Read Our Recent Reviews!
Read our reviews!
Explore Related Content
Dive deeper into this timepiece with our expert guides, reviews, and tools
Expert Review
Read the full article: Video: Unboxing the Patek Philippe Aquanaut Luce Rainbow ...
Patek Philippe Aquanaut Luce "Rainbow" 7968/300R: Rose Gold, Sapphires, and a Flyback Chronograph
Table of Contents
Watch the full unboxing
The Aquanaut Luce "Rainbow" is about as loud as Patek Philippe gets. This is the rose gold reference 7968/300R, and it stacks a mother-of-pearl dial, a full ring of rainbow baguette sapphires, a second row of baguette diamonds around them, and a flyback chronograph underneath all of it. We got one in, filmed it from every angle, and put it on the wrist. Here is what stands out.
Rose gold case, double gem-set bezel, and the red strap it ships on.
The Dial
The base is a white mother-of-pearl dial carrying the embossed Aquanaut grid, so the light shifts across it as your hand moves. The hour numerals are applied in rose gold, and every hour marker is a baguette-cut sapphire set to run through the color spectrum: reds and pinks up top, greens and yellows on the right, blues and purples around the bottom. The hands are gold with luminous fill. Down at 6 o'clock there is a single sub-dial, and that one is the chronograph counter, not a running seconds register.
Mother-of-pearl grid dial with color-matched baguette sapphire markers.
The Double Bezel
The bezel is where Patek doubled up. The inner ring is baguette-cut sapphires in the same rainbow run as the dial markers, and the outer ring is baguette-cut diamonds framing it. So you get the color on the inside and a band of white stones around the edge catching the light. Look at it side-on and you can see how tightly the stones are channel-set into the rose gold, with "Swiss Made" still tucked at the bottom of the dial. It is a lot of stone on a sports-watch silhouette, and the rounded octagonal Aquanaut case keeps it from reading like a pure jewelry piece.
Inner rainbow sapphires, outer diamonds, both baguette cut.
Side-on, you can see how tightly the baguettes are set.
Inside: The CH 28-520 Flyback Chronograph
Under all the sparkle is a real complication. The 7968/300R runs the self-winding CH 28-520, a flyback chronograph. It drives the central chronograph seconds hand and the 60-minute counter at 6 o'clock, and the flyback lets you reset and restart the timing in one push without stopping first. Patek gives this one a sapphire display caseback, so you can watch the gold winding rotor turn, engraved with the Calatrava cross. Water resistance is rated at 30 meters, which fits a dress-leaning piece like this rather than an actual dive watch.
The CH 28-520 flyback chronograph through the sapphire caseback.
Size, Straps, and Wearability
The case is 39.9mm across and about 10.4mm thick in 18k rose gold, so it sits as a unisex size and stays flat under a cuff. The rounded octagonal shape and short lug-to-lug help it wear smaller than the stone count suggests. It comes on Patek's composite strap with the Aquanaut tread pattern and a rose gold fold-over clasp stamped with the Calatrava cross. The set ships with three straps: the red it arrives on, a matte beige, and a matte white, so you can dial the volume up or down.
On the wrist at 39.9mm, on the red composite strap.
Three composite straps come in the set: red, matte beige, matte white.
Rose gold fold-over clasp with the Calatrava cross.
What It Costs
We have this 7968/300R-001 listed at $410,000, which puts it at the jewelry end of the Aquanaut range rather than the steel-and-rubber version the line is known for. Patek does not hand these out easily and does not publish US retail on gem-set pieces, so most of what trades happens through the grey and secondary market. We do not see many of these come through, and the fully factory-set rose gold execution is the reason. If you want the exact reference, the fastest route is one already in hand, and this is that piece.
A factory-set rose gold Aquanaut, top to bottom.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the reference number and case size?
This is the Patek Philippe Aquanaut Luce "Rainbow" reference 7968/300R-001. The case is 18k rose gold, measures 39.9mm in diameter and roughly 10.4mm thick, and wears as a unisex size. It is rated to 30 meters of water resistance.
Is the 7968/300R a real chronograph?
Yes. It runs the self-winding CH 28-520 flyback chronograph, with a central chronograph seconds hand and a 60-minute counter at 6 o'clock. The flyback function lets you reset and restart timing in a single press. You can see the movement through the sapphire caseback.
Are the stones factory-set by Patek?
Yes. The rainbow baguette sapphire markers, the inner rainbow sapphire bezel, and the outer diamond bezel are all factory work on this reference. Nothing here is aftermarket, which is the whole point of the piece.
What straps come with it?
Three composite straps in the Aquanaut tread pattern: the red it ships on, a matte beige, and a matte white. They fasten with a rose gold fold-over clasp engraved with the Calatrava cross.
Specifications above reflect Patek Philippe reference 7968/300R-001 and our own listing for this piece. Pricing is our current asking price and can change with the market; we are a grey-market and pre-owned dealer with no authorized-dealer relationship to Patek Philippe.