Reference 5004 in stainless steel is part of the elusive Patek Philippe models that were never featured in the brand’s catalogue but open upon application to the brand’s best clients. Although not presented as a limited edition per se, production numbers were very low. The present example is only the 6th to be sold at auction.

One of the great classics of the modern Patek Philippe catalogue, the reference 5004 was produced between 1994 and 2010. It is the first Patek Philippe serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph model with moonphases - a set of complications rooted in the history of the brand, the first model made in series being reference 1518 launched in 1941 - with the additional split second complication. Together with the reference 5070 and 5970, it is the last Patek Philippe model to employ the “Nouvelle Lemania” based calibre.

To be granted the privilege of purchasing any reference 5004 was arduously challenging. The intricacy of the split second module added to the already complex perpetual calendar chronograph and the enormously high finishing standard of the company commanded an incredibly slow production rate.

In 2011, Patek Philippe announced the discontinuation of the reference 5004 with a final run of pieces in stainless steel, a metal the brand had not used before for its highly complicated pieces. The dial was furthermore different to the regular production pieces as it featured black oxidized indexes instead of the habitual applied Arabic numerals.

The present fresh to the market example sets the collectability bar well-further up than an already highly prized stainless steel 5004, as not only is it accompanied by its full set of accessories, such as box, Certificate of Origin, second caseback and setting pin but, the watch is still in its original factory sealed condition and as such, preserved in excellent unworn condition.