The Patek Philippe Nautilus watch family is one of the most versatile and attractive upper-echelon sports watch families on the market today. A Nautilus can be a constant feature in a man or woman’s daily attire and every watch in the Nautilus collection is bright enough to read at night, and every model comes with automatic winding. In comparison to past generations, today’s luxury watch customer is more willing to wear a sports watch with formal clothing.
Given the practical limitations of straps, which wear out and often cannot withstand water, the availability of a full bracelet on every Nautilus model is a significant benefit for everyday use. While many sports references from other manufacturers are excessively huge, Patek Philippe has kept the core Nautilus line to a diameter of around 40 mm.
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The Patek Philippe Nautilus Has a Long and Illustrious History
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the rise of early mechanical watch collector communities, Patek Philippe focused on pocket watches for veteran enthusiasts and minimalist formal wristwatches. To attract new clients from the emerging market for luxury wristwatches, such as the references 3520 and later 3919.
The Patek Philippe Nautilus was first introduced in 1976 as the Reference 3700. The Nautilus was notable for two reasons: style and invention. It was a reasonably large (40mm), luminous, stainless steel, full-bracelet, automated luxury timepiece. On the design front, the original Nautilus combined all key elements, including the case, bezel, and bracelet, into a unified system of forms and subassemblies that read as a single entity.
The Nautilus improved the state of the art with a greater balance of lateral symmetry, a bezel whose inner face matched the geometry of its outer shape, and a sandwich-like case assembly that considerably improved water resistance. Since the original Reference 3700 “Jumbo” emerged from its Geneva gestation, Patek Philippe has chosen to make little changes to the appearance. In terms of originality, the Nautilus is instrumental in establishing the modern concept of a pure luxury sports watch.
The first Nautilus was launched at a cost of almost $14,000, it was a sports watch that cost the same as a dress watch and a steel watch that cost the same as a gold watch. Despite remarkable design and refinement breakthroughs, the sports-oriented Nautilus model was an aberration in a Patek Philippe ultra-luxury model line dominated by compact dress wristwatches and pocket watches at the time. The Nautilus was a steady but not dominant presence in the Patek Philippe catalog during the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s.
Patek Philippe Nautilus Watches
Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A Model
Patek Philippe introduces a new olive-green dial to its 5711/1A model, which is exclusive to the Nautilus collection and sure to please fans of this legendary timepiece with its characteristics;
- Self-winding mechanical movement. Caliber 26‑330 S C. Date in an aperture. Sweep seconds.
- Sunburst olive-green hour markers with luminous coating and horizontally embossed gold applied hour marks
- Stainless steel is used and screw-down crown. A sapphire crystal on the back of Nautilus’ casing (40mm diameter and 8.3 mm in height).
- To a depth of 120 meters, it is waterproof.
- Steel bracelet and Nautilus fold-over clasp.
Patek Philippe Nautilus Reference 5990/1 Travel Time Chronograph
Patek Philippe introduces the Nautilus Travel Time Chronograph Reference 5990/1 in a generous rose gold version. The rose gold baton-style hands have a luminous coating and this new model includes three widely desired complications: a self-winding flyback chronograph, an easy-to-use Travel Time feature: dual time-zone, and a date display with local time with its characteristics;
- Self-winding mechanical movement, CH 28520 C FUS is the caliber and Flyback chronograph. There are two time zones indicated: local and home. In apertures, there is a day/night indicator for local and home time and by hand, add the date and local time.
- Hour markers are sunburst blue with gold attached hour markers that have a luminous finish.
- Rose gold is a great shade and screw-down crown. The back of the case is made of sapphire crystal (40.5 mm case diameter and 12.53 mm in height).
- Waterproof of up to 120 meters.
- Rose gold bracelet and Nautilus fold-over clasp.
Takeaway
Luxury is the creation of extraordinary value. Patek Philippe has demonstrated that by carefully controlling its brand. Being exceedingly selective in what it does, how it is disseminated, and how the portfolio appears. Considerable desire is cultivated that lasts much beyond the availability of individual products. Many others who are too focused on short-term thinking, opportunity taking, and immediate outcomes will find inspiration in the brand. It’s also an excellent example of long-term brand equity development, brand narrative, and well-executed strategy.
Most companies would play it safe and preserve their iconic item indefinitely or even launch several of the alternative versions at various price points. Patek Philippe, on the other hand, recognized that desire is influenced by the difficulty of obtaining a product, limiting its availability, and not flooding the market with countless iterations solely to please the people or sell more. A desire was fueled by selling fewer items. Then, by scrapping the model entirely, the craze achieved its pinnacle.
