What does the journey to an Aquanaut look like?

[G&TMe]

My first Patek Philippe is my 5168G with the blue dial. I bought it not long after introduction, and I can't recall how much "above" they were secondary at the time. My AD knew I always liked the Aquanaut but didn't care for the black dial, so when this came out I was approached and accepted. I have a pretty good history of jewelry bought over the decade prior, which my wife wanted and I felt was purchased fairly, plus some Rolexes which I still own. I doubt it was much over six figure.

If you only want the Aquanaut, buy it grey. Don't buy anything you don't want to get there, but don't forget the dealers are a business in it to make money, and they will do what is most profitable.

[Jutch]

Originally Posted by llngoc

But is it true that the Salon only sells to locals only unless you are already a client? I was introduced by a repeated client at the Geneva Salon but was told that they cannot serve new clients who are not local.

To be honest, I’m not sure. I’m local so I’ve never asked the question.


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[Vince_76]

What if I spend $30k -$40k on some jewelery/diamonds? Would it then be possible to get any sort of aquanaut?

[byow]

It depends only on your AD.

[gmstevenson]

Originally Posted by Vince_76

What if I spend $30k -$40k on some jewelery/diamonds? Would it then be possible to get any sort of aquanaut?

I doubt an AD would give you any such guarantee especially in light of the lawsuit that was filed against Shreve (which irrespective of the merits will likely make SAs cautious about making any promises). There are likely many established clients with big spends who are on the list for a 5167 and 5164. And the ADs only receive a limited number of those pieces. So it is highly unlikely that you would spend 40K on diamonds and then get the next allocation. It would likely take time and an ongoing interest in the brand being demonstrated. If you want to go the AD route your best bet would be to take the journey and discover the brand. If you are looking for a quid pro quo you would be better off going grey.

[GGGMT]

Nos grey. Enjoy it and avoid the silly games.


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[sensui]

Everyone's so quick to hate on "the game.". But we all know these ADs get sometimes 1 of these watches a year..... What do you expect them to do? If you can't establish a real relationship with an AD (could be spend history or personal factors etc) I would just buy secondary with these types of watches while the market is down.

[fsprow]

Answer to question.
The journey is your short walk to the telephone to call a fine reseller. Next day on your wrist.

[geoach]

Originally Posted by Vince_76

What if I spend $30k -$40k on some jewelery/diamonds? Would it then be possible to get any sort of aquanaut?

just go grey then why buy crap just to get it for retail ?

[norcalgt3]

Originally Posted by Vince_76

What if I spend $30k -$40k on some jewelery/diamonds? Would it then be possible to get any sort of aquanaut?

Only your AD can answer this question. YMMV significantly depending on where you are and who else is buying

[WOOPS]

Build an extensive collection through AD. Just looking for "hype" watches go grey!

[Flex368]

Walk into an AD, be genuinely interested in watches, have a coffee and a nice discussion, let the AD know you want an Aquanaut, even if it'd be your first PP.

Then simply wait a couple of months and pick up your watch when you get the call.

Oh wait, that was almost a decade ago.

[Rickkk]

Originally Posted by geoach

just go grey then why buy crap just to get it for retail ?

This

[Rushne]

God I hate that there has to be "a journey"

The whole reason they released the Aquanaut was to open a door to younger clients. Having been to the Patek museum, they even mention this during the audio guide tour.
However, walk to the Geneva boutique directly form the museum and the Aquanaut and Nautilus are now "reward" pieces.
"If you want some of the lowest production pieces (steel) then this is how we need to work"

I hate it.
I do not blame the AD's at all, having worked closely with one. They get basically 1 .. MAX 2 steel Aquanaut's (per model) in a year but have a line 50 to 100 deep for them. Some models they might not even get in that year.

OP, if you decide to go the AD way, only buy stuff you actually want. If you don't realy really want anything else. Think about going grey.

[Vince_76]

All, thank you for the responses. I have always stuck to my guns and will not buy any piece just to buy it. I need to be all in.

The comment of spending $30k-$40k on diamonds is because I will be spending that anyway for a special occasion for my wife. So if it can also help me get an aquanaut, why not?

But it seems like even then the spend is too low

[V25V]

Originally Posted by Rushne

God I hate that there has to be "a journey"

The whole reason they released the Aquanaut was to open a door to younger clients. Having been to the Patek museum, they even mention this during the audio guide tour.
However, walk to the Geneva boutique directly form the museum and the Aquanaut and Nautilus are now "reward" pieces.
"If you want some of the lowest production pieces (steel) then this is how we need to work"

I hate it.
I do not blame the AD's at all, having worked closely with one. They get basically 1 .. MAX 2 steel Aquanaut's (per model) in a year but have a line 50 to 100 deep for them. Some models they might not even get in that year.

OP, if you decide to go the AD way, only buy stuff you actually want. If you don't realy really want anything else. Think about going grey.

Not much more needs to be said. This is spot on.

