Patek Philippe Ref. 5004

Two complications that had met only twice

Patek Philippe made its first split-seconds chronograph wristwatch, no. 124,824, in 1923, and its first perpetual calendar wristwatch, no. 97,975, in 1925. In 1941 the ref. 1518 became the first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph. Putting a split-seconds mechanism into that combination proved far harder.

Before the 5004 there were only two known split-seconds perpetual calendars, both special pieces. The ref. 2571 of 1955 was an oversized 40 mm watch built on a Valjoux 13-130 base; three are believed to have been made, and one is in the Patek Philippe Museum. Then came the unique ref. 3973, made in 1988-89 for Philippe Stern, then president of the company, to mark its 150th anniversary. One account says it took four years of work. Its split-seconds pusher sat in the crown, an idea the 5004 would keep.

Stern took over from his father in 1993, and he is credited with keeping the rattrapante alive at the company. The 5004 was announced at the Basel fair in 1994 and delivered from 1995. It became the first serially produced perpetual calendar split-seconds chronograph.

The 'cheeseburger'

The 5004 is compact across, at 36.7 mm, but about 15 mm tall, 2.2 mm thicker than the ref. 3970 perpetual chronograph it grew from. The stepped case, with a convex rather than concave bezel, earned it the collectors' nicknames 'cheeseburger' and 'hamburger.' The start and reset pushers follow the 3970; the split-seconds pusher is set into the crown. Cases were made by an outside case maker until about 2009, when production moved in-house, and each watch came with a sapphire display back and a spare solid back.

The dial is what separates it from the 3970. Large applied Arabic numerals are modeled on the 1518, with day and month windows at 12, a date and moon sub-dial at 6, and nine hands in all. Calendars were made in English, Italian, French and German; English is by far the most common. The only catalog variant that departed from this scheme was the platinum 5004P-033, with a black dial and diamond hour markers.

Early details mark early watches. Through about 1998 the crown was small and barely reached past the pushers, and the chronograph hands stopped just past the center post. Later watches got a larger crown and counterbalanced hands. Because both were often swapped during servicing, a watch with the short crown and short hands is rarer but not always original.

A Lemania base pushed to its limit

The movement began as the Nouvelle Lemania 2310, which Patek had used since 1986 in the 3970 under the name CH 27-70 Q, reworked with its own perpetual calendar module. For the 5004 it added a split-seconds mechanism and renamed the caliber CHR 27-70 Q. One account says the change took the 353-part original to 407 parts. A distinctive octopus-shaped isolator wheel, visible through the back, manages the energy of the split-seconds hand.

The Lemania base was never designed as a rattrapante, and the first movements were not as reliable as they should have been. Collectors recognize three generations by the bridge over the split-seconds wheel: an oversized 'block' bridge on the earliest watches, a slimmer 'dogleg' bridge from around 1997-98, and a final secured version from 2002 or 2004, depending on the source. One account says production nearly stopped from about 2000 to 2004 while the movement was reworked. Patek usually upgrades older movements during servicing.

Every 5004 movement was finished to Geneva Seal standards, including those made after the maker introduced its own Patek Philippe Seal in 2009.

A slow seller turned special-order canvas

Buyers did not take to the 5004 at first. According to one account, Philippe Stern responded by offering his best clients more dial choices, and the 5004 became one of the most customized references the company has made. Big collectors ordered sets in all four precious metals with variations on a dial theme, sometimes with matching bracelets.

Michael Ovitz, founder of the CAA talent agency, ordered at least five 5004s, all dated April 15, 2011 on their certificates, with his MSO monogram at 6 o'clock, luminous hands and a tachymeter scale. Eric Clapton commissioned several, including versions with a Breguet numeral 12 and tachymeter. John Mayer has a white gold example with a salmon dial and luminous hands, and Jay-Z owns one of a short run of rose gold watches with ruby hour markers.

Near the end came a steel series with a silver dial and blackened markers and hands, sold through the Geneva salon to important clients who often had their names engraved on the caseback. Its size is disputed: one study says 50 to 80, another that two sets of 50 were made plus some unique pieces. For the Only Watch charity auction in Monaco on September 28, 2013, the maker built a single titanium 5004T with a carbon-pattern guilloché dial. It sold for 2,950,000 euros, about $3,985,067, for Duchenne muscular dystrophy research.

From overlooked to record-breaking

How many were made is unknown. One study counts 263 auction appearances from 2000 to 2025, representing 208 unique watches, and extrapolates total production of 800 to 1,000. Another researcher estimates at least 600. Both put platinum at roughly 44 to 46 percent of the total, with white gold the rarest precious metal. The company is said to have once quoted 12 a year; another account says 16 a year. The figures do not agree, and the maker has not confirmed any of them.

