As it is among my favorite vintage UK perfect replica Patek Philippe Calatrava watches references, I rarely miss a 565 for sale or coming up for auction. With a 35mm diameter water-resistant case by none other than François Borgel, this is, in many ways, Patek’s first sport watch. “Dressy” by today’s standards, if you were after a do-everything time-only Patek in the 1940s, this would be your pick. This example has a central seconds hand thanks to the caliber 27SC inside, a stainless steel case, and, of course, everyone’s favorite Breguet numerals. The watch is checking a lot of boxes, so why is it labeled bidder beware?
Last offered at auction in 2001 via Antiquorum Geneva, this 565’s last 24 years appear to have been rough. Back then, the dial looked to be in acceptable condition, with some darkness to the seemingly original radium lume plots and a bit of patina and darkness to the lume in the hands. All was fine. But since, the best copy watches seem to have been relumed with a new luminous mix that is more white or green in tone. Beyond not being the original lume, the color of this lume is just not attractive to me.
So the lume was redone, that’s ok, maybe. But if we keep digging, we can see the high quality fake Patek Philippe watches that the outer track on the dial has been sloppily reprinted. The most apparent tells are the rounded top “3” in “30” at six o’clock, the “5” in “50,” and the “0” in “10.” Interestingly, some of the outer tracks look original, like the “20” and “25.” With overlapping print, I assume the reprinting is partial and was done right over the top of the old track and numbers. If we look at the photo in 2001, it appears the track was original then.
Lastly, the “Patek Philippe Geneve” signature is certainly lighter than it was 24 years ago, signaling Swiss replica Patek Philippe Calatrava watches’ dials were sanded. This signature was originally rendered in raised enamel. Part of the reason for doing this was to allow for dial sanding and cleaning but someone has gone too far, the signature barely has any enamel left.
Piecing together the clues, I would guess we’re looking at the aftereffects of a catastrophic event and a sloppy cleanup. Maybe water entered the case and damaged the dial. Then, the wrong “restoration specialist” was put in charge of bringing the UK cheap super clone watches back to presentable. Whatever the reasons, any bidders should know that this dial printing is far from original.