Reference 5070 was the first chronograph-only reference produced by Patek Philippe since the reference 1463 was discontinued in the late 1960's. It was introduced in 1998 in yellow gold only, then beginning in 2001 in white gold, in 2003 pink gold and since 2008 it has only been produced in platinum. It is thought that for each version color that production ceased after reaching 1000 pieces.