STOP THE CLOCKS AFTER THE LAUNCH OF AQUANAUT AND NAUTILUS MODELS EARLIER I N T H E Y E A R , PAT E K P H I L I P P E R E T U R N S TO I T S R O OT S W I T H T H R E E N E W H I G H LY - C O M P L I C A T E D C H R O N O G R A P H S
Words: Timothy Barber
I
t would be a rum thing if, say, Henry Poole & Co became suddenly better known for an off-the-peg sports coat than for the bespoke tailoring that’s been its defining business for two centuries. But that’s the peculiar situation Patek Philippe finds itself in at the minute. The volcanic heat surrounding its stainless steel sports models, the Nautilus and Aquanaut – now going for four or five times RRP on the secondary market – has been
somewhat drowning out the key fact that such watches are not really Patek Philippe’s business at all. As if to remind us of the fact, the Geneva maker recently dropped a trio of watches that very definitely are. Classical, complicated and executed to an astounding level of luxury, they’re all chronographs, though each blends that central function with another high-end complication – a traditional Patek speciality.
