Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to Patek Philippe’s newest addition to the Aquanaut collection, and the line’s first self-winding chronograph. The Reference 5968A Aquanaut Chronograph epitomizes casual, contemporary chic and will fast garner appeal with younger watch enthusiasts.
Amidst a sea of vintage, blue and green watches that seemed to rule the booths at Baselworld 2018, Patek Philippe ensured that it would stand out. The brand’s new Aquanaut Chronograph with bright orange accents and a show-stopping orange composite strap was one more reason (if you needed one at all!) to visit the exhibit.
Introduced in 1997 as Patek Philippe’s first watch exclusively built for an active lifestyle, and as the name suggests, for the water, the Aquanaut has been, in our opinion, the Holy Grail of luxury sports watches for over two decades. It’s ironic then, that Patek Philippe has not, until this year created an Aquanaut with the most practical of sporting complications, a self-winding chronograph, instead adding a time and date model as well a travel-time model to the line.
Colour Play
The new Aquanaut Chronograph features the characteristic octagonal shaped case in stainless steel with a modern 42.2mm diameter and is powered by a new in-house manufacture movement. The CH 28-520 self-winding calibre is entirely developed and manufactured by Patek Philippe and elegantly integrates the chronograph function into the existing Aquanaut design.
The dark grey dial sports the square pattern associated with the Aquanaut collection, and the single, 60-minute chronograph sub-dial is located at 6 o’clock. Unlike most chronograph timepieces, there is no hour or seconds sub-dial on the dial of the watch, giving the dial a cleaner appearance, which is a definite plus.
The dial itself is highlighted by bright orange details, with the seconds track, second hand, minute-markers on the chronograph sub-dial and the sub-dial pointer standing out in the bright hue.
Clearly a watch that is meant to be enjoyed everyday, the Patek Philippe Aquanaut Chronograph is water resistant up to 120m and comes with two straps crafted from a composite material. The standard black strap can easily be replaced by the brighter, funkier and imminently more weekend ready orange strap.