Patek Philippe Aquanaut

Now here’s something you don’t see every day. What we have here is clearly a Patek Philippe, but is it a Nautilus or an Aquanaut? The answer is: yes. The reference 5060J is a moderately scarce watch — introduced in 1996 for the 20th anniversary of the Nautilus, it was a piece that completely changed that famed model’s profile, adding lugs, a solid gold case, a leather strap, a glossy black dial with Roman indices, and removing the famous Nautilus case “ears” that were inspired by the hinges on a porthole. It was produced in a run of only a few hundred pieces and was meant to be a dressier version of the ref. 3800 Nautilus. Then, a year later in 1997, Patek released the first official Aquanaut, the 5060A — a watch clearly based on the 5060J’s profile. This particular example dates to the circa 1997 and features a 35mm 18K yellow gold case with a sapphire crystal, a signed crown, a deep glossy black dial with applied Tritium-filled 'Roman' indices and matching feuille handset, and a date window at 3:00, It comes fitted to a signed black alligator leather strap with a signed 18K gold deployant clasp and is powered by Patek's Calibre 330/194 automatic winding movement. A steel Nautilus is practically impossible to buy at retail, and the Nautilus isn’t much easier to come by. But the 5060J is a bit of both, and what’s more, is a historically significant model within the Patek Philippe catalog.  What more could a collector ask for?