Light Up Your Life
Patek Philippe is revisiting the Aquanaut Luce collection known for its modern, sporty chic – and launching a new travel watch for women
Building on its success, Patek Philippe is presenting a new development in the design of the ladies’ Aquanaut Luce – luce meaning light in Italian.
In 1976, Patek Philippe defined its own vision of casual elegance by launching the famous Nautilus. And having done so well, it did not stop there. In 1997, it reaffirmed its ability to innovate by unveiling another high-end sporty watch, the Aquanaut, this too destined to become a cult model.
For women wishing to combine modern sporty chic with a touch of sparkle, Patek Philippe created a special version of the Aquanaut, lit by a circle of diamonds on the bezel and named it Aquanaut Luce.
NEW AQUANAUT LUCE MODELS FOR 2021
Over the years Aquanaut Luce has enjoyed outstanding success with women, who delight in its unique style and the elegance that it brings to every occasion. It has become a cult watch and Patek Philippe is now adding to its allure.
It is revisiting the original design of 2004 in a new generation of quartz-powered models in steel and a self-winding model in rose gold that together will take over from the previous models. The manufacturer is also introducing the first additional function to join the Aquanaut Luce collection, namely the Travel Time dual time zone.
The new Aquanaut Luce timepieces feature a larger diameter (38.8mm) and a new integrated strap.
The Aquanaut Luce with a self-winding mechanical movement was launched in 2010 with a rose-gold model with a chocolate brown dial and strap (Ref. 5068R-001), joined in 2013 by a version in white (Ref. 5068R-010).
The rose-gold case, water-resistant to 120m, contrasts the polished finish on its flat surfaces with a satin-brushed finish on the flanks. The emblematic rounded octagonal bezel has a polished bevelled edge and sparkles with 48 Top Wesselton pure diamonds (1.11 carat) set with textbook precision.
A dial in matt white with the embossed Aquanaut motif forms a luxurious backdrop to rose-gold applied Arabic numerals and rose-gold baton-style hour and minute hands with a luminescent coating. A slender rose-gilt sweep-seconds hand completes the time display, while the date appears in an aperture at three o’clock.
This sporty, elegant timepiece is powered by the calibre 26-330 S C self-winding movement. Introduced in 2019, this calibre is endowed with a number of technical innovations and optimisations (two of which are patented) relating particularly to the winding system. The presence of a stop-seconds device, which stops the balance when the crown is pulled out, enables the user to set the time to the second. A sapphire-crystal back reveals the movement’s architecture and flawless hand-finish. The watch is worn on an integrated matt-white strap made of an ultra-resistant composite material with a patented fold-over clasp secured by four independent catches.
The Aquanaut Luce Travel Time represents a new practical and elegant travel watch for women. In developing this globetrotting Aquanaut Luce, Patek Philippe drew inspiration from the manufacture’s ingenious Travel Time dual time-zone mechanism. This exclusive system is already a feature of the men’s Aquanaut, where two push-pieces on the left flank of the case set the local time. But to retain all the elegance and finesse that women love in the Aquanaut Luce, the manufacture reinterpreted this useful, user-friendly function to incorporate two innovations – a new quartz movement with a dual-time-zone function, calibre E 23-250 S FUS 24H, and a discreet, practical setting system via the winding crown. This device required that the electronic movement be fitted with a dual time-zone mechanism similar to those that equip all Patek Philippe’s World Time and Travel Time watches, but controlled by the clutch-pinion that activates hand-setting, rather than by pushers.
The new Aquanaut Luce Travel Time has two central hour hands – a skeletonized hand for home time and a solid hand for local time. When its owner changes time zones, the hour hand for local time may be set forwards or backwards by increments of one hour using the crown pulled out to the intermediate position, without this affecting the accuracy of the movement. During the time spent abroad, the skeletonized hand will continue to display home time, coupled with the day/night indicator at six o’clock.
When the watch’s owner remains at home or no longer needs a second time zone, the two-hour hands can be superimposed to become a single hand, using the winding crown. In this way, the Aquanaut Luce Travel Time offers two watches in one – a casually elegant model for all occasions, transformable in an instant into a dual time-zone watch for those who travel and communicate worldwide.
The rose-gold case, equipped with a non-screw-down crown to make using the Travel Time function practical and unobtrusive is water-resistant to 60m. The Aquanaut Luce’s chic, sporty personality gains extra sparkle from a bezel edged with a polished bevel and set with 48 Top Wesselton pure diamonds (1.11 carat). The dial presents an embossed Aquanaut motif beneath rose-gold applied numerals and rose-gold baton-style hands, the solid hands feature a luminescent coating.
The new Aquanaut Luce Travel Time complements the existing Patek Philippe travel watches for women, which comprise four models – the World Time with 24 time zones, available in white gold or rose gold, and the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time, also in white gold or rose gold, whose design pays tribute to classic aeronautical style.
Leonard Dews
Church Street, Blackpool FY1 1EW
01253 754940
leonarddews.co.uk
