Patek Philippe Aquanaut

The Aquanaut may be one of the most important modern luxury sport watches on the market.  The Reference 5060J, launched in 1996 for the 20th anniversary of the Nautilus, was a sort of transitional watch. Borrowing features from the Nautilus but doing away with the famed case “ears” of that porthole-inspired model and adding lugs, it provided the basis for the Reference 5060A in 1997, the first model actually bearing the Aquanaut name. The Aquanaut would go on to form the basis of a full collection of luxury sports watches that provided the entry point into the Patek Philippe catalog. This particular Aquanaut, the Reference 5165A, dates to circa 2010 and features a 39mm stainless steel case with a sapphire crystal, a lovely luminous anthracite textured hobnail dial with printed 'Arabic' indices and a matching matching handset, a signed crown, and a sapphire exhibition caseback revealing Patek's Calibre 324 automatic movement within. It comes fitted to a signed, textures black rubber strap. While the modern collector is fully obsessed with the Nautilus, this is your chance to own a historically significant model in one of its first — and best — incarnations!