Should You Buy A Quartz Patek Philippe?

Patek Philippe Watch with a Quartz Movement

Patek Philippe Watch with a Quartz MovementShould I buy a quartz timepiece from the masters? It’s a tough question when you’re looking at the Prince of Watches. I love the brand, as most do, and even a battery powered Patek is better than nearly all other products in that class. But still, I think I would pass on a Patek with quartz movement.

The mere notion that Patek produces quartz movements is strange and it is geared mostly toward ladies watches. Sometimes you’ll find “deals” out there for older gents models that seem too good to be true. They have all the fine workmanship you are used to admiring, they look excellent and have great gold content with the right feel, but the fact remains that quartz Pateks are hard movers. They are dogs, no getting around it. Don’t get buried under one of these models because you scored it for $4,500. These watches will be with you for the long stretch and you will have to really pull a dump off to get rid of them. Stay traditional mechanical on the Patek, and leave the quartz for Chrono24 peddlers that got caught napping. You didn’t even know the movements were this nice looking? Don’t get caught.

Patek Philippe Watch with a Quartz Movement

Patek Philippe deals on Amazon

15 thoughts on “Should You Buy A Quartz Patek Philippe?

  1. I have a PP square clock
    with a solar panel. It needs a new battery. Someone can repair here in Australia. It needs servicing
    I can send a photo of the clock

  2. That’s the most amazing battery holder I’ve ever seen, but even still I would never consider a quartz Patek. That sounds like an oxymoron.

  3. Among luxuxry watch brands, I like Patek the most. Patek timepieces are not only high-class accessories, but also pieces of art. So much devotion to uniqueness and aesthetics

  4. A friend of a friend got a Quartz PP and it is ridiculous, the main PP agents refuse to do anything when the battery dies and it has to be sent away to PP HQ in Switzerland to have the battery replaced for extortionate costs £100+

    1. But maybe a £100 charge is “reasonable” when PP charges $40,000 and up for a new, Nautilus quartz ladies’ model. Gold case and bracelet, yes, but that price is still outrageous for a quartz watch!

  5. Interesting.I have a solid gold dress watch .looks like app .Siko made it and it’s quartz .I bought it 40 years ago has never stopped working 5 changes of the battery.the watch case is made in Germany..the watch is great.why would a quartz PP be so bad.

  6. PP used to make mechanical movement watches for ladies but it seems no longer. Why is that? If you want, say, a new, automatic, all-gold ladies luxury watch today, there’s virtually only one choice: Rolex. Unless you go vintage that is. It’s really strange that the masters of mechanical movements would switch to quartz for ladies watches and limit them even then to the Nautilus model. Does PP no longer have the resources to make the equivalent of a lady’s Rolex?

    1. Only one choice…? PP has several automatic movements for ladies, but Rolex is not only not in the same league, you can also go to VC or AP, but before Rolex you can go for Omega, with much more interesting mechanical movements.

  7. Its nauseating to even hear the words PP and quartz in the same sentence. They are destroying their own name that the founders took a lifetime to established

    1. Wow! Huge drama! But that’s only snobbism. Patek Philippe is one of the most important brands to research and develop into quartz technology, since the 1950’s. Quartz technology is a relevant and indissociable part of their history.

  8. I had a quartz nautilus 3900A, a 1980’s model while it was fine I was a little disappointed, not by the movement but by the bracelet. The finish on my £500 grand seiko is better. Even the Patek box was a bit of a let down, however the dial and hands were very good. I have replaced it with a gold audemars.

    There is something to be said for a high end quartz, particularly a dress watch. It can live in a drawer and you can just wear it from time to time. Also very limited servicing cost and lower initial cost.

    1. A high end quartz should never just live in a drawer, but that’s what ends up happening for most of them. It needs to be exercised like any other watch. If the battery starts leaking acid it could result in a repair bill that would rival the value of the watch itself.

  9. Well, now for some real sacrilege. Having lived in SEA for a while I was introduced to the world of replica watches. A watch to me is not a necessity, my iPhone serves as a timekeeper and pocket computer, and occasionally a phone. But a watch can also be costume jewelry. So I purchased a few replicas for my personal use. They are all about 7-8 years old. A Patek Nautilus, Ulysse-Nardin El Toro, Rolex Daytona, Hublot Big Bang. Rolex Yachtmaster 11, Rolex Milgauss.
    All have automatic movements, the Patek has an upgraded Japanese movement, the rest are probably Chinese. I keep the watches in watch winders, and rotate their use. I also own a real Rolex Datejust which is 35 years old, works perfectly, and has been serviced every few years by Rolex for about $500 per.
    What’s my point? I’d love to own a few genuine watches, a stainless steel Nautilus, or a stainless steel Daytona. But as watch aficionados know the watch game well, Patek and Rolex under produce their desirable watches and depend on the secondary market to keep prices elevated. A new stainless Daytona from Rolex has an MSRP of $13,150. Cheapest on eBay is $21,000 plus. Walk into a Rolex authorized dealer and ask to purchase a new Daytona stainless and you’ll be suspected of hopeless naivete. Patek plays the same game.
    I don’t wear these replicas to fool people. If someone asks if it’s genuine I tell them no, it’s a copy. I’ve found out two things about these watches; water is their enemy, and they keep as accurate time as my genuine Rolex. Are they all like that, maybe not. I have more important uses for my money. Grandkids, kids, wife etc. Am I aiding and abetting criminals? Far less than US arm sales to questionable countries. Am I harming people? Far less than a president who claims a virus which killed 206,000 Americans is ‘totally harmless.’

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