rep (which I didn’t have on me) - he offered me a discount if I ever wanted to go gen.

 

The gen strap is 21/16mm and the (awful as usual) rep strap is 20/18. The gen strap splays a little at the top where the quick-load springbars should go but it does fit with some pressure applied. The rep buckle was noticeably too big but I was able to track down a 16mm rep buckle from an eBay seller in Greece (the Chinese TDs only have 18mm buckles). I love how this hobby involves sourcing components and services from all over the world.

 

Tracking down the various versions of these reps was difficult. Not naming TDs below. Just noting the behavior as it may help newbies to understand that once the TDs have your money it is extremely hard to get it back.

 

Rep 2 is the one listed on all the TD sites. However, most of the time when you order it you get QC pics for Rep 1 - this happened a couple of times. They seem to all come from one factory, which was out of stock for Rep 2. Rep 1 only appears online once or twice in forums and doesn’t appear to be on TD sites. I believe Rep 1 is circa 2010, and Rep 2 a few years later - circa 2013.

 

The watch I ordered from the first TD arrived broken (stuck rotor) so I asked for a substitution but this was not granted, only a repair. I sent it back to China for repair, which took 3 months.

 

In the meantime, I tracked down Rep 2 from another TD.

 

Now I have them both side-by-side, Rep 1 is actually a better rep, although both are flawed the Rep 1 captures more of the signals that you’d associate with the Calatrava (thin, flat, plain on first sight with detail revealing itself).

 

Rep 1 Pros:

  1. Much thinner. Captures the “Calatrava essence" better.
  2. Hands are the right shape (but too long)
  3. Seconds hand is nice and thin
  4. Dial appears white in some light and then fades to silver at certain angles (as per gen)

Rep 1 Cons:

  1. Domed crystal
  2. Date window in wrong place
  3. Date font wrong
  4. Crown too big
  5. Too much blue on dial
  6. Hands wrong size - too long
  7. Lugs are too squared off
  8. Patek logo is slightly too small and light
  9. Caseback markings printed and incorrect rather than engraved

Rep 2 Pros:

  1. Hands are the right size (but the wrong shape)
  2. Date window is in correct position
  3. Date font is better
  4. Crown is better proportioned
  5. Comes with quick-release springbars and strap as per gen (Strap’s terrible though)
  6. Better lugs (although more curved to fit thicker case around the wrist)
  7. Caseback markings more accurate (engraved and correct content/size)

Rep 2 Cons:

  1. Way too thick. Comparable in thickness to a Seiko automatic.
  2. Hands wrong shape
  3. Seconds hand is too thick
  4. Grey is always visible on dial (gen/Rep 1 sometimes appears all-white, grey sectors only appear in certain light)

Pictures:

 

 

IMG_0412_zpsvdahdnrb.jpg

 

Rep 1 on the left, Rep 2 on the right. Crystal looks cloudier in Rep 2 but they are about the same in the real world. Similarly, the blued steel goes from black to blue on both depending on the light.

 

IMG_0417_zpse3nsfjqw.jpg

 

Rep 1 on the right, much thinner than rep 2 but the lugs aren't as rounded.

 

IMG_0416_zpscy8iuuzr.jpg

 

Rep 1 on the left, movements are both apparently Miyota but the one on the left appears slightly smaller. Rep 2 has better markings on the caseback which are engraved like the gen and the right size.

 

IMG_0422_zpsdgzgjn2t.jpg

 

Rep 2 wears thick. A better effort could have been made to taper the case under the bezel to hide the thickness.

 

IMG_0418_zpsaaeybhkq.jpg

 

Rep 1 wears thinner, but crystal is domed - maybe to give thinner appearance at edges?

 

Rep 1 is my preference as it feels more Patek-like to me even though it is on paper a less accurate rep. Wondering if I can switch out some of the components I like from Rep 2 (crown, date wheel/font, dial with correct logo/date window positioning) or even fit a gen dial or if this is about as far as I can go with the current state of the reps.

 

In summary, neither rep is passable to anyone who knows the brand. However, I'll still wear one of the reps as I love the design while I wait for either a truly great Calatrava rep or win the lottery and go gen.

Edited by Jholmeson

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Jasonbaylee

Thx mate!

Brilliant observations & points!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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_DC_

Great review, really interesting! I've oft' pondered buying a 5296 rep, and seen that there were two distinct versions (some TDs offering one and some the other) but never pulled the trigger because I had the same dichotomy. Thin will always win with me when it comes to Calatravas, but the thicker rep is more accurate in many other ways. Ultimately as I've already got a 5227 and a 5107 I decided it wasn't a rep I really needed anyway so gave up on the idea, but I'm with you in that the thinner version is the one to go for!!

 

On a side note I prefer a domed crystal, looks classier to me! My 5370p has a flat crystal and it's one of the things I hate about it!

 

DC

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FuzzyCoyote

Thanks for writing this up. Its great to see a comparison of the same watch and the pros & cons for each rep version. Interesting that the movements seems to be a slightly different size, even though they are meant to be the same type.

 

Nice one

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_DC_

The movement is the same size, what you're looking at is decorated faux bridges that don't actually do anything, and on one they are smaller than on the other, but the actual Miyota underneath will be exactly the same. Look at the balance, it's exactly the same distance from the inner edge of the caseback crystal on both but the faux baseplate has a deeper cut-out for it on one than on the other!!

 

DC

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FuzzyCoyote

The movement is the same size, what you're looking at is decorated faux bridges that don't actually do anything, and on one they are smaller than on the other, but the actual Miyota underneath will be exactly the same. Look at the balance, it's exactly the same distance from the inner edge of the caseback crystal on both but the faux baseplate has a deeper cut-out for it on one than on the other!!

 

DC

Top banana mate. Knew there would be a reason for it....

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