The Aquanaut followed in the wake of the Nautilus’s 30th anniversary jamboree in 1996 which launched the celebrated and now-discontinued Ref. 5711 and the Ref. 5712. The first Aquanaut reference 5060 was launched in 1997 and borrowed a lot of its design cues from big brother Nautilus – most notably the rounded octagonal bezel.

Fresh and clearly aimed at a younger, more adventurous buyer – the watch was the first model from the Geneva maison to come fitted with a tropical rubber strap – the Aquanaut was sports-luxe before it became a retail buzzword. Though the original reference was a modest 35.6-mm. Patek introduced the Aquanuat in smaller and bigger sizes in the years to come including the 38 mm ‘Jumbo’ case Ref. 5065 in 1998.

The Ref. 5167 debuted at Baselworld in 2007 to mark the 10th anniversary of the model and featured an updated Cal. 324 SC calibre and was also upsized to 40 mm. case (from 38mm). The 5167A was presented with a contoured tropical leather strap and a revised dial design was cleaner and was the first Aquanaut to breach the 40-mm case size.

The present reference carries the signature of the famed NYC-based retailer Tiffany & Co. Only a few select retailers around the world have the honour of including their signature on a Patek Philippe dial today, making these watches all the more desirable.