The Watch: The 5054 belongs to the same officer-style family as the 5015, tracing back to the converted pocket watches of the First World War. Patek carried the format forward here with a hinged dust cover on the caseback: flip the watch over and you get solid rose gold, open the cover and there's a sapphire window into the movement. And because it's an officer's case watch, Patek uses screws and bars to fasten the straps to the welded lugs, emulating a pocket watch converted into a wrist watch.
The case is 36mm in 18k rose gold. The dial is Patek's classic asymmetrical layout, the same found on the 5712 Nautilus, this time on a vintage-inspired white dial with Roman numerals and blackened white gold hands.
That movement is the caliber 240 PS IRM C LU, the complicated version of the base 240 that arrived in 1977 and has served as Patek's premium automatic ever since. The 22-karat gold micro rotor is recessed into the plate, which is what keeps the case thin and leaves the finishing visible through the caseback: côtes de Genève across the bridges, anglage on the edges, perlage on the base plate. A Gyromax free-sprung balance handles regulation.
This example comes as a full set in good condition on a pin buckle with its Extract from The Archives showing that it was produced in 2001, sold to an AD the same year, and then sold to its original owner in 2005.
Condition: Good, light wear marks, some bezel marks (see photos).
Includes: Box, papers, pusher, extract.
