It has been called “the Nautilus of tomorrow,” its straps are kept in the safes of the world’s most luxurious jewelers, it was born under the immense shadow of a modern watchmaking giant, and it has managed to impose itself and win the hearts (and wrists) of a great many enthusiasts: we are talking about the Patek Philippe Aquanaut. Let’s discover together its young and varied history!
The Origins
Although Patek Philippe was born and raised (and still lives) surrounded by the Swiss Alps, the Geneva-based house has long shown a veiled passion for the sea. After a week spent between offices, banks, and gala dinners, between a Calatrava and an Ellipse under its tuxedo sleeve, Patek Philippe is also thinking about the weekend of its loyal customers.
Thus was born in 1972 the Nautilus, the extreme luxury sports watch designed to accompany the wealthy businessman on their boat trips. Taking inspiration (and name) from the imaginary submarine from “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” the real boom of this model came in the 1980s.
These are the years of the Yuppies, the young upstarts who, as Luca Barbarossa says in the song of the same name “…between Cortina and the Maldives,” sip champagne at the world’s most exclusive yacht clubs. The requirements to enter? An American Express, Tod’s loafers and, unfailingly, a Nautilus.
Possibly gold and over the cuff… but that’s another story.
The 1990s begin, financial markets collapse and a period of severe global recession begins. Entire fortunes are burned in a matter of seconds.
However, young people are eager to start again, focusing everything on technology. Anything reminiscent of the past is out. And so, with the advent of the Internet and the European Union beginning to come into being, the economy starts up again. It is the so-called “dot com boom,” where from a computer in your bedroom you can create fortunes of millions of dollars, anywhere in the world, in a second. The wealthy of the 1990s, however, want no part of the heavy formality that has accompanied the world for centuries. They want the prestige of big brands, without wanting the form of it.
Patek Philippe is a maison of excellence, which stakes everything on its history, but which must nevertheless offer the younger public a model that has nothing to do with the past. Once again, Patek Philippe’s mind flies far from the Swiss Alps to the sea.
It was then decided to take inspiration from the youngest watch in the line: the Nautilus, indeed. We need to bring the Nautilus into the world of the Internet, we need a watch to face the year 2000 that is now upon us.
Here It Comes, Aquanaut!
And so, in 1997, Patek Philippe launched a product on the market that, for the maison, was nothing short of revolutionary: the ref. 5060A “Aquanaut.”
For the first time in history, Patek Philippe is offering a rubber strap. “Nothing so crazy,” you say? An option we are largely accustomed to today but which, when it debuted, caused quite a stir. We are still talking about Patek.
Exactly in line with what we have come to expect from this maison, the development of the strap took more than a year and its manufacture includes more than 20 different molecules to give resistance to salt, UV rays and bacteria. Prestigio Patek, new look.
To mimic the appearance of the Nautilus’ integrated bracelet, the strap bears the same texture as the dial. The latter, nicknamed “chocolate bar,” is a unique detail of the Aquanaut line. Adorning it, we find Arabic hour markers and white gold hands. All abundantly equipped with luminescent paint for quick reading in the dark. Perhaps, nowadays, this look does not baffle us all that much, but we assure you that it created no small amount of interest at the time.
Inside its 37.5mm case, we find an in-house caliber, more precisely the automatic 330 SC. The only complication, the date display, to achieve a caliber just 3.5mm thin. Also hidden by the case back is the solid gold unidirectional rotor. Although the mechanism is not directly visible, the entire movement has earned the Geneva Hallmark for its superb finish.
Aquanaut Take Two
Despite Patek’s tremendous efforts, the Aquanaut was not immediately a success, due in part to the absence of Gerald Genta’s signature. Yet, after just one year, a second model was introduced: ref. 5064 A-001.
The dimensions are reduced to 34mm and the caliber becomes the E 23 SC quartz. To accommodate the new dimensions, the dial proportions are slightly retouched.The real model, however, that will finally launch the Aquanaut phenomenon is ref. 5065, also introduced in 1998.
