Shifts in cultural norms are usually gradual, with the watch industry often lagging far behind, but leading the pack (unofficially) this year with a unisex release is none other than Patek Philippe. The Aquanaut Luce Annual Calendar 5261R- is an unexpected mix of women’s and men’s designs with a brand-new movement in a versatile case size fit for any wrist. The minutiae of the unisex design is certainly subjective, but the result is one of the most balanced Patek Philippe Aquanauts to date.
The reference 5261R-001 is a 39.5mm 4N rose gold case that houses the automatic annual calendar in-house Caliber 26-330 S QA LU. The “eared” case has a mix of flat brushed and curvaceous polished finishing the Aquanaut line is known for — and the Nautilus, for that matter. It features a new primary color for Patek Philippe on the dial and fitted rubber strap: a matte-cloudy blue-gray that shifts from a pale sky blue to a muted monochromatic gray, depending on the light. The pairing of blue-gray and a 4N rose gold case, which is slightly more yellow than your standard 5N rose gold, is a bit unorthodox but so is an intentionally non-gender-specific Aquanaut. Not surprisingly, the color combination works wonderfully to yield a modern and elegant result in the metal. Patek generally keeps its precious metals allocated to specific collections, with 5N rose gold for men and 4N rose gold for women. However, while going hands-on with the new releases and seeing the 5N rose gold models simultaneously, it is obvious that the choice of a more yellow-tone gold case was the correct one.
A new in-house Caliber 266-330 S QA LU automatic movement — visible through the sapphire caseback — is the first annual calendar to join the Aquanaut line. It features a simple twist to movement architecture, flipping the calendar module around, resulting in a nearly symmetrical display with the moon phase at 12 o’clock and the date at 6. Among its 319 components are a Gyromax balance wheel powered by Patek Philippe’s proprietary silicon hairspring, the Silinvar hairspring that beats away at 4Hz. The new full-rotor automatic annual calendar movement is equally stunning and robust, as it should be for a sports watch like the Aquanaut, although 30m of water resistance is a letdown for a sports watch, as is the approximately 45-hour power reserve for a calendar of any kind. A “weekend-proof” movement with a power reserve of around 72 hours should be the standard for all modern movements, in my opinion.
Prominently displayed at 12 o’clock is a deep midnight navy moon phase disc featuring a powdered-gold moon and star inlay. The moon phase and other calendar functions are adjusted by inset pushers on the side of the case. This is the biggest downside of the new Aquanaut; the brand states it is a new movement but fails to make all functions completely adjustable through the crown, therefore resulting in lower water resistance. This technical feature is found on the new Calatrava Travel Time and is both technically and functionally impressive — but I digress. Thanks to the annual calendar’s gearing, the Cal. 26-330 S QA LU tracks the number of days each month and will only need to be adjusted once each year at the end of February. Below the moonphase complication and slightly below the midline of the dial, you will find two snailed subdials featuring the day of the week and month at 3 and 9 o’clock, respectively. The text of these subdials flips orientation between the upper and lower portions to improve legibility. Two deeply engraved channels surround the text on the subdials and reveal the solid-gold dial beneath.
The hands and applied numerals are a high-contrast blend of white luminous material and 18k rose gold that may be one of the most luminous dials Patek Philippe has done. The peripheral indices, applied gold numerals, hour, and minute hands have all received traditional luminous filler. Unfortunately, we were unable to acquire a lume shot at our Patek Philippe meeting at Watches & Wonders, but we have included the brand’s provided image in the gallery below.
As with all Aquanauts, a fitted rubber strap is mounted to the case between the 21mm lugs and is embossed with the grid pattern found on the dial. But the new Aquanaut 5261R-001 does a little mixing and matching here found nowhere else in the collection. The embossing of the strap matches the traditional women’s aquanaut pattern but does not accurately match the dial. The dial features a borderless flat grid texture found in the men’s Aquanaut collection. It is a very subtle change that I did not notice initially, and upon discussion with the brand, it was stated that the Aquanaut Luce 5261R-001 is intentionally a unisex watch that utilizes the most balanced features of each gender’s standard model to create an equally masculine and feminine result on the wrist.
On the wrist, the Aquanaut Luce Annual Calendar 5261R-001 is pure luxury sports watch bliss. The gentle curve of the case hugs the wrist as if it were designed with each individual person’s anatomy in mind and sits even lower than its 10.94mm thickness would suggest. At 39.9mm-wide and 47.35mm lug-to-lug it feels substantially smaller than the 42mm men’s counterpart and may be too small for those accustomed to the larger cases – but at just shy of 40mm, it is just a matter of perception, as it is not a small watch.
The blend of features plucked one by one from both the men’s and women’s Aquanauts, paired with a bold new color and a radiant warm 4N rose-gold case, makes the new Patek Philippe Aquanaut Luce Annual Calendar a spectacle even among the slew of high complications and art pieces unveiled at Watches and Wonders 2023. In addition to being the first annual calendar to join the Aquanaut line, it is also the first time the brand has intentionally created a watch without a specific gender in mind, and they aren’t the only brand to do so this year. It is a welcome new trend that embraces all watch collectors and allows them to choose whichever watches speak to them without the brand attempting to make the choice for them. While the mix of blue-gray and rose gold may not be for everyone, the new annual calendar movement is an elegant and legible layout that is bound to be found in many forms going forward. The Patek Philippe Aquanaut Luce 5261R-001 is priced at an expectedly staggering $61,506 USD. You can learn about it and all of the new releases at Patek Philippe’s website.
