Here are the new Patek Philippe Aquanauts of 2021 for the fourth part of this year’s new releases.
Rumors from friends and acquaintances in the sector had it that some new watches were soon to be released and that is exactly what happened a couple of days back when a whopping 7 new models of the Maison’s sportiest line were released, the new Aquanauts.
After the disappearance of almost all the woman’s Aquanauts Luce version we see a great comeback thanks to changes in sizes, new complications and new details. Even the colors of this sportive collection have seen a major change bringing a completely new Aquanaut to the 2021 market.
If you want to read more about the Aquanaut’s history check this link (click here).
The new Patek Philippe Aquanaut Chronograph comes in midnight blue and khaki green
The first new 2021 Aquanauts we are going to analyze are the 5968G Chronographs. First introduced in 2018 with a 42mm steel case and two rubber watch straps, an orange for more sporty occasions and a black, more elegant one.
This year we see two new colors on the same size (still 42mm), white gold case. The green and blue proposed this year aren’t new for the maison as we can see them in the 5168G anniversary with the blue and more recently the khaki on the 5168G.
List price of the Aquanaut Cronograph 5968G: €61.190
The new Patek Philippe Aquanaut Luce with a larger case and a new strap
For the new 2021 Aquanauts the maison has decided to reintroduce the Luce collection, gone out of production a few years back without making anyone particularly upset.
Patek Philippe has brought back 4 configurations back to life and 1 new model has been birthed, the 5269R Travel Time that you can find down below. Some may say that they resemble the previous models but a careful look reveals the many differences.
The diameter is the first aspect to change: going from a 35,6 mm to a 38,8. This is the only upgrade that left us doubting but we can’t deny that this is what seems to be more popular these days, with many watch collectionists tired of small watches. Less evident but still very important are the modifications of the 5267 watch face, which now gives off a tridimensional impression. Last but not least the date, moved to give continuity to the indexes and to the second’s hand.
Patek has always used the same strap since the first collection, presenting two openings on each extremity, exactly like every other leather strap. The 2021 model however presents a new rubber strap. Maximum depth achievable for this pieces is 120m.
The 5267 model takes much inspiration from the man’s 5167, covering the empty spaces between the handles and slightly curving the rectangular elements that make up the front part. The green khaki became highly popular when in 2017 resellers started putting the strap on the market with extremely steep high tags of 3-4 thousand euros. Patek thus decided to ride the wave and presented the 5168G, 5968 and the 5267 in green khaki.
List price of the Aquanaut Luce 5267/200A steel with diamonds: €17.780
List price of the Aquanaut Luce 5267R in rose gold with diamonds: €35.560
The new Aquanaut Travel Lady with a quartz movement
The Travel Time complication is another unexpected characteristic of the 2021 Aquanaut that we mentioned a few paragraphs ago. This came as a big surprise for a couple of reasons, first being the complicated movement is a quartz one, a never seen before trait, and a different configuration of the clock face different from the one present on the male’s version.
Continuing the list of surprising traits we can affirm that there is no need to make controversy on the quartz movement. We could however discuss the price tag the watch presents, keeping in mind of course that this is not an ordinary watch but a Patek Philippe. It may be criticized and snubbed by many but a keen look unveils characteristics worthy of any of their mechanical watches.
In our opinion this watch offers complications to women who don’t want to stress over having to charge their timepiece. We however thought that it would be extremely interesting to see how two versions, one with a quartz movement and one mechanical would do on the market.
The way in which this complication is proposed is quite interesting: at 6 o’clock, under the index, we can see an opening showing the day-night indicator ( blue for the night, white for the day). In the center of the watch the second hour hand shows the time zone of home. In the 5164 male version the layout was composed of two day-night indicators and the date.
List price of the Aquanaut Luce Travel Time 5269/200R: €44.140
Conclusions
The theme of the past two years in the Swiss maison has been to play it safe: no big upheavals for this collection either if not for the quartz Travel Time. All in all we were expecting more colors, like the first Aquanaut Luces.. Could we see it in the near future?
If you want to see the entire Aquanaut collection from 1996 to today, check out our Instagram page (part 1 and part 2).
Translated by: Tommaso Metzger
