There are certain luxury UK replica watches within Patek Philippe’s current catalog that, frankly, don’t feel like they belong there. And then there is the 5236P – an in-line perpetual calendar in a platinum case, and now, for the first time, with an “opaline rose-gilt,” or salmon dial. The watch itself is not new – the 5236P was introduced in 2021 with a blue dial, but it remains one of the most interesting and most “Patek” watches within the catalog.
Now let me explain. Patek Philippe has, without a doubt, a peerless history when it comes to complications, case design, finishing, and frankly, even elegance. When looking back at cheap AAA fake watches like the 2499 and the 2526, it would be challenging to find a single thing to complain about. They are objectively perfect watches – I think the same could be said about a 5970, 5074, 3974, 5004, 5078, 3940, certain series of 3970s, and well, lots more watches from the historical Patek catalog. Today, there are Swiss 1:1 copy watches in production that feel really disconnected from the references above – but not the 5236P. This, to me, is pure Patek. You must understand that not only did Patek Philippe produce the first perpetual calendar wristwatch in 1925, but also, in 1972, it produced an in line perpetual calendar mechanism for a pocket watch in the early 1970s.
In 2021, Patek introduced the caliber 31-260 PS QL, which took some of the architecture of the curious 5235G Annual Calendar Regulator and re-engineered it to create the world’s first in-line perpetual calendar replica watches for sale, the 5236P, then with blue gradient dial.
What you see with the 31-260 PS QL is a traditional full bridge architecture, platinum micro-rotor (versus 22k gold in the regulator), that houses a whopping 503 components (base caliber 205, perpetual calendar 298), but in a slim 5.3mm profile. The interesting part of this 2024 online fake watches, of course, is the in-line display that provides the the day of the week, the day of the month, and the month, all linearly, on the very same plane, and has them change (or “jump”) simultaneously. As any fan of the Zeitwerk will know, having discs that jump requires a tremendous amount of energy – and while a Zeitwerk jumps each minute, and this jumps but once per day, the Patek is a perpetual calendar, and quite a bit thinner than the Lange.
This caliber is really quite impressive, with three new patents filed under its name, including systems that reduce friction during the jumps of the discs, an anti-shock system that eliminates the risk of a double jump and secures the discs into position, and a third that focuses primarily on the jump from the 31st of one month to the first of the next. All of this to say, the 5236P has real watchmaking under its skin, and on top of that, the caliber is simply beautiful, in a way that makes me think Patek is still highly capable of pleasing dorks like me, when it wants to.
The 5236P borrows a case profile from one of my all time favorite top super clone watches, the 3448/3450 – those with slightly more rounded, lest crisp edges. The counterpoint here is that the platinum case is entirely hand polished, and you can see it shine in the image above. The 3448, famously, was brushed on the case band and thus is an incredibly easy watch to know if it’s been polished in its life or not. Ultimately, the design of the 5236P is an incredibly pleasing one, and the introduction of this new rose opaline gilt dial, or, salmon, as we would say, should elevate it into a new realm of desirability.
The full reference here is 5236P-010, which joins the 5236P-001 (same watch, blue dial) in the catalog, instead of replacing it. The retail price is $141,405, and like with any “grand complication” from Patek, quantities will be very limited. How limited? It’s anyone’s guess, but this is exactly the type of best Patek Philippe replica watches the reminds you (or me) why Patek Philippe is such a special brand – and it is my hope, that creations like the 5236P, which combine cutting edge innovation (three patents) with historical, powerful nods to the past (in-line perpetual with case and dial designs from the past), start to earn the love and respect of the many new fans of the brand that have entered through the Aquanaut and Nautilus. To me, the 5236P is a real Patek – in other words, a really beautiful thing.