Patek Philippe reminds the world it’s a serious player in the “sports-luxe” league with new Nautilus and Aquanaut models.

At Baselworld, the watch industry’s largest annual fair, there are two stands that draw a constant crowd from the moment the turnstiles open: Rolex, and Patek Philippe. Everyone from extravagantly tailored European executives to athleisure-clad Instagram influencers flock to see what creations these two have released. Many raise their phones hypnotically to the two-storey screens showing images of the same watches in lavish detail, snapping away without breaking step.

Patek Philippe – Swiss, 179 years old this year, and without doubt the most prestigious watch brand at the show – revealed two watches that reinforce its presence in the “sports-luxe” arena: the Nautilus Perpetual Calendar (also called the 5740; Patek nerds refer to models by their four-digit references) and the Aquanaut Chronograph (ref. 5968). If “sports-luxe” conjures up images of men awkwardly attempting to play tennis in a suit or suchlike, worry not. The entire watch industry’s use of the phrase “sports watch” to describe anything that is relatively sturdy of form and cased in stainless steel (or these days, titanium, carbon fibre, or ceramic) dates back to the 1950s and 60s, when that kind of thing was used for practical purposes. Then at the start of the 1970s, the Italian market expressed a demand for something a bit more refined that you could still wear to the beach, and “sports-luxe” was born with the likes of the Royal Oak, the Laureato, Vacheron Constantin’s 222 and – in 1976 – the Patek Philippe Nautilus. The Aquanaut, a tilt at a yet-sportier, younger and more “entry-level” (such things are relative) market, appeared in 1997.

SPECIALIST IN ALL STYLES  

Part of the Patek Philippe magic is the brand’s ability to wear multiple guises. For many, it exudes old-school elegance and craftsmanship of the highest order, expressed via perpetual calendars, split-second monopusher chronographs (with one button for start, stop and re-set), and minute repeaters (watches that chime the the minute on request, using tiny hammers and gongs). At the same time, there is a totally separate Patek Philippe customer for whom it is all about the Nautilus, now, forever and always. Here, to an extent, those two worlds collide, as Patek Philippe equips the Nautilus with a perpetual calendar movement for the first time this year. It’s a combination that might sound bizarre on the face of it – a so-called sporty design with the most conservative, classical movement inside – but Patek Philippe’s perpetual calendars are so highly regarded (the brand was the first to use the function in a wristwatch, in 1925) and the Nautilus shape so spot-on that this was always going to be something of a holy grail watch.

Thankfully, Patek has not bungled this hybrid design. The limited edition pieces brought out to mark the Nautilus’s 40th anniversary in 2016 were politely criticised as being somewhat overstated – with the embossed text “1976 – 40 – 2016” writ large across the centre of the dial. But here the execution is delicate, adeptly marrying the dense display of information with the strong horizontal striping common to all Nautiluses. The date display is slightly larger than the others (day of the week and 24-hour dial at 9 o’clock; month and leap year at 3 o’clock), and the correctors to adjust everything have been smartly integrated into the 8.4mm thick case so as to leave no unsightly protuberances. To emphasise its status at the top of the Nautilus family, it is cased in solid white gold, including the bracelet and clasp that – happily – Patek Philippe has reengineered to reduce the chance of it falling off your wrist. It has a retail price of £91,150, but if you were by some miracle to have one in your possession, there are probably buyers who would hand over double that on the spot, such is the waiting list and their rarity.

Should you be infatuated with the Nautilus’s elliptical shape and yet struggling to lay your hands on nearly a hundred grand right away, the brand still has something for you. For a mere £33,510, you can get your name on the waiting list for the reference-numbered 5968A-001 Aquanaut chronograph. It’s the first time a chronograph has graced Patek Philippe’s less expensive range – and it’s an in-house flyback (while timing, the second hand will at the press of the 4 o’clock pusher fly back instantly to zero and recommence timing all in one action).

BRIGHT COLOURS 

What really seals the deal for me with the 5968 is the design. The Seventies-inspired match of brown and orange on the dial is enough to make it stand out, but the real punch comes in the orange rubber strap, supplied as an optional extra with the standard black. By the standards of such an august manufacture, that’s not just loosening one’s tie, it’s wrapping it around your head and jumping fully clothed into the nearest marble pool – and I respect them all the more for it.

Chris Hall