Patek 5396R or ALS 1815 Annual Calendar

[Rushne]

As the title suggests, which of these lovely Annual Calendars would you add to your collection and why?

[bobernet]

I would go ALS on this one all the way. Especially if you already have other PP. I’m not a fan of the tiny month and day wheels on the 5396. The watch looks unbalanced to me.



I have both ALS and PP, so no favoritism, in general.

P.S. Maybe consider the Langematik Perpetual, too.

[Vasco]

This is a hard one. Juste as a side note, you also have the 5396R they made with Arabic numerals to celebrate in 2016 the anniversary of their Annual Calendar complication.

I had a 1815R. I loved the sandblasted silver dial from ALS much much more as it looks more alive. Patek's is colder, greyer. This is a detail I loved in that 1815R. The overall dial finishing is more appealing to the eyes in the ALS.

On the movement side, though edges especially are better finished in the ALS, the overall bridges design in the Patek is more interesting than the 3/4 plate from ALS (because more open). The moon phase from Patek is really not my cup of tea, except for a sportier model like the Nautilus or the Aquanaut. ALS's looks great, yet simple (not busy).

Both have an excellent timekeeping performance. I guess it may come down to value retention if this is a concern of yours. Manual vs auto.

I started with ALS, my first watch in this luxury field, it tought me a lot in terms of finishing. I ended with Patek for other reasons but still miss ALS's front side finishing (smoother).

Very hard to decide (a very light preference for the ALS, I would have preferred the 5205G blue though).

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by bobernet

P.S. Maybe consider the Langematik Perpetual, too.

The Langematik Perpetual is a fantastic piece I lusted for a very long time and still love today in many variants.

[jtli202]

Are you debating a purchase?

[GGGMT]

Both absolutely sick. But for me: PP. why? It’s a PP and the history and reputation and utter perfection of the company is compelling. As to the watch, in my opinion, cleaner dial, less fluff and frilly detail, stone cold gorgeous case, better moon phase. And, also, it’s a PP.


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[Rollieo]

That ALS is quite the looker.

But I would always pick Patek. The brand just resonates with me more

[mbalmz]

it’s definitely the ALS for me—already voted with my wallet; I have the 1815 AC in white gold and love it.

but I also just prefer ALS as a brand generally.

[John Doyle]

I like the purity of patek's design.

[ts3]

ALS between those two but for my money I'd hunt for a 3940 instead.

The 5396 AC dial always strikes me as the poor cousin of the 3448/50 and 5320 PC dials. Much prefer the date ring there over the 24h ring plus date window of 5396. Also don't like the different font sizes for the date and day/month windows.

For the same reason I don't like 5726 with the additional 3mm in thickness vs 5711/12/40 another disadvantage there.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by mbalmz

it’s definitely the ALS for me—already voted with my wallet; I have the 1815 AC in white gold and love it.

Wonderful shot!

[Rushne]

Originally Posted by jtli202

Are you debating a purchase?

Yeah slightly. I came across the ALS recently but always thought I would assign the funds to a Patek of some kind, now I am debating internally haha.

[Rushne]

Originally Posted by Vasco

This is a hard one. Juste as a side note, you also have the 5396R they made with Arabic numerals to celebrate in 2016 the anniversary of their Annual Calendar complication.

I had a 1815R. I loved the sandblasted silver dial from ALS much much more as it looks more alive. Patek's is colder, greyer. This is a detail I loved in that 1815R. The overall dial finishing is more appealing to the eyes in the ALS.

On the movement side, though edges especially are better finished in the ALS, the overall bridges design in the Patek is more interesting than the 3/4 plate from ALS (because more open). The moon phase from Patek is really not my cup of tea, except for a sportier model like the Nautilus or the Aquanaut. ALS's looks great, yet simple (not busy).

Both have an excellent timekeeping performance. I guess it may come down to value retention if this is a concern of yours. Manual vs auto.

I started with ALS, my first watch in this luxury field, it tought me a lot in terms of finishing. I ended with Patek for other reasons but still miss ALS's front side finishing (smoother).

Very hard to decide (a very light preference for the ALS, I would have preferred the 5205G blue though).

5205G is absolutely a thought as well, but they are quite large. Love them though.

On the value retention, both would be on the grey, so have taken their hit. ALS have been slowly rising but I think that's mainly due to them raising their retail prices so aggressively over the last few years.
But PP will probably win in the long run there.

How come you ended with PP?

