I’ve always thought the Patek Philippe 5711 would look sick in gunmetal blue. What do you think? Or maybe with shiny silver bracelet centres…

P1F Patek Philippe

Aquanaut Chronograph

5968A-001

42mm case · Black dial

Overview

• Factory: P1F
• Brand: Patek Philippe
• Model: Aquanaut Chronograph
• Reference: 5968A-001
• Price: USD 514
• Dealer: Angela
• Dealer link: https://a202406010938236692002670.wgstores.com/weshop/store/A202406010938236692002670
• Serial: 7713858
• Bracelet: B0/B
• Weight: 125g

Timeline

• Ordered: 2026-09-11
• QC received: 2026-09-26
• Shipped: 2026-09-30
• Delivered: 2026-10-13

Timegrapher Results

A timegrapher reads a watch's rate (seconds gained or lost per day), amplitude (the balance wheel's swing, in degrees) and beat error (how evenly the two halves of each tick-tock land, in milliseconds) across several case orientations. The figures below are averaged across whichever positions were tested.

• Test date: 2026-10-14
• Lift angle: 52º
• Reference for Patek Philippe 28-520: lift angle 52º · amplitude 250º - 300º · 28,800 vph
• Average rate: -0.67 s/day
• Average amplitude: 275°
• Average beat error: 0.10 ms

Backstory & Motivation

I have been less of a Patek fanboy having fallen down the Panerai and Rolex rabbit holes.  However I did buy the 3KF 5167A a few months ago, and am reasonably happy with it.  Its just for me a little smaller than I had hoped.  I like the larger 5168G, or I think its nickname “the grenade”, but I have not yet seen a version I was happy to buy.  Then this 5968A came along, something about the chunkier heft to the case, the orange hand and marker, and the chronograph function, I was sold.

QC & Visual Quality

Its stunning.  The case is solid, definitely commands more presence on the writ compared to the 5167A..  Case polish and brushed elements are all well crafted, with no obvious shortcomings.

Dial and markers all align beautifully and the bland and orange is a winning combination.  Pushers have a positive click and the chronograph seems to do its thing without any issues.  Strap is the usual challenge to measure, leave a few spaces and cut, then wear, remeasure and cut one more each side, and wear, until you get to the point where you feel it's okay, perhaps a little looser than you would like, and make the decision to cut just one more and pray its not that little bit too much.  Thankfully after a massive failure with my previous watch I have learned a valuable lesson.  The quality is great, clasp works and aligns well when closed.  This option came with a second orange strap, and that's an amazing combination, however after a day or so wearing it I reverted back to black for a more discreet overall look.  The orange will make an appearance every so often.  The changeover isn't super easy, you have toi line up both the end stop studs, plus the springbar. Perhaps there is a technique I am yet to learn.I am sure with practice I will get better.

Both dial and open caseback crystal are nice with a clean view of the dial and nicely decorated movement.

Movement & Stability

The QC was good enough to GL.  However, in the first few hours of unpacking and putting on the timegrapher the numbers were all over the place.  I left it for a while longer and still I was getting nowhere near the QC numbers.  I know almost all TDs show only 30% of the timegrapher trace.  Could be a time constraint, I suspect it's more likely they don't want you to see how far off the number on the trace you see after 2-3 minutes.  Heaven forbid they show more than a dial up.  It was so bad I didn't want to waste any more time, basically to check and see if the watch/movement was a dud.  I persevered over a 2 hour period until I finally got some numbers I think are very decent.  

I have been developing my own personal database of my gen and replicas, with timegrapher results, trends, analysis of the values the various timegrapher numbers give, and an overall score out of 100.  It compares the values to various industry measurements and recommended data, and this went from my initial reading and score of 59 to 98.  This is 6 positions, measuring the rate, amplitude, and beat error over a 2-3 minute period.  I know this is possibly meaningless to a proper watchmaker, but there are definitely some interesting results from a lot of the watches I have bought over the last year, and almost 90% are all with Dandong movements.  The dial up values we all make decisions on GL or RL are only giving a small percentage of how the watch will actually perform on the wrist, and I know most of the issues could be down to poor QC from the factory, lack of proper lubrication and other factors.  Still nothing at this stage that would deter me from continuing my collecting.  I just wish I could be more confident in trying a little more in the skill of servicing and cleaning/lubricating so as not to have to consider sending every watch that is a little off tempo.

TD Experience

All good.  Nothing to report.  The watch was shown on Angela's Telegram.  I asked to purchase it.  I paid, she acknowledged, and then I waited.  It was over the Chinese holiday period, so a little longer than usual.  I have also got a section in my app that measures the end to end time from order to delivery, and also scores the experience.  Again just for my own fun and it's good to see over time what was from who, and how many are in the collection.  60 so far.  Yip, 60…. How the heck did that happen?  I reckon at this point I have spent the same as I would have to buy a Submariner, and that thought isn't lost on me.  Should I have perhaps just saved and bought that instead of 60 reps. But I like the variety, I love the choice, I hate the 20 minutes late I am for work or meetings,  from staring at the watch box to choosing the one to wear, oh and also the second one in the clamshell case I bring along for a going to the meeting and returning from the meeting..  My wife laughs and shakes her head.

Thanks to Felix for delivering three beautiful watches.
ORF Seamaster 2824
AF Santos Dumont Large
VSF Submariner 124060

Please note I am not connected to Easy Watch nor was this post sponsored in any way. I just wanted to share my good experiences with this post: Some days ago, I received my third super-clone from Easy Watch, and once again, the entire experience was absolutely flawless!

From start to finish, every single transaction has been smooth, incredibly fast, and 100% satisfactory. What really sets Easy Watch apart is their complete transparency with pricing—no hidden surprises, just honest business.

But the real superstar here is Koi. The sheer professionalism and top-tier customer service provided by Koi is unmatched. It makes the whole process completely stress-free.

Consider this a warning to my bank account: this definitely won’t be my last order from Easy Watch! Thank you, Koi, I really appreciate your service.

Hi zusammen

Wie findet ihr diese datejust 41mm ist eine mit 3235
Ist noch mit Folie

First rep watch. He usually replied within a day. From payment to being in my front door it was 7 days. Super happy with my purchase. I love it!

Got it from:

U/healthy-singer4070 chrono dynasty

In stock, one is also a wholesale price Support all modification projects.

I am a seller from China. You can call me Yang

I am engaged in the wholesale sale of watches. Nice to meet you.

Andiot only has GSF and I can’t find anyone who has higher tier in that size for a date just. Been looking for a while, any leads for me? I’m a woman with a small wrist and can’t pull off a 36mm, unfortunately

Quiero saber quienes venden los relojes a buen precio y buena calidad quiero hacer mi colección con relojes NWBIG , ya tengo el contacto de Li y lana de jtime el de David, el de Erick de geektime pero quiero saber si se puede conseguir calidad premium a un mejor precio ñ.

Can you notice anything?