Prices climbed sharply from 2022 as collectors turned to neo-vintage Patek. Steel examples commanded a large premium, with two of their last three sales above $1 million by 2025, while special orders fetched far more than catalog watches: an Ovitz 5004J-017 sold for $1,194,000 in 2023 and his platinum 5004P-041 for $1,489,000 in 2025.

In June 2026 Eric Clapton's white gold 5004G-020, with a rose-colored dial, Breguet 12 and tachymeter, offered as most probably unique, sold at auction in New York for $5,202,000 against an estimate of $700,000 to $1.4 million. It broke a 13-year-old record for the reference, set by the titanium charity piece, and was more than three times the previous high for a 5004 sold outside a charity auction. In 2012 the 5204P took over as the maker's split-seconds perpetual calendar.

The numbers

Reference

5004 (5004P, 5004J, 5004R, 5004G; steel 5004A-001; titanium 5004T-001); successor ref. 5204P from 2012

Caliber

CHR 27-70 Q, hand-wound split-seconds perpetual calendar chronograph on a Nouvelle Lemania 2310 base; three bridge generations

Case

36.7 mm by about 15 mm; platinum, 18K yellow, rose and white gold, steel, one titanium; sapphire and solid backs supplied

Production

Announced 1994, delivered 1995 to about 2012; total undisclosed, estimated at 600 to 1,000; steel run estimated at 50-80 or 75-100 depending on the source

Timeline

1. 1923

   Patek Philippe makes its first split-seconds chronograph wristwatch, no. 124,824.

2. 1925

   The first Patek perpetual calendar wristwatch, no. 97,975, is made.

3. 1955

   The ref. 2571, a split-seconds perpetual calendar, is made; three are believed to exist.

4. 1986

   The ref. 3970 introduces the Lemania-based CH 27-70 Q perpetual chronograph movement.

5. 1989

   The unique ref. 3973 split-seconds perpetual calendar is completed for Philippe Stern for the 150th anniversary.

6. 1994

   The ref. 5004 is announced at the Basel fair.

7. 1995

   First ref. 5004 watches are delivered.

8. 2000

   From about this year to 2004, production nearly stops while the movement is reworked.

9. 2001

   A white gold, salmon-dial special order made in 1996 sells at auction for $131,000.

10. 2009

    A four-piece set with Breguet 12 and tachymeter dials is made; case production moves in-house around this time.

11. Apr 15, 2011

    Certificate date for Michael Ovitz's monogrammed special-order 5004s.

12. 2012

    The 5004 is officially discontinued; a steel end-of-series run is produced for important clients.

13. Sep 28, 2013

    The unique titanium 5004T sells for 2,950,000 euros (about $3,985,067) at the Only Watch charity auction in Monaco.

14. 2016

    Eric Clapton's rose gold, black-dial 5004 sells at auction for $404,000.

15. 2021

    Clapton's platinum, blue-dial 5004 sells at auction for $978,000.

16. 2025

    A steel 5004A sells for $1,004,000 and an Ovitz platinum 5004P-041 for $1,489,000.

17. Jun 2026

    Clapton's white gold 5004G-020 sells for $5,202,000 at auction in New York, a record for the reference.

The world in 1994

• Jan 1, 1994

  The North American Free Trade Agreement takes effect.

• Apr 7, 1994

  The Rwandan genocide begins in Kigali.

• Apr 27, 1994

  South Africa holds its first fully multiracial elections.

• May 6, 1994

  The Channel Tunnel officially opens between England and France.

• May 10, 1994

  Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first Black president.

• Jul 16, 1994

  Fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 begin striking Jupiter.

• Jul 17, 1994

  Brazil wins the World Cup, beating Italy on penalties in the final.

Daily price data

FLOAT reprices this watch every day from completed sales. Last updated November 12, 2026.

Every grade and recorded sale for this watch

Price record

A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.

By reference price, Patek Philippe Ref. 5004 is number 24 of 100 in the watches entries of the FLOAT 100. 54 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (36 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Collectors nicknamed the 5004 the 'cheeseburger' or 'hamburger' for its tall, stacked case profile.
• The split-seconds hand is operated by a pusher set into the crown, an idea first seen on the unique ref. 3973 made for Philippe Stern.
• Day and month were offered in English, Italian, French and German; French and German calendars are particularly rare.
• Michael Ovitz had his MSO monogram placed on the dial, something one historian says had not been done since the days of J.B. Champion.
• Every 5004 shipped with two casebacks, a sapphire display back and a solid one.
• The single titanium 5004T made up about 58 percent of the entire 2013 Only Watch auction total.