The Aquanaut Travel Time “Patek Philippe Advanced Research” captures the main position in the middle of some very stable and interesting arguments- the role of silicon in watchmaking is a big one, and the jury is still very much out on whether it has a place in high and top end watchmaking, although in the entry to medium range, the issue is already solved. It seems so well on the way to becoming ubiquitous, as least for many major brands (Omega replica is the most prominent example).
At the same time, it’s a watch that comes up with the question of how Patek Philippe sees itself evolving in the next decade. Style-wise, this is a polarizing watch; it doesn’t have the easy to like classic configurations of the earlier Advanced Research watches, which are a kind of Trojan horse for silicon. The open dial and the fact which it’s an Aquanaut has raised some hackles amongst the replica Patek faithful, which I understand (in general, I can’t stand open dials either). With the 5650G, though, I get the logic – this is something of a demonstration model, and it makes sense to make the mechanism visible. Of course, there’s rather a few more fun in seeing it in action, than there would be in watching a silicon escapement do its thing. It’s worth keeping in mind as well that this is a limited edition specifically designed to showcase new tech, and as a limited run concept piece with that tech, the design makes sense even if it’s not to everyone’s taste.
Apart from that, it has to be said that these are both tremendously interesting creations and if nothing else, I have to say that in addition to being pretty cool on their own, they both offer real technical advantages (albeit there are tradeoffs in any engineering solution). Possible the key point is that, though, both add extremely to the general conversation on modern mechanical horology, and where it’s going to go in years to come.
Continued Topic of “Fake Patek Philippe Advanced Research” lifestyle
