Patek Philippe has created a limited edition of its soon-to-be-discontinued Ref. 5711/1A Nautilus steel wristwatch, which will be sold at select Tiffany & Co. stores.
The new model, dubbed Ref. 5711/1A-018, departs from the typical Nautilus black-blue design and will be adorned with Tiffany’s signature robin’s-egg blue. Production will be limited to 170 pieces—a hat tip to Patek and Tiffany’s 170-year relationship. (The two companies began working together in 1851. They were founded two years apart—Tiffany in 1837 and Patek in 1839.)
The price of the new edition will be $52,635, higher than the standard 5711. The watches will be dual stamped, with Tiffany’s logo at the six o’clock position and Patek’s at the 12 o’clock. Its sapphire crystal caseback bears the commemorative inscription: “170th Anniversary 1851–2021 Tiffany & Co. – Patek Philippe.”
In February, the Swiss watchmaker announced that it was stopping production of the steel Nautilus Ref. 5711/1A—which GQ called “the most coveted watch in the world.” The announcement sent prices of the watch, which premiered in 2006, soaring on the secondary market.
Given that retailer-brand collaborations tend to fetch high prices, and that this is the last edition of this much-sought-after model, it’s almost certain to be highly coveted.
“The hardest part will be to choose [the customers],” says Thierry Stern, Patek Philippe’s president. “It’s a good problem. But it’s going to be crazy.
“I wouldn’t do it for anybody else but for Tiffany,” Stern adds. “They deserve it, for the past, for our relationship. It’s a good way to say thank you for them—and not only for them but for the U.S. market.”
The watches will be carried at Tiffany stores in New York City, San Francisco, and Beverly Hills, Calif. Tiffany & Co. will also auction off a watch on Saturday at Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo, with all proceeds benefiting The Nature Conservancy.
When asked why Patek was discontinuing the ultra-popular line, Stern told The New York Times in February: “We are doing this for our clients who already own a Patek Philippe and to protect our brand from becoming too commercial. I can continue to make this fantastic product, or sell 10 times more of them. But I am not working for numbers. I am protecting the company for the future, for my children.”
(Additional reporting by Victoria Gomelsky)
Top: The Patek Ref. 5711/1A-018 Nautilus with Tiffany robin’s-egg blue face (photo courtesy of Patek Philippe)
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