When we talk about chronograph ,we will think of sports watches. But chronograph watches also can be elegant, small, restrained and wearable with a suit.Patek Philippe 5170G chronograph is a good example.
The Patek Philippe 5170G Chronograph is the purest definition of a Patek Philippe, a watch that represents the greatness of Patek Philippe. It is also a watch that looks like those superb 1940s chronographs that Patek made. This is also true for the recently introduced ref. 5370p and for the ref. 5270 . However, compared to those two, the Patek Philippe 5170G is simpler, cleaner, more in the vein of what a chronograph by Patek should be.
The 5170 can be seen as a modern Patek Philippe Ref. 130 – and oh yes, these watches were splendid. “Back to basics” because it is a simple chronograph that only does what is it’s name actually means: measuring time. That’s all. No calendar, no split-seconds, no date window, no extreme features neither diamonds. It’s clean, it’s pure and it’s simple.
Look at it and try to imagine this watch in a racing car or on a flying suit… Not the best association, right. The Patek Philippe 5170G is clearly made for being a dress watch, with the extra feature of the chronograph. Because it’s super clean and basic, it has nothing shocking or “bling bling”. Of course, it can be worn with a pair of jeans and a sweater but clearly, it will be more relevant with a fine tailored suit and a shirt.
It is elegant also because it’s extremely restrained. It only comes in white metal, with a white or a black dial. No blued hands, no warm gold, no super-sized case, no champagne dial (which I love but they are not the easiest to wear), no strange and over-designed lugs or bezel… Simplicity at its best. It’s smooth, clean, flat… However, it isn’t boring. The case is rather sharp and not too round, not too soft, giving it a bit of a bold design . The dial is not too loaded with hands, scales, logos or inscriptions – and it features applied Breguet numerals, that are, too me, simply the best looking numerals that the watchmaking industry created so far. It just works as a dress watch, even with the chronograph function.
The Patek Philippe 5170G exists in two editions, both in 18k white gold: the 5170G-001 with a white dial and the 5170G-010 with a black dial. The older ref. 5170J in yellow gold with a white dial, introduced in 2010, is not in production anymore, leaving to us the choice between these two new white gold editions. However, the difference of these two new editions is not just the dial colour. 
The Patek Philippe 5170G-010 has a black dial and there’s more as it also comes with different hands. The only one that is similar to the white dial edition is the central chronograph second hand . For the other hands, Patek chose a more subtle and rounded leaf-shape hands – for the two main hands and also for the sub-counters’ hands, which even feature a counterweight . The second change comes from the tracks – all the tracks, on the periphery of the dial but also on the periphery of the sub-registers. First, this Patek Philippe 5170G-010 gets rid of the pulsation scale and only leaves the second track. Then, the sub-dials’ track are also cleaner, with a single rail-road track.
This Patek Philippe watch is cool because it features the best of what Patek can do: the in-house calibre CH 29-535 PS. Before this new movement, Patek relied on a Lemania-based movement for the chronographs . 
