Patek Philippe Nautilus Chronograph ref. 5980

The Origins

Born in 1976, the Patek Philippe Nautilus was Patek’s attempt to enter the luxury sports watch market that Audemars Piguet had created just four years prior with the launch of their Royal Oak collection. Designed by the legendary Gérald Genta, who was inspired by the portholes of transatlantic liners, the Nautilus boasts a unique hinge-inspired case design with a rounded octagonal bezel that leans on the same aesthetic identity as found in the Royal Oak. Functionally robust and undeniably elegant, the original Nautilus, the ref. 3700 was ground-breaking in its own right due to its exceptional water resistance of 120 meters. This more than doubled the Royal Oak’s 50-meter water resistance, which enabled the Nautilus to lay the foundation of collectors' expectations for the robustness of watches within the same category for the decades following as collectors sought timepieces with genuine wearability in any scenario, unlike their dress watches.

Launched in 2006 as part of the Nautilus’ modernisation alongside the ref. 5711 and 5712, the Nautilus Chronograph ref. 5980 was introduced as the first Nautilus chronograph model, and the most complicated variant offered as part of that trio of references. While retaining the Nautilus’ functional design and porthole-inspired aesthetic, the ref. 5980 broke away from Gerald Genta’s original vision for the Nautilus due to its pushers at 2 and 4 o’clock – new additions that had to be made to accommodate its new complication, which was integrated into its display in a rather novel way, in keeping with the Nautilus’ trailblazing impact on horological design. This year, Patek Philippe announced the discontinuation of the last three Nautilus Chronograph watches — the rose gold 5980R-001 with a leather strap, the full rose gold 5980/1R-001 with an integrated bracelet, and the two-tone steel and rose gold 5980/1AR-001 with an integrated bracelet. At Watches & Wonders 2024, the brand unveiled the new Nautilus Flyback Chronograph in white gold presented on a blue-gray calfskin strap embossed with a “denim motif”.

Case and Dial

Boasting a diameter of 40.2mm, the ref. 5980’s case retains the Nautilus’ iconic design from the top down, as Patek made the effort to preserve the collection’s proportions and shape as much as possible. However, the one noticeable difference in the ref. 5980’s case is its height, coming in at 12.6mm due to its chronograph complication. This is just over 4mm taller than the ref. 5711, or about a 50% increase, so the ref. 5980 does wear differently to other slimmer Nautilus models, but that is to be expected due to its chronograph movement. This height difference is most noticeable in the ref. 5980’s bezel, with the mid-case retaining its slim design.

Beyond its construction, the ref. 5980 features a rather unique dial, offered in blue, black or brown, depending on the construction materials and configuration chosen. Boasting the Nautilus’ iconic horizontal embossed pattern and the date at 3 o’clock, the ref. 5980’s dial departs from regular Nautilus models with its singular chronograph subdial at 6 o’clock. Large due to housing its hour and minutes subdials, this two-handed subdial counts the minutes with its long hand and the hours with its shorter hand, with up to 12 hours of accuracy. Sporting different colour combinations depending on the exact dial, this chronograph subdial provides an intriguing piece of aesthetic flair to the ref. 5980’s display.

The Movement

Powering the ref. 5980 is the automatic cal. 28-520 C flyback chronograph movement, a testament to Patek Philippe's relentless pursuit of mechanical excellence. This movement, visible through the ref. 5980’s sapphire crystal case back, boasts Patek’s esteemed level of finishing alongside a host of impressive technical feats such as its Gyromax balance and a Spiromax® balance spring that allow it to perform at its impressive standard. While its power reserve might only be up to 55 hours, it has a perfectly apt 4Hz beat rate and an incredibly seamless operation that ensures you know you’re using a watch from one of the best watchmakers in the world.

Market Performance

In the pantheon of luxury watches, it is no surprise that the Nautilus occupies a coveted pedestal given each of its variants’ fantastic performance in the market over the last few years. Sitting amongst the zenith of those variants is the ref. 5980. Renowned for its useful complication, novel display layout and position as the first-ever chronograph-wielding Nautilus, the ref. 5980 has performed quite well when compared to other similar Nautilus references. For example, the blue dial stainless steel ref. 5980 commands a market value of $121k, a market premium of 181% over its retail price of $43k – quite impressive given that is roughly the same market value as the steel ref. 5990, but at a $15k less retail price.

Beyond the stainless steel variant, our Wristcheck Index also cover two 18kt rose gold ref. 5980 variants, the full gold option that debuted in 2013 and the leather-strapped option that came out all the way back in 2010. As you might imagine, the full gold variant fetches a sizeable amount on the open market with its value coming in at $225k – a price premium of 100% over its 112k MSRP. In contrast, the leather strapped ref. 5980R fetches a slightly smaller price premium of 95% over its MSRP of $65k, meaning its market value is $130k. However, this isn’t all down to the change in strap, as the full gold variant comes with a black smoked dial, and the leather strapped version comes with a brown dial that is slightly less punchy than its darker sibling.

In essence, if you want to opt for the model with the most gravitas, the full gold ref. 5980R wins the race by quite some margin, and if you want something a bit more under-the-radar, then the leather strapped option is the way to go, unless you want to buy the stainless steel option, which is both punchy and under-the-radar, depending on who might be around to spot what is on your wrist given its ‘if you know you know’ design and execution.

Check out the live performance of Patek Philippe Chronograph ref. 5980 at The Wristcheck Index