The latest introduction from the world’s most renowned watchmaker is a watch that comes from their Advanced Research program. It bears the name Aquanaut Travel Time Ref. 5650G. It is the first Patek Philippe Advanced Research that doesn’t have a traditional round case.
So, what makes this watch so special in the first place? The Advanced Research program came out of a past joint project of Patek Philippe, Swatch Group and Rolex. The program developed silicone parts for the purpose of watchmaking. In the meantime, Patek founded its own experimental program, creating the first limited edition watch in 2005. The first Advanced Research watch and all subsequent watches were perpetual or annual calendars with silicone parts, but then came the 5650G.
First of all, the 5650G is limited to 500 examples. It is 200 more than the rest of the Advanced Research watches, and it comes at the price of $58,970. The 47.6 mm 18k white gold Aquanaut case houses a self-winding 324 S C FUS caliber. The caliber is running at 28,800 BPH, with the power reserve of 45 hours.
The 5650G is a special kind of Advanced Research watch
Apart from the obvious departure from the round and classical look of the case and the dial, the 5650G is not an annual nor perpetual calendar. For the first time in the program, it is a GMT watch. Also, the Aquanaut Travel Time 5650G has a couple of innovations, and neither of the two are about silicone.
The first and the most prominent innovation is visible on the exposed part of the dial-side movement that spans from 8 to 10 o’clock markers. It’s the flexible steel part of the mechanism that adjusts the GMT indication. This innovative part reduced the number of needed parts for this function from 37 to 12. That improved its durability due to eliminating gears and pivots.
The other breakthrough this magnificent watch brings is the reinvented Spiromax balance spring. The innermost coil of the balance spring is slightly thicker, and that element increases rate stability, so this Patek is has just -1/+2 per day.
In addition to the fact that this watch is another masterpiece from Patek Philippe with two major novelties that will certainly change the game in the long run, the Aquanaut Travel Time5650G proves that silicone really doesn’t have to be present in the world of high end mechanical watches, which has been a matter of serious debate for years.
