Reader's Wrist : Patek Philippe Aquanaut Model No. 5168G

I have always had a soft spot for Patek Philippe's Nautilus and Aquanaut offering. A watch collector cum Ironman friend (he knows what it means ;p) whom have swung by my place many a time, recently shared with me on his new purchase and...

The Force is strong with this one.

In my pursuit for the Nautilus 5711/1A (I have only seen the real piece vide a collector's private collection, and not at the AD), I have been shown the Aquanaut 5167A by the AD but it didn't really caught my fancy. I decided to stay on in the waiting list for the Nautilus, and it's been years now.

This friend recently purchased the Aquanaut 5168G and it was a very handsome piece. The next best thing if one doesn't want to wait endlessly for the Nautilus, no? He's poisoned me, and shared these shots with me.

And paying it forward, here I was poisoning you readers with these pictures too. View on at your own risk...

I could definitely see the rationale about getting the Aquanaut. Grey market wise, one would expect to pay more than 100% premium for the stainless steel Nautilus; so why not pay for the real value of gold to get the Aquanaut instead. It's the more premium piece, and you would be getting precious metal instead of just stainless steel.

(That's the same dilemma that some Rolex buyers were experiencing about paying premium for stainless steel pieces, rather than for the precious metal TT or FG versions.)

That's food for thought for all of us. Thanks for sharing the pictures of your new purchase with us, mate!