The Patek Philippes in The Beatles’ “Now and Then”
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Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr both wear steel Patek Philippe Aquanauts on dark straps in Now and Then. Gear Patrol identifies McCartney’s as reference 5165A and Starr’s as the earlier 5065A. Starr wears his while playing drums; McCartney’s is visible beside the archival band footage.
McCartney’s watch sits on his right wrist. In the sequence placing him alongside archival versions of the band, his folded arms leave the dark dial visible near the bottom of the frame. Starr’s watch stays close to the drum kit, where the moving hands and sticks provide plenty of distraction. The references come from the published identifications; neither wrist shot resolves them independently.
The same size across a generation change
The 5065A was the 38 mm “Jumbo” of the first Aquanaut generation, introduced in 1998. Phillips’s model history places it alongside the smaller early references and identifies the 5165 as its successor.
Patek’s July 2007 announcement makes the size relationship explicit. The new 5165 retained the 38 mm diameter of the previous largest model, while the 5167 expanded the collection above it. McCartney’s reported 5165A and Starr’s 5065A therefore have the same nominal diameter despite belonging to different generations.
The changes are more apparent in the dial and strap. Patek described the new charcoal dial’s gently curved embossed grooves, a revised strap pattern and a strap end shaped to meet the case more closely. The new clasp was part of the update, too. These are useful differences in product photographs; they are much harder to read while Starr’s wrist moves beside a cymbal.
In the catalog
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