Patek Philippe Aquanaut

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Patek Philippe Watches

Aquanaut

To reinforce its philosophy of innovation, the Geneva watchmaker Patek Philippe is enlarging its collection with an original and distinctive novelty: a steel sports watch with a new water-resistant composite material strap - a first for Patek Philippe.

The Aquanaut (Ref. 5060 A) was specifically designed for a new and younger sporty clientele.

It enlarges the Nautilus sports watch collection, which has known more than 20 years of uninterrupted success and is still a masterpiece of both design and advanced watchmaking techniques.

Patek Philippe has created this original timepiece for lovers and collectors of quality watches who are looking for a robust and modern steel sports watch. This unique watch embodies a new dynamic spirit and suggests an original lifestyle of casual elegance. Its clearly unusual design evokes both power and reliability. This self-winding sports watch features the classic qualities of the Geneva brand : superb craftsmanship, innovative design, enduring value.

This Aquanaut is made of steel, an ideal material for sports but an unusual one for Patek Philippe. As is the case of the Nautilus in steel (Ref. 3800/1A), availability of the Aquanaut (Ref. 5060 A) is restricted by the limited supply of Patek Philippe self-winding mechanical movements. The high quality of these movements, all of which bear the prestigious hallmark of the Geneva Seal, limits the quantity that can be produced. Among many requirements, the Seal certifies that all movement parts are finished and decorated by hand.

More than 1'200 operations are required to make the components of a single Patek Philippe self-winding mechanical movement. The components are submitted to 500 hours of quality control during the manufacturing phase. Moreover, a single self-winding movement contains around 40 wheels and more than 40 operations are required to make one single wheel. This is one reason why it takes nearly an entire year to make a Patek Philippe mechanical movement, whether manually wound or self-winding.

The Aquanaut (Ref. 5060 A) also features the trademark rounded octagonal bezel of the original Nautilus series, designed to look like a porthole. Its steel case comes with a screw-down crown and case back, ensuring utmost resistance, including water resistance to a depth of 120 meters. The novelty in this model is the creation of a modern and clearly remarkable design which integrates the dial and the strap. The black dial creates a link with the "Tropical" strap, thanks to this unique design which was developed exclusively for the Aquanaut. The textured black dial is unique. It was specially adapted and is exclusively reserved for the Aquanaut. It is decorated with 12 Arabic numerals in white gold. The hour and minute hand, also in white gold, feature a luminous coating for enhanced visibility in the dark.

The "Tropical" strap is fitted with a steel folding clasp, embossed with Patek Philippe's famous Calatrava Cross emblem. This strap, which was also developed exclusively for the Aquanaut, is made of more than 20 materials. It took more than a year to develop. Various specific operations and machinery are required to make it, including a 150 metric ton press.

Aquanaut Supple and pleasant to the touch, the "Tropical" strap is ideal for aquatic sports. It cannot be ruined by salt water or extreme temperatures, and it is highly resistant to stress and ultraviolet radiation. Moreover, it has been tested by the US Food and Drug Administration and is hypo- allergenic.

The Aquanaut is fitted with the self-winding movement Caliber 330 SC, with a sweep-second hand and date indicator. This 30-jewel movement features a 21 -karat gold unidirectional winding rotor and the famous Gyromax balance-wheel. This balance-wheel, which oscillates 21 '600 times an hour, is patented by Patek Philippe and is an important feature which ensures high-precision timekeeping.

Patek Philippe launched another Aquanaut watch, produced in limited numbers. This steel sports watch, fitted with an original black strap, proved to be a great success with both collectors and first time buyers, thus creating significant market demand. Building on this success, the Geneva watchmaker is now launching a new series of striking and attractive watches, enlarging the Nautilus collection.

The Aquanaut is an unusual watch with an innovative design, yet it features the classic qualities of the Geneva brand: superb craftsmanship, reliability and enduring value.

This genuine sports watch of an unusual design for Patek Philippe embodies a new concept suggesting an original lifestyle of casual elegance. It has become a true phenomenon among the high quality sports watches.

