I Pretended To Be The Owner Of A Patek Philippe Aquanaut For A Week, And It Was Mess-Merizing
“Hey Daan, instead of only reviewing brand-new watches, wouldn’t it be cool to also review pre-owned watches every now and then?” said a guy to me at a recent get-together. And then he went on to say, “Why don’t you give it a go with my Aquanaut that you’ve been wearing for the past 45 minutes?” It’s not every day that you get such an offer, so, of course, I told him it was a great idea and that I’d be very happy to accept. And that’s exactly how I ended up with his 2001 Patek Philippe Aquanaut reference 5065A on my wrist for a week. Keep reading to find out what that was like.
I tried on a lot of “heavy-hitter watches” at that get-together. Among them was a rose gold A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone, a white gold Rolex Daytona, and some very nice 37mm versions of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. But the one that really caught my attention was this steel Patek Philippe Aquanaut. But it wasn’t because I’d been seriously considering buying one. As with all of these watches, the Aquanaut sits well above my price range. And since I don’t think I’ll be able to buy one in the (near) future, I hadn’t really taken the time to learn much about it. But if money weren’t an issue, I was almost certain that the Aquanaut would be a part of my collection. Let’s see if I still feel the same way after having worn it as my daily driver for about a week.
The Patek Philippe Aquanaut ref. 5065A-001
I had met K.C., the owner of the Aquanaut, a couple of times before at other get-togethers, but we talked more on this occasion than we ever had before. Maybe that’s why it felt more appropriate to wear his watch for a little longer than just the casual wrist shot. Also, he and I share almost the same wrist size, so it’s very convenient to pick up any watch from his watch box and put it on my wrist. The same goes for the Aquanaut on its military-green cut-to-size rubber strap. Honestly, it was a tad too tight, but it wasn’t uncomfortable or unpleasant. And because it wasn’t moving around at all, I quickly noticed how light and unobtrusive it felt on my 17cm (6.7″) wrist.
The 5065A (the “A” stands for Acier, which means steel in French) has an official case size of 38mm, but it’s actually just under 39mm wide, excluding the crown guards. Combined with its short lugs and thickness of only 8mm, its measurements could almost fool you into thinking that this is a dress watch. But that’s only until you see the wide polished and brushed bezel, the Arabic numerals, and the distinctive chocolate-bar pattern on the dial. It lives and breathes sportiness, especially on this green rubber strap. Up until this point, there weren’t really any surprises, but when you have the watch on the wrist for a little longer, you also start to notice its imperfections.
It’s messy, and I like it
My Cartier Santos Galbée XL and Rolex Explorer 114270 are both from the same decade as this Aquanaut, and they all have their own little quirks. The Santos has the awkward date window that eats a chunk out of the Roman watchmaker’s four (IIII). The Explorer has the non-lumed 3, 6, and 9 numerals, each with a white filling of paint on top. I mean, those watches were certainly not perfect when they came out, but in a way, that’s what gives them their personalities. And most importantly, their quirks play a big part in why I love those watches so much. The same is true for the Aquanaut.
Reference 5065A is a fairly messy iteration of the Aquanaut. First of all, the minute and hour markers are not evenly spaced, and they “point” toward the dial’s center at different angles. In addition, the date window isn’t far enough outward on the dial’s perimeter. That’s why it doesn’t line up perfectly with the length of the minute markers, and it pushes the numeral at 3 o’clock inward a little. Finally, the rubber strap doesn’t have an integrated connection to the Aquanaut’s case. Again, it’s certainly not perfect, but I like it! All these little imperfections have been addressed in later references of the Aquanaut, but I feel that it takes away the romance a little. Now that I think about it, the same thing happened with the Santos and the Explorer.
A star on the wrist
So, what is it like to casually wear the Aquanaut? Well, that’s exactly the problem — wearing a watch that’s currently worth about €50,000 never feels very casual, to be honest. On the first afternoon that I was wearing it around the house, I noticed how shiny it actually was. Apart from the brushed sides of the case and the top of the bezel, the other surfaces on the Aquanaut are all highly polished and reflective. I didn’t expect that upfront because I thought of the Aquanaut mainly as a brushed watch. But because of all the reflections, I ended up noticing the watch on my wrist a lot more than my other watches. And that’s not something to complain about when you’re talking about a luxury watch, right?
Well, it is when you live in a city like Amsterdam. All of my watches are worth a little less (or even a lot less) than €10,000, and I don’t feel like such a target on the streets of my hometown. But I noticed that I felt differently about wearing the Aquanaut. For example, I made sure to hide it under my cuff when I was cycling around or sitting at a restaurant. I haven’t really thought about any of my watches that way. Maybe it’s also because of the fact that the Aquanaut wasn’t one of my watches, and I didn’t want anything to happen to it. But I think it’s more about the fact that it represents such a high monetary value.
The perfect crossover
And that’s a shame because when you wear the Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5065A, you don’t feel like you’re wearing a superstar watch. I mean, it’s a great watch, don’t get me wrong. The brushing and polishing have been applied with so much precision, and this is especially noticeable on the distinctively shaped bezel. But the overall style of the Aquanaut blends in so well. It’s the perfect crossover between chic and casual, and that’s right up my alley when it comes to my daily dress code.
Also, the caliber 315 SC, which is visible through the sapphire case back, looks very attractive with its polished bevels, Côtes de Genève decoration, and that proud yellow gold rotor on top. But still, it’s certainly not Patek Philippe’s fanciest movement. It was introduced all the way back in 1984 and was used mainly in the brand’s Calatrava collection. In 2004, after an impressive service of 20 years, it was replaced by the caliber 324. You could say this was one of Patek Philippe’s real (luxury) workhorse movements, which pairs very nicely with the Aquanaut’s character as a luxury sports watch.
It’s much more than just a watch
In conclusion, as a watch, the Aquanaut didn’t disappoint me in any way. It has a very comfortable size, and its unique shape and dial structure are an absolute joy to glance at every once in a while during the day. I think the combo with the green rubber chocolate-bar-textured strap is one of the best looks around, especially because its color matches so well with the yellowish tritium on the dial. So yes, I really enjoyed my time with the Aquanaut as a watch, and it still is one of my favorite watch designs out there. The problem, however, is that it’s so much more than just a watch.
Over time, the Aquanaut really has become a proper object of desire. Because of that, its value has hit a level that I’m not comfortable with anymore. Even if I did have the money to spare to buy a 5065A at its current market value, I don’t think I would wear it very much. It just feels too risky in a city like Amsterdam, where people are assaulted sometimes because of the watches they wear. And that’s a proper shame because it takes all the fun away from owning and wearing such a great watch like this.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my experience with the Patek Philippe Aquanaut. Let me know in the comments which other pre-owned watches we should review in the future!
And a big thank you, of course, to @myfriendscallmekc for letting me borrow his beautiful Aquanaut!
You can also find and follow me on Instagram: @fliptheparrot
