Wow. Patek Philippe kicked off the first official day of Watches & Wonders 2021, the world’s largest digital watch fair, with a serious bang. The Swiss watchmaker has released not one, but four new references of its coveted Nautilus model. After the discontinuation of the Ref. 5711/1A-010 was confirmed in January, the industry and collectors assumed the company would be releasing a new model, but certainly not a handful. Known to be incredibly difficult to get at retail, with even serious VIPs relegated to epically long waitlists and soaring prices in the secondary market, the Nautilus has become a larger-than-life commodity of the manufacture. But instead of playing to its scarcity, the brand is giving the market what it’s demanding.
First up is a brand new olive green sunburst dial in the stainless steel Ref. 5711/1A-014 (US$34,893 or RM144,300). It is the first Nautilus to feature this dial colour. For a little walk down memory lane, the Ref. 5711/1A in steel was launched in 2006 for the Nautilus’ 30th anniversary with a blue/black gradient dial, followed by the Ref. 5711/1A-001 from 2006 to 2009, the now discontinued Ref. 5711/1A-010 launched in 2010, a rose-gold iteration with a brown dial that gradated to black on the periphery in the Ref. 5711/1R-001 in 2015, and a silvery-white dial Ref. 5711/1A-011 joined the lineup from 2012 to 2019. The latest olive green version is accented by luminescent hands and hour markers in white gold with a satin-brushed and polished bezel, case and bracelet. Water-resistant to 120 metres (in case you are bold enough to take yours for a dip), it comes equipped with the new self-winding calibre 26-330 S C which was introduced to the Ref. 5711 in 2019.
As a dressier alternative to the sports watch, a diamond bezel version Ref. 5711/1300A-001 (US$94,624 or about RM391,000) is also available. It’s topped off with 32 Top Wesselton baguette-cut diamonds (approximately 3.6 carats) that have been cut in a slightly trapezoidal shape instead of a traditional rectangle to match the rounded curves of the Nautilus’ unique shape.
But if that’s not enough bling for you, a full pavé diamond Ref. 7118/1450R-001 (US$366,667 or about RM1.5 million) in 18-karat rose gold should do the trick. While this is technically deemed a ladies’ watch by the company, it is offered in a slightly larger 35 mm instead of the 33 mm version of the 18-karat rose gold pavé diamond Ref. 7021/1R-001 offered from 2013 to 2018. The new Ref. 7118 comes in a snow-setting of 2,553 flawless Top Wesselton brilliant-cut diamonds in approximately 12.69 carats. The diamonds vary in size and are set with ultimate precision to reveal as little of the rose-gold casing between the stones as possible.
For serious horophiles willing to overlook hype to purchase a new Nautilus, a beautiful high-complication Ref. 5990/1R-001 Travel Time Chronograph in 18-karat gold with a blue sunburst dial (US$106,452 or around RM440,000) is now on the table. It follows a stainless steel Ref. 5990/1A that was launched in 2014 with a black gradation dial. Combining a flyback chronograph, indications for two time zones and an analog date at 12 o’clock synchronized with local time, the calibre CH 28-520 C FUS uses a column wheel with a disk clutch to power chrono.
At the center, the hollowed 18-karat rose gold hand indicates the hours at home, while local hours are shown on the 18-karat gold hands filled in with white luminous coating. The second time zone is set by the “+” and “-” symbols on the pushers at 9 o’clock. Day and night indications are seen at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock for home and local time, respectively. And should you not care to see a second time zone, the two hour hands can be superimposed to appear as a single hand.
Whatever your preference, if you are a seasoned Patek Philippe collector (others shouldn’t even bother to try and inquire) and want to get your hands on any four of the new Nautilus references you better be ringing up your local AD now. These are, without a doubt, instant waitlist material.
Previously published on Robb Report.
