Along with the rise of influence of social media platforms, watch prices have gone through the roof. Anyone would be forgiven for thinking the only watches made in the last few years are exclusively stainless steel sports watches.

Thankfully for the watch collecting circles, those who aren’t just looking to buy something trading way over list price just to sell to the next sucker, there is a plethora of watches that in my opinion are worth much more than what they are going for right now and one of these examples, something in my own personal collection, is the Patek Philippe 5170J.

Going through the facts quickly, this is a manual-winding chronograph housed in a yellow gold case that was produced between 2010 to 2014 and is powered by the first in-house chronograph movement developed by Patek Philippe to improve on the previous Lemania-based movements. This new calibre has the Patek Philippe seal with a more stringent accuracy requirement than industry standard chronometer grade movements, is impeccably finished with Geneva stripes and superb chamfering on all angles. With measurements of 39.4mm x 10.8mm this is a watch that will fit a wide range of wrists.


For the price of half a 5711, you’re getting a classically styled precious metal watch with a complication from one of the best watchmakers in Switzerland. The movement is historically significant to the brand and is available to see through the sapphire caseback. I have found myself losing track of time, mesmerised by the intricacies of this mini-city.



The 5170J now trades hands for about 45-50k USD and I would not be surprised if price levels do not stay here for much longer as the watch community recognises how underrated this reference is. You are getting immense value for what you pay for and it is difficult to seeing these going any lower, which makes this one of the safest bets you can make in this current horological climate.