Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5811/G

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.

Emerging from the lineage of time and date only Nautilus models that were typically offered in stainless steel, the 18k white gold ref. 5811 was very surprisingly launched in 2022 as the heir to the Nautilus throne that the ref. 5711 had sat in since 2006. Bearing the weight of the ref. 5711’s legacy, the ref. 5811 allowed Patek Philippe to continue with the Nautilus’ ethos as a sports watch, but in a manner that was befitting of Patek Philippe’s position as one of the most revered luxury watchmakers in the industry, thus gracefully ushering in a new era of watchmaking excellence for Patek Philippe. It must be said that Patek Philippe were seen as doing something blasphemous to replace the stainless steel ref. 5711 with a precious metal sibling, and yet it has gone down perfectly well. Crafted with the connoisseur in mind, the ref. 5811 is not merely a watch but a chapter added to the distinguished narrative of the Nautilus collection, first authored in 1976.

Case and Dial

Boasting a 41mm 18kt white gold case, just 1mm smaller than the original ref. 3700, and 1 mm larger than the outgoing ref. 5711, the ref. 5811 blends the best of both worlds as it fits firmly in the middle of its predecessors. Indeed, just like those two watches, it also maintains the Nautilus’ iconic silhouette through the careful preservation of its signature elements and the proportional balance between them. Pivotal to this is the Nautilus’ rounded octagonal bezel, which is placed atop its porthole-inspired case’s hinges, providing the Nautilus with its sense of total symmetry. Completing this balance of symmetry is the Nautilus’ integrated white gold bracelet, with its rounded polished centre links and brushed H-shaped links.

Beyond its construction, the ref. 5811’s sunburst blue dial is notable for its horizontal embossed pattern and black-gradient rim, which combine to add physical depth and aesthetic character to the watch's display. Building upon this depth is the ref. 5811’s applied hour markers and rounded baton-style hands that recall the shape of its centre links and bezel. The simplicity of the dial design, combined with the date display at 3 o'clock, ensures a balance of elegance and functionality, true to the Nautilus legacy as a sports watch designed with practicality in mind, just as much as style and sophistication.

The Movement

Powering the ref. 5811 is the automatic cal. 26-330 S C movement, a testament to Patek Philippe's relentless pursuit of mechanical excellence. This movement, visible through the ref. 5811’s sapphire crystal case back, features innovations that improve the efficiency and longevity of its base calibre, the cal. 324, such as a Gyromax balance and a Spiromax® balance spring. While its power reserve might only be up to 45 hours, it has a perfectly apt 4Hz beat rate and exhibits some exceptional levels of finishing, particularly for a sports watch.

The Upgrades

Standing tall above the shoulders of the iconic ref. 5711, the Nautilus ref. 5811 introduces several subtle yet significant enhancements that have been requested by Patek’s collectors since the ref. 5711 debuted in 2006. Amongst those changes lies some functional, and some purely aesthetic, like its 1mm case diameter increase, which provides the watch with a more commanding presence without compromising the Nautilus’ iconic silhouette. Beyond this, the ref. 5811 introduces a micro-adjustment feature to its clasp, which itself boasts a new fold-over double locking design, rather than the ref. 5711’s press-fit clasp – another sizeable upgrade given the Nautilus’ status as sports watch that you don’t want to fall off your wrist. Finally, the construction is made of 18k white gold instead of stainless steel, a deviation from the collection’s origins, but a material upgrade in more ways than one, as it injects some luxury and exclusivity into what is supposed to be luxurious and exclusive.

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. To that fact, the ref. 5811 commands a retail price of $64,000, which is a significant increase of the ref. 5711’s $31000 retail price, but yet is still dwarfed by its market value of $144000 – a price premium of 125%, a testament to the Nautilus’ continued desirability and exclusivity.

However, with the watch market’s decline since 2022, it should serve as no surprise that the ref. 5811 has once recorded much higher market values than today, with its original fresh-to-market market value peaking in the beginning of 2022 at $225000. Since then, the ref. 5811’s market value has continued to fall as Patek delivers examples to collectors and as the mystique around the model falls. However, should the ref. 5811 rediscover the Nautilus’ rhythm, there will be no stopping its appreciation as it will grow to represent the insatiable appetite of collectors and the immutable law of luxury markets: the finest art is beyond price, and that certainly applies to the ref. 5811, or else when it was lanched it would have fallen flat on its face – and it most certainly did not.

In essence, the Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5811 is not just a continuation of a storied family of watches—it is a celebration, a culmination of art, engineering and craftsmanship that combines to become a beacon of what luxury watchmaking can aspire to be. With every tick of its hands, it is a reminder of the illustrious path it treads and the bright future it heralds for connoisseurs around the globe.

Check out the live performance of Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5811/G at The Wristcheck Index