Texas millionaire hires divers to recover Patek Philippe lost wakeboarding and two-day mission pays off
Published on Aug 30, 2025 at 9:25 PM (UTC+4)
by Grace Donohoe
Last updated on Aug 27, 2025 at 9:13 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
In an extreme turn of events, a reported Texas millionaire hired some divers to recover a Patek Philippe watch that was lost while wakeboarding with a two-day mission.
It’s every watch owner’s worst nightmare, losing an expensive piece of arm candy in open water, and one man was faced with the task of trying to find his literal missing link.
So, to find his beloved and expensive possession, the man hired a team of divers to assist him on the recovery mission that took two days.
And, just as the first recovery attempt proved fruitless, something miraculous happened.
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This Texas millionaire managed to lose an expensive watch wakeboarding and it resulted in a two-day mission
A Patek Philippe watch is some of the most luxurious arm candy that money can buy – but what happens when that accessory gets lost in open water? Well, one man found out firsthand.
Texan businessman Colin Brady managed to lose his lavish watch whilst wakeboarding in a huge lake.
Documenting the ordeal online in partnership with mikenouveau, the owner, known as hxr online, showed how the attempt to recover his watch cost him two days and a whole team of divers.
“My friend lost his $60,00 Patek Philippe watch at the bottom of this lake while wake surfing,” explained the creator, before letting the millionaire show just what went down in the huge rescue attempt.
The device in question was a sports edition, known as the Aquanaut.
“Now it’s 22 feet deep in Lake Austin, so I’ve got divers coming out in the morning, they’re gonna scan the whole area,” explained the watch’s fateful owner.
He admitted that he saw it as ‘gone’ but still had some hope that the divers could work their magic.
The first day ended in disappointment, though, as despite the millionaire hoping that they had dropped the diver in the right place, their attempt had proved fruitless.
On day two of the rescue recovery attempt, though, something unbelievable happened.
The watch was searched for underwater again, but this time a larger team of divers did the digging.
“We’re gonna go down and set two boundary lines, use that to go up and down,” explained one of the diving team.
And, as luck would have it, the Patek Philippe was found ticking away at the bottom of the vast lake.
In a last attempt, another diver explained that they went round in five-foot circles and on the fourth or fifth time round, the watch was spotted just 20 feet from the flag, talk about getting lucky.
Patek Philippe is the ultimate luxury watch brand
When it comes to making luxurious watches, Patek Phillipe is a top dog.
The unmistakable design is impressive, but such luxury carries a hefty price tag, as you can imagine.
For example, you can even buy a couple of Bugattis for the same price as this Patek Philippe.
Plus, we bet that the auction price of this Patek Philippe Tiffany Blue Nautilus will make you gasp for air.
Now, we bet hiring a whole diving team was an expensive retrieval method, but due to the price of the watch being $60,000 according to the creators, it sure was worth the hustle.
You can catch the ordeal below.
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