One Last Time
CEO Thierry Stern shares why Patek Philippe has decided to pay a final tribute to the much-loved steel Nautilus Ref. 5711
5711. For some, it might just be a string of random numbers. For those in the know, however, this number signifies a holy grail. A watch so coveted that it purportedly has a ten-year waiting list.
The stainless steel Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5711 was released in 2006, 30 years after the launch of the original Nautilus collection. Designed by Gerald Genta, the Nautilus was Patek Philippe’s entry into the nascent luxury sports watch world back in 1976, its first timepiece wrought in stainless steel.
Since then, the Nautilus has only grown in status, aided in part by limited production and supply. To the consternation of collectors, the watchmaker announced at the beginning of 2021 that it will stop the production of the stainless steel Nautilus Ref. 5711.
The family-owned Swiss watchmaker is giving this beloved reference a fitting send-off with two final variations with an olive green dial. One of them comes with a bezel set with baguette diamonds.
Ref. 5711/1A-014 is an attention grabber with its olive green dial, the first time the colour makes its appearance in the Nautilus collection. The sunburst finishing lends greater depth, while also setting a beautiful backdrop for the white gold hour markers and hands. Powered by the selfwinding calibre 26-33 S C with a stop-seconds mechanism that allows the watch to be set with one-second accuracy, it boasts a water resistance of up to 120m.
“When we decided to stop 5711, we didn’t actually have in mind to
do a last series but after thinking about it for some time, I decided it would be nice to have a last shot for such a beautiful reference. For its swan song, I wanted it to still be beautiful 10 to 20 years from now,” says Thierry Stern, president of Patek Philippe. “Green is a nice colour and it’s trendy today, but I think it’s also a classic colour.”
There is also a luxe version with a bezel set with flawless Top Wesselton baguette diamonds. The marriage of an industrial material (in this case, steel) and precious stones (diamonds) at Patek Philippe is not new. Stern recalls: “We used to do this pairing for a high level watch with the Twenty-4, and I thought it would be good to have the steel Nautilus to have this feature. It’s a difficult piece to make so there won’t be a lot of them, but it was something I really wanted to do. Along with the green dial, this is our last tribute to the 5711.”
Good luck getting your hands on one, as both timepieces already have a staggering wait list. But such is the appeal of Patek Philippe.
In a challenging year that has completely upended the luxury industry, the Swiss watchmaker has emerged stronger than ever. Says Stern, “My dad had already faced two major crises before this, so we came into this prepared. There are two things you need to have: first, you have to keep a lot of cash reserve because when a crisis hits, it hits quickly. I was taken by surprise but it’s a good thing we have a strong reserve to cushion us from the blow. Second, you need to have very strong products. We always have one or two major new products that we’re ready to release in case something happens.”