Patek Philippe Nautilus Tiffany & Co. ref. 5711

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 December 2021 as the very last Nautilus ref. 5711 to ever be released before the entire collection’s pre-announced discontinuation in 2022, the ref. 5711/1A-018 marked a significant milestone for the Nautilus’ history as it played the foundation role for an official collaboration between Patek Philippe and their legendary retailer, American jeweller Tiffany & Co. Celebrating the two brands’ 170th anniversary since they began working together, this new Nautilus was limited to just 170 pieces and quickly became the most desirable watch in all of watchmaking. Of course, as a collaborative project and not just a series of 170 co-signed examples, the Nautilus Tiffany & Co. ref. 5711/1A-018 boasted a slew of unique traits that signified its unique position within Patek’s offerings.

The Case and Dial

Boasting a 40mm stainless steel case, just 2mm smaller than the original ref. 3700, the ref. 5711 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 bracelet, with its rounded polished centre links and brushed H-shaped links. However, to give the ‘Tiffany’ ref. 5711 a splash of je ne sais quoi, its exhibition caseback features a decorative three-line inscription that reads “170th Anniversary – 1851-2021 – Tiffany & Co. - Patek Philippe”, not that that is a secret, mind you, as the dial is where this piece stands out.

Featuring the ref. 5711’s dial signature dial with its horizontal embossed pattern, the ‘Tiffany’ ref. 5711 stands out through its bright Tiffany blue colour and blackened gold applied hour markers, hands and date aperture border. Additionally, it also features the revered “Tiffany & Co.” signature at 6 o’clock, a nod to every Patek collector’s favourite thing to see on a Patek. Combining it all, the result is a ref. 5711 variant that is a large departure from the ref. 5711’s traditionally conservative aesthetic, with its run-of-the-mill blue dial being quite subdued in comparison.

The Movement

Powering the ‘Tiffany’ ref. 5711 is the automatic cal. 26-330 S C movement, just like every other ref. 5711 that has been released since 2006. This movement, visible through the ref. 5711’s sapphire crystal caseback which features the aformentioned inscription, is equipped with 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 40 hours, it has a 4Hz beat rate and exhibits some exceptional finishing levels, particularly for a sports watch.

The Cultural Icon

Transcending its design, material construction and artisanal execution, the Nautilus, and the ref. 5711, more specifically has become a cultural icon within watchmaking and the broader pop-culture conscience. However, the ‘Tiffany’ ref. 5711 has catapulted the collection to new heights thanks to its limited edition status with just 170 pieces created to service the entire global market. As one would expect, the demand for this watch has been quite staggering, and as a result it has only landed on the wrist of the most deserving of VIP clients. Amongst that list of clients are celebrities like Odell Beckham Jr, LeBron James, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jay-Z, Tommy Hilfiger, Sheikh Joaan the Prince of Qatar, Bernard Arnault, Lionel Messi, Canelo Alvarez, Ed Sheeran and plenty of other famous faces. There is practically no other watch in the world that has captured the collective imaginations of celebrity culture like the ‘Tiffany’ ref. 5711, and as a result, it has become a cultural icon like no other Nautilus will probably ever be able to challenge, but that comes with a price, a very high price.

Market Performance

Before we even delve into the ‘Tiffany’ ref. 5711’s market value, it is important to establish that just about any normal production Tiffany & Co. double-signed ref. 5711 Nautilus will sell for north of $200k. Furthermore, just about every limited edition Patek Philippe watch, no matter what collection it belongs to, is sought-after purely because of its own rarity and just how uncommon limited editions are for Patek Philippe. With those facts in mind, we can determine that the ‘Tiffany’ ref. 5711/1A-018 was always going to sell for many multiples of its retail price of just $52635 – the retail price for a normal production ref. 5711 at the time.

However, when the first of the 170 examples was auctioned on the 11th of December 2021, no one could have expected that it would sell for over 120 times its retail price, achieving a price of over $6.5m. Sure, it was a charity auction, and it was the first of the series, but this was truly spectacular result. However, this record would remain, and the subsequent market value of the watch settled around the $4m mark before the watch market’s decline began towards the end of Q1 in 2022. From there, the ‘Tiffany’ ref. 5711’s market value has been in a slow, but consistent decline, with its current value sitting at around $2m, if you can get your hands on one. Sure, it’s not $6.5m, but it’s not a bad day’s work if you were one of the lucky 169 people who got one for retail.

Check out the live performance of Patek Philippe Nautilus Tiffany & Co. ref. 5711 on The Wristcheck Index