Some watches live up to the hype, and this exceptional neo-vintage icon is certainly one of them, including all the accessories one could want. I receive a lot of inquiries for 5065 and 5066’s and it rings true that attractiveness, condition, and completeness of set really drive pricing across the vast range. Yes, that can be true of any watch, but with the early Aquanaut’s in particular, not all were tritium, and even those that were, not all of them developed great patina, and even of those, not all are in excellent condition. This is a watch where attractiveness and having “it” matters. Factor in extras and overall originality and the range in pricing starts to make more sense.

Case: The 38 mm “Jumbo” case is in excellent original condition, and appears to be unpolished with thick, full profiles, crisp edges, and original finishing throughout. Normal minor wear can be seen in photos, but much cleaner than this gets to be ‘too afraid to wear it territory’.

Dial: The stunning tritium dial and hands are free from defects and are truly the star of the show, exhibiting so much depth, complexity, and texture lacking in the modern variants. The “grenade” pattern is deep and plays with light and shadows, the bead blasted applied white gold indices add further dimension, creating the illusion the printed signature is floating above the dial. It’s truly one of those watches you can’t stop staring at and you say, “okay, I get it now”, once you’ve spent some time.

The tritium dial and hands have match are consistent and even, exhibiting some of the best patina I’ve seen on an Aquanaut.

Movement: Watch is winding, setting, date changing, and keeping time without any noticeable concern. Service history is unknown. The watch is running +/- 1s after 12 hours of possession, winding, setting, and laying dial up.

Includes: Original leather folder, guarantee, manual, booklet, museum brochure, certificate of origin, unworn black strap has been cut on one side and should fit an 8.5+ inch wrist as is, Patek deployant is nearly unworn, Patek spring bars, and original bracelet and end links..