Diver finds the $80,000 Patek Philippe watch was lost a year ago in the Mediterranean Sea

A diver retrieved an extremely valuable Patek Philippe watch from the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.

The watch in question is a Patek Philippe Aquanaut which – as the name implies – is actually designed to be worn near – or in this case – underwater.

This explains why, after spending over a year deep under the waves, the watch still works perfectly.

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The watch had been lost during a boating trip, and the owner spent over a year trying to work out a way to get it back.

Fortunately (in the circumstances), he lost the watch while on holiday in the Spanish island of Mallorca, where there’s an enterprise equipped for exactly this sort of thing.

Meet Caro and Giorgio, professional ‘retrievers of stuff’

Caro and Giorgio are the founders of Mallorca Detecting, an idea that’s actually genius.

People regularly lose stuff when they’re on a boat or in the water, and so what Caro and Giorgio do is they simply dive and retrieve things that people lost using a metal detector.

Giorgio and Caro, both divers, say the Patek in question was by far the most valuable item they’ve retrieved so far.

It is even more valuable than the Rolex found by a surfer in Australia.

Even after being restored, that Rolex is still worth a fraction when compared to this Patek.

A Patek Philippe worth more than some cars

The watch in question is a Patek Philippe Aquanaut Travel Time 5164A.

Like other watches of this caliber – no pun intended – the Aquanaut trades well above retail.

It comes with a retail price of $42,500, but because demand outpaces the offer, it’s generally sold in the pre-owned market for $80,000 or more.

The Aquanaut is 100m water resistant, so it’s no surprise that the watch still works after a year in the water.