Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5060

The original Aquanaut, the anti-Patek of its time, the 5060is packed with conundrums and contradictions, all of which make it that much more enjoyable to wear. I love the idea of the top of the ‘holy trinity’, in steel, on a rubber strap, and ready to be truly worn day in and day out.

Reference: 5060A-001 Aquanaut

Case: The 36mm stainless steel case is the original Aquanaut size and truly one of those watches that disappears on wrist and becomes more enjoyable the more you wear it. In my humble, biased opinion, the beauty of the 5060 is the smaller size as it’s understated, sporty, and comfortable. The case appears to have been lightly polished in the past, retaining the chamfers and facets at the lug.

Dial: The original ‘grenade’ dial is an odd thing; block hour markers that seemingly point wherever they landed, a date window next to an applied Arabic are the obvious places to start, but all the quirks add up to make what is very much a right. The depth and texture of the dial must be experienced in person, the matte white gold applied Arabic numerals add to the dimensionality, and the white/silver script signature appears to float above the dial. I’ve said many times in the past that drivers for vintage aquanaut values are first if it’s tritium or luminova and if it’s tritium, is the patina attractive; this one certainly is. The tritium hour markers and hands have aged to a very attractive, warm sand tone.

Movement: The caliber 330SC self-winding, Genevaseal movement is winding, setting, and running well at approximately +2.5 s/d,averaged across 6 positions.

Bracelet: Presented on a navy tropic strap that will fit an approximately 7.5” wrist and its original deployant buckle.

Includes: watch only