Now here’s something you don’t see every day.
What we have here is clearly a Patek Philippe, but is it a Nautilus or an Aquanaut? The answer is: yes. The reference 5060J is a moderately scarce watch — introduced in 1996 for the 20th anniversary of the Nautilus, it was a piece that completely changed that famed model’s profile, adding lugs, a solid gold case, a leather strap, a glossy black dial with Roman indices, and removing the famous Nautilus case “ears” that were inspired by the hinges on a porthole. It was produced in a run of only a few hundred pieces and was meant to be a dressier version of the ref. 3800 Nautilus. Then, a year later in 1997, Patek released the first official Aquanaut, the 5060A — a watch clearly based on the 5060J’s profile.
This particular watch, a reference 5060SR-010, is somewhat of an enigma; you will struggle to find much information on it online, leading us to believe the production numbers are even lower than that of its yellow gold sibling.
Dating to the late 90's and features a 35mm 18K rose gold case with a sapphire crystal, a signed crown, a cream glossy black dial with applied Tritium-filled 'Roman' indices and matching feuille handset, and a date window at 3:00, It comes fitted to a signed black alligator leather strap with a signed 18K gold pin buckle and is powered by Patek's Calibre 330/194 automatic winding movement.
A steel Nautilus is practically impossible to buy at retail, and the Aquanaut isn’t much easier to come by. But the 5060SR is a bit of both, and what’s more, is a historically significant model within the Patek Philippe catalog.
What more could a collector ask for?