A more contemporary, “Jumbo” size of 38 mm brings the Aquanaut closer to the Nautilus. The 315 SC movement can finally be admired by the public through a sapphire case back.
In addition to the very sporty steel, this model also becomes available in yellow gold. For the steel version, a bracelet is made available alongside the iconic rubber strap, making the new Aquanaut increasingly similar to the cult Nautilus.
The following year, 1999, saw the introduction of a model completely in yellow gold: from the case to the bracelet, identical to its steel predecessor.
Over the course of the next few years, the Aquanaut range would be enriched with several variations on the theme. Thus we find diamond-set cases, green, white straps and dials, quartz movements and red hands…
The Tenth Anniversary
All this until 2007, when the Aquanaut celebrated its tenth anniversary. For this anniversary, Patek Philippe decided to put its hand back on this already perfect model to refine it even more.
The now iconic case remains essentially unchanged. The corners are imperceptibly touched up, but the look is not altered. The dial, another distinctive feature of the model, is refined with a less pronounced look and more pronounced pattern curvature.
To complete the look of the new dial, the index number “3” is removed, giving it more oxygen. The most recognizable aspect of the restyling, however, is the now legendary strap, which finally restores that much-desired look of the Nautilus’ integrated bracelet.
It then changes the pattern – more like the dial, the sides become flat, and even the interior is redesigned for greater comfort. The clasp is made more durable with a double mechanism specifically for the Aquanaut.
These changes are presented on two new models: ref. 5165 A-001, in 38.8 mm and ref. 5167 A-001, in 40.8 mm.
The second reference, in the “XL” version, is surely a demonstration of how Patek has been able to make the Aquanaut maintain its place of dominance with new audiences.
The following year, to bring the Aquanaut even closer to the Nautilus, it was fitted with the 324 SC automatic movement, the same one that moves the Nautilus ref. 5711.
The gold model, again following public tastes, goes from yellow gold to rose gold.
In 2011, the Aquanaut receives its first complication, seeing the birth of Ref. 5164 A-001 Travel Time. Beneath the hour sphere, we find hidden a second skeletonized sphere that can be set to mark a second time zone. To make interpretation easier, two windows are added that, with a color change, mark day and night in the two time zones.
The date window, which would not have found a place in the traditional location, is moved southward.
Aquanaut 20th Birthday
The years pass and so we arrive at the 20th birthday of the Aquanaut. An anniversary for which Patek Philippe has prepared a series of decidedly spectacular surprises.
One over all is the limited edition Ref. 5650G Advanced Research Travel Time. A showcase of Patek innovations, where the most spectacular is surely the flexible time zone adjustment mechanism.
Over 500 hours of design for this spectacular four-spring with a cross point of only 150 microns.
The second surprise is ref. 5168G “Jumbo,” in 42.2 mm, where for the first time we find a white gold Aquanaut and witness the rise of the blue dial.
The following year, a new complication appeared in the now vast Aquanaut family.
It’s finally time for a chronograph, with Ref. 5968A catching everyone’s attention, thanks in part to its “unconventional” colors. Also unconventional is the chronograph itself, which sees present only a sub-dial for counting minutes. An apt choice in our opinion, which does not aesthetically compromise the watch by making it otherwise too crowded.
The Aquanaut Today
Although orange is a color we can hardly get out of our minds, the real “colored” Aquanaut is him: ref. 5168G Jumbo Khaki Green.
The color was chosen recalling a very limited “client only” edition from 2011, where an Aquanaut in khaki livery was presented.
Introduced in 2019, Ref. 5168G Khaki literally blew up the market, which was already thirsty for steel models.
Such an explosion that these straps, also sold by dealers individually, have been called “the most expensive piece of rubber” in the world, reaching as high as €1,000.
Final Thoughts
With this controversial reference we close our review of the history of the Aquanaut, a model that was born in the shadow of the Nautilus and has managed to carve out its share of loyal fans.
Which side do you take? What is your opinion on this model? How do you think it will evolve?
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