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.
Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5711/1A-014 Courtesy of Patek Philippe
First up is a brand new olive green sunburst dial in the stainless steel Ref. 5711/1A-014 ($34,893). It is the first Nautilus to feature this dial color. 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 meters (in case you are bold enough to take yours for a dip), it comes equipped with the new self-winding caliber 26-330 S C which was introduced to the Ref. 5711 in 2019.
Patek Philippe Ref. 5711/1300A-001 Courtesy of Patek Philippe
As a dressier alternative to the sports watch, a diamond bezel version Ref. 5711/1300A-001 ($94,624) 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.
Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 7118/1450R-001 Courtesy of Patek Philippe
But if that’s not enough bling for you, a full pavé diamond Ref. 7118/1450R-001 ($366,667) 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.
Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5990/1R-001 Travel Time Chronograph Courtesy of Patek Philippe
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 ($106,452) 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 caliber 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.