[Vince_76]

Originally Posted by Rushne

God I hate that there has to be "a journey"

The whole reason they released the Aquanaut was to open a door to younger clients. Having been to the Patek museum, they even mention this during the audio guide tour.
However, walk to the Geneva boutique directly form the museum and the Aquanaut and Nautilus are now "reward" pieces.
"If you want some of the lowest production pieces (steel) then this is how we need to work"

I hate it.
I do not blame the AD's at all, having worked closely with one. They get basically 1 .. MAX 2 steel Aquanaut's (per model) in a year but have a line 50 to 100 deep for them. Some models they might not even get in that year.

OP, if you decide to go the AD way, only buy stuff you actually want. If you don't realy really want anything else. Think about going grey.

Originally Posted by V25V

Not much more needs to be said. This is spot on.

Agreed. Absurd that people will spends tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands for pieces they don’t like, just for the hope of getting something they want (with no guarantee mind you)

Wish we could go back to 2013

[V25V]

Originally Posted by Vince_76

Agreed. Absurd that people will spends tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands for pieces they don’t like, just for the hope of getting something they want (with no guarantee mind you)

Wish we could go back to 2013

Agree. But prices are softening and think if I were in your shoes, I would just be looking at gray. And in fact, as I consider pieces, I look at gray now. Its just easier! I got a 5226G at not much over msrp a few months back with zero drama.

[Vince_76]

Originally Posted by V25V

Agree. But prices are softening and think if I were in your shoes, I would just be looking at gray. And in fact, as I consider pieces, I look at gray now. Its just easier! I got a 5226G at not much over msrp a few months back with zero drama.

I agree right now going gray is definitely the move and the smarter option from a pure financial perspective.

I just wonder and hope for a time where you can actually have a relationship with these brands and authorized dealers like in 2013

[V25V]

Originally Posted by Vince_76

I agree right now going gray is definitely the move and the smarter option from a pure financial perspective.

I just wonder and hope for a time where you can actually have a relationship with these brands and authorized dealers like in 2013

Im not sure we will ever get back to that. A recession (we have been saying this for years now....) would certainly slow many down from rushing to the AD but short of that, not sure what else would make a big impact.

[APhound]

Just got a rose 5164, will be selling rose 5167r..


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[Nlwatches]

Originally Posted by Vince_76

I agree right now going gray is definitely the move and the smarter option from a pure financial perspective.

I just wonder and hope for a time where you can actually have a relationship with these brands and authorized dealers like in 2013

Many people do.. just folks who (sometimes) have already been with the dealer for years and (almost always) have spent hundreds of thousands on jewelry.

When a dealer only gets 1 or 2 aquanauts / nautilus per model.. it’s totally understandable who they end up giving these watches too. If I were in their shoes I’d do the same thing. And if I were the guy who spent 300K and saw someone who spent 30K get a watch I wanted instead of me, I would probably start looking for a new dealer, which is what they are afraid of. Too bad I don’t have 300K to spend :)

[Vince_76]

Originally Posted by V25V

Im not sure we will ever get back to that. A recession (we have been saying this for years now....) would certainly slow many down from rushing to the AD but short of that, not sure what else would make a big impact.

Yeah, I agree that this is definitely in the realm of possibility. But at the same time, who knows. Tastes and fads change. Resellers, hypebeasts and average joes all just bought into the hype. It could easily be on to the next one if the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.

I think that’s the best case scenario for our true watch enthusiasts.

[Rollieo]

Originally Posted by Vince_76

Yeah, I agree that this is definitely in the realm of possibility. But at the same time, who knows. Tastes and fads change. Resellers, hypebeasts and average joes all just bought into the hype. It could easily be on to the next one if the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.

Agreed. It’s crazy to think that from when the aquanaut was released in 1997 up until 3 years ago, it was selling at or below retail price on the secondary market.

Who knows where things will be 5 years from now.

[lawyerdude]

Do the economics of going grey make sense compared to buying a couple of other pieces and selling them at moderate losses? The gap between MSRP and a new Chrono24 5167A is around $30K. That gives you a lot of loss to play with and still come out ahead.

[tenementhall]

Originally Posted by lawyerdude

Do the economics of going grey make sense compared to buying a couple of other pieces and selling them at moderate losses? The gap between MSRP and a new Chrono24 5167A is around $30K. That gives you a lot of loss to play with and still come out ahead.

You’ll probably get blacklisted for flipping if you do that though

[Bmats]

Originally Posted by lawyerdude

Do the economics of going grey make sense compared to buying a couple of other pieces and selling them at moderate losses? The gap between MSRP and a new Chrono24 5167A is around $30K. That gives you a lot of loss to play with and still come out ahead.

I dunno. I just saw a 5924G from a trusted seller for about 64k. It’s over 75k retail. If someone sold to the trusted seller it probably was a bunch less than 64k. Once you count tax, you’re down what 20k on one piece. And I would have thought that’s a high demand new watch.

[Nlwatches]

5924g isn’t a high demand watch

[Bmats]

Originally Posted by Nlwatches

5924g isn’t a high demand watch

That price obviously makes me think that now. But I thought it was a 2023 new release that i personally thought looked amazing. While I could have seen a few years from now it going for sale like that, I was a bit surprised to see it like that already.

[sampelligrino]

I would spare yourself the pain and go grey, unless you're somehow in a smaller market maybe in the mid-west and get lucky, and even then I'd probably still go grey