Though the Patek Philippe exhibition in Singapore ended on the 13th of October, there’s still plenty of time for our readers to enjoy viewing the special edition watches from the brand. The exhibition, hosted at the Marina Bay Sands (the hotel in Singapore consisting of three towers linked at the roof by an enormous structure featuring bars and probably the best view out of an infinity pool) and saw six special edition watches, all with a slick red theme.
The Aquanaut 5167A is one of the more casual and hip watches, designed for the wrists of the trendy youngsters that can shell out the money for one of these watches. Patek has used colours on the Aquanaut before to give it some arguably much-needed variety, but this is the first time I’ve seen an all-red Aquanaut. The recent demand for stainless steel sports watches has put Patek Philippe and others under immense stress but has also seen them capitalise on this rise in demand thanks to extraordinary grey market prices. Both the Nautilus and the Aquanaut demand high prices because they are all-steel and come with those famous three words on the dial ‘Patek Philippe Geneve’.
This edition, only available for purchase in Singapore and Southeast Asia, is limited to 500 examples worldwide. It comes on a red rubber strap and features the grey gradient dial we’ve come to love of the Aquanaut, except this time the seconds hand and the seconds indices are coloured red to match the strap.
Apart from that, there isn’t a whole lot to say about the new Aquanaut. It’s not a new watch, just a new variation of it. Inside is the calibre 324 SC which has a date function on top of the time. The power reserve is 45 hours, and it has a 4 Hz beat rate. The movement is also finished to the standard of the Seal of Patek Philippe, which is Patek’s own set of regulations that are designed to go further than the Geneva Seal. It also has more stringent accuracy requirements than COSC. It must run within -3/+2 seconds per day.
My only gripe with it is, as we see a lot more in watchmaking, there is a print on the rear caseback denoting this watch’s status as a special edition. Why can’t they engrave it on the rotor or some such? This is hardly a big deal for most, in the grand scheme of things even I could look past it if I could get my hands on one.
Visit Patek Philippe here.