To enlarge its collection, Patek Philippe introduced the Aquanaut in three different sizes: a "Large" size and a "Small" size are being added to the original "Medium" size. In addition, there are versions with a steel bracelet and in 18 K gold with tropical strap.

Like the original model, these three sizes feature the modern black dial and strap which have become the unique hallmarks of the Aquanaut. Thanks to its special design and texture, the "Tropical" strap creates an ideal link with the black dial. Supple and pleasant to the touch, this strap made of a black composite material is fitted with a steel folding clasp, embossed with Patek Philippe's famous Calatrava Cross emblem.

Aquanaut

Ideal for aquatic sports, it cannot be ruined by salt water or extreme temperatures, and is highly resistant to stress and ultraviolet radiation. Moreover, it has been tested by the US Food and Drug Administration and is hypo-allergenic.

All Aquanaut models also feature the trademark rounded octagonal bezel of the original Nautilus series, designed as a porthole. The steel case of the large and medium sizes comes with a screw-down crown and case back, ensuring water resistance down to 120 meters. Its glossy polish contrasts with the mat finish of the bezel, resulting in a pleasant shine. The black dial is decorated with 12 Arabic numerals in white gold.

Designed for strong wrists, the large-sized Aquanaut (Ref. 5065A) is a perfect sports watch, evoking both power and reliability. In this robust version, the movement is visible through a sapphire-crystal case back. The self-winding mechanical movement, Caliber 315 SC, with sweep seconds and date, features a 21-karat gold unidirectional winding rotor and the famous Gyromax balance-wheel, patented by Patek Philippe and ensuring high-precision timekeeping. The high quality of all Patek Philippe mechanical movements, certified by the Geneva Seal hallmark, limits the quantity that can be produced.

The medium-sized Aquanaut (Ref. 5066A) is the same size as the original model, but comes with a sapphire-crystal case back. Men and women alike appreciate this standard size. This model is fitted with the self-winding mechanical movement, Caliber 330 SC, featuring the same characteristics as Caliber 315 SC, but with the date indicator positioned more centrally. This version is also available with a quartz movement and a steel case back.

The small-sized Aquanaut (Ref. 4960A), designed for ladies' wrists, is more discrete yet remains a sports watch. The steel case and screw-down case back ensure water resistance down to 60 meters. This model is fitted with a quartz movement, with hour and minute hands and a date indicator. Patek Philippe's quartz movements are decorated and controlled following the same criteria of supreme quality as those applied to mechanical movements.

Another novelty enlarging the Aquanaut series is a special model on a steel bracelet, specially designed and developed to extend the unusual texture of the Aquanaut dial. This steel bracelet also embodies the unique design of the Aquanaut. The bracelet links recall the texture and design of the dial and "Tropical" strap. It is available on the large-sized Aquanaut, as well as on the medium-sized

The Aquanaut watches on a steel bracelet are only fitted with self-winding movements (Ref. 5065/1A and 5066/1A). They are also delivered with the original "Tropical" strap, allowing the owner to choose between two different and contrasting looks: the black mat design or the sporty steel shine. Changing the bracelet or strap can only be handled by an official Patek Philippe distributor.

Aquanaut Yellow Gold The great surprise in this series comes with the Aquanaut model in 18-karat yellow gold. This version, with its yellow gold case and black "Tropical" strap, enhances the contrast between the warm glow of gold and the mat finish of the black dial and strap. The glossy bezel further emphasizes these superb contrasts. The folding clasp of the strap is also in yellow gold.

The Aquanaut in yellow gold is only available in the medium size. It is fitted with a self-winding mechanical movement, Caliber 330 SC, visible through a sapphire-crystal case back. Ideally suited for leisure and casual elegance, this timepiece is a sports watch of refined style.

The new series of Aquanaut watches will be available at the end of the summer for watches with the "Tropical" strap and at the end of the year for those with the steel bracelet.

Patek Philippe, the last independent watch manufacturer in Geneva, produces timepieces in small series only. Each timepiece is carefully hand-finished in order to achieve unprecedented levels of technical and aesthetic perfection.

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Full details at: Greenwich Book

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