[Rushne]

Originally Posted by GGGMT

Both absolutely sick. But for me: PP. why? It’s a PP and the history and reputation and utter perfection of the company is compelling. As to the watch, in my opinion, cleaner dial, less fluff and frilly detail, stone cold gorgeous case, better moon phase. And, also, it’s a PP.


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Yeah my mind keeps throwing that it "But Patek" haha

[GGGMT]

Originally Posted by Rushne

Yeah my mind keeps throwing that it "But Patek" haha

there’s something about the historical intrigue and significance of PP on this space, and the PP story, that simply few or no other brands have in my opinion. I have many different brands; but I’ll consider other PP competitor brands once I have a few PPs. There are just insane.


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[1William]

The ALS is a more interesting watch to me.

[StylinProfilin]

Originally Posted by Vasco

The Langematik Perpetual is a fantastic piece I lusted for a very long time and still love today in many variants.

This is a grail watch for me.

[SharodTimes]

I really like the face on the ALS, however I would still pick the patek for overall personally

[leisen]

PP5396. Better case design. More balanced dial. More elegant and discreet. And it is a Patek.

[Calatrava r]

I picked the Lange over this PP. On this Patek design, I do not care for how the center pillar/axel pushes up through the 24 on the 24-hour time dial. To me this was poorly executed and throws the whole watch dial off. Interesting they still printed the "24" even though it is covered up. Everything is visible and complete on the Lange dial.

[bp1000]

This is going to sound silly but I’ve always thought ALS is so perfect they are clinical.

I have always preferred Patek in that regard, especially for watches that are competing such as this example.

[StellarisCollection]

Couldn't have said it better.

[StellarisCollection]

Patek for the win.

[Ichiran]

The 1815 chrono is perfect but the 1815 AC has very small characters on the subdials which make it somewhat illegible. The 5396 is easier to read.

[MILGAUSS88]

Great taste, those are my favorite moonphase watches for the respective makers.

I would vote for the ALS. I like the double sunk dial, and they seem it get the color of the dial just right for contrast with the rose gold case. I would not get the white gold version. There is not enough contrast from dial to case on that version.

If you were to get the 5396r I would not get one with the silver dial, it just doesn't seem to pair up as well as the ALS. The chocolate brown dial looks much nicer with the rose gold. Or white gold with blue or anthracite dial.

If I was going to get the 5396 I would get one with a gold bracelet, they typically are $10,000 more than with a strap. With gold bracelet, I might take the 5396 befor the ALS. The ALS are about $30,000 more with gold bracelet, so just doesn't seem worth the extra money.

[bob101]

The 5396 is sharp and easy to read and a nicer dial for me. The Lange though movement impressive is a manual wind AC, not everyone’s thing. Personally, prefer the automatic movement of the 5396. Also not fond of the annual calendar wording on the sub dial.
Best to try on also as Lange tends to wear flat on the wrist which is not to everyone’s taste.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by Rushne

ALS have been slowly rising but I think that's mainly due to them raising their retail prices so aggressively over the last few years.

Yes, and the overall market rise since 2018/2019 and especially the boosted post-covid period. They are all slightly deflating since the last 12 months or so, depending on the watch. It's time to have a look at the grey market again imho.

Originally Posted by Rushne

How come you ended with PP?

Well, I started with the ALS 1815R (2010), handled repeatedly for a few years most of high-end Indies and traditional brands and slowly discovered the Nautilus (early 2010's). It was to me a prerequisite to be able to assess them correctly and "feel" where each model/brand stand. In 2012, I've put the 5711/1A of a forumner on my wrist during an event back then and I just fell in love with the Nautilus. From then on, I visited them regularly to discover on the long run the different watches and complications (and their abstruse model references :p).

I discovered that, excluding the 100/150 K+ models, though the finishing was a little less deepen in a few areas, the overall item was more appealing to me (technically, historically, aesthetically). More precisely, I feel some brands, though they can have a very nice outcome in some particular areas, can have a strong flaw in others.

I'm still glad with PP even though I still miss ALS after all these years :)

[jtli202]

Originally Posted by Rushne

Yeah slightly. I came across the ALS recently but always thought I would assign the funds to a Patek of some kind, now I am debating internally haha.

I would go with the ALS between those two. Have you considered the 5396r-015? That thing is stunning

[briboxer]

Had the ALS. Way better look in my opinion.

[BraveBold]

Love the 5396.

If you pass on it please DM me the seller, if you don’t mind?