At the beginning of 2021, Patek Philippe announced it would be stopping the production of the highly-coveted Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711. It was an unexpected and unusual decision, considering the Ref. 5711 was one of the Patek brand’s best-selling watches, with a long waitlist rumored to be up to 10 years long.

Patek pulling the plug on the Nautilus 5711 was undoubtedly the biggest news of the year. It’s not every day you see a watch company discontinue its signature men’s reference timepiece at the height of its desirability. The news sent shockwaves into the horological universe, causing the 5711 Nautilus prices to hit the roof. The watch, which was already quite popular at the time, became arguably the most wanted luxury steel watch in the world.

It was the end of an era, but clearly not the first Rodeo for Patek. In fact, Patek didn’t roll out a special announcement or press release for the discontinuation. The company’s President Thierry Stern did grant an interview to The New York Times, where he justified Patek’s decision to discontinue its most popular wristwatch.

With a 185-year history, the Swiss watchmaker has had to discontinue several other popular (and some not-so-successful) timepieces in the past. In this post, we’ll explore the significance of discontinuation of the Patek Philippe 5711 and why this watch is so special for collectors.

History of the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711

To understand why Patek discontinuing the Nautilus is so significant, we have to get some context from the watch’s history. The Nautilus is arguably Patek’s most important collection to date. This famous watch collection is the epitome of elegant sports watches and one of the most iconic watches from Patek.

The Nautilus was introduced in 1976 based on designs by an industry legend, Gérald Genta. The same man is responsible for designing the equally Legendary Royal Oak for Audemars Piguet and pioneering.

More importantly, Genta pioneered the idea of luxury steel timepieces. Before this era, Gold and other precious metals were all the rave. Genta’s breakthrough design of the Royal Oak and the Nautilus showed the world that steel luxury sports watches could be fashionable too.

In designing the Nautilus for Patek Philippe, Genta borrowed some maritime themes, designing its case based on the shape of a ship's porthole, while the bezel resembled the large hinges of its waterproof windows. This was the Nautilus Ref 3700/1, released in 1976. Patek did a daring thing by releasing the steel watch at the same price as its 18-carat gold watches. Yet, it caught on and the Nautilus’s fame was born.

Over the years, Patek released several models and references in the Nautilus line. However, Ref 5711 seems to be the crown jewel of the company’s releases. It was launched in 2006 to mark the 30th anniversary of the original Nautilus.

What Made the Nautilus 5711 So Special

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to refer to the Patek 5711 as the biggest watch in the Patek Philippe Mens Watch collection. This timepiece was so famous, that the waitlist to get a new one is rumored to be up to a decade long. It was loved by collectors, primarily because of its simplicity.

The Nautilus 5711 had no fancy complications. The dial was simple as well. It was just an ordinary stainless steel timepiece with an attractive navy-blue dial and a small window to tell the date.

Perhaps the most impressive aesthetic quality of this watch is how closely it resembled the original Nautilus 3700. While this watch had a large 40mm case and the dial looked different, it still closely resembled the original Genta design. This OG watch was retired in the 1980s, ironically, Patek’s decision to discontinue the Nautilus 3700 was due to poor sales.

The Nautilus 5711 on the other hand didn’t struggle to make sales. If anything it became Patek’s most impressive watch sales-wise and this rapid success contributed to the watch’s popularity. As the Nautilus grew more popular, Patek Philippe wasn’t able to meet the demand for this watch as it grew (nor did the company intend to). Rarity is one of the main qualities of Patek’s watches, so the production deficit of this watch was perfectly normal.

Soon the Nautilus ended up in the middle of a demand-supply storm. The rarity of this watch only added to its allure and more people began to demand for it in the secondary market. Soon, the 5711’s value skyrocketed. It soon became one of the watches whose value was likely to go up if you decided to resell it. As a result, many people sought to buy this watch, not just because of its appearance or impressive design, but primarily because it was a potential store of value, whose price was likely to increase, earning buyers more than whatever they invested initially.

Why did Patek Discontinue the Nautilus 5711?

So why did the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 get the ax despite doing so well? Patek’s president Thierry Stern, the decision to stop making this watch was because it was soaking in too much attention. One could say that the Nautilus 5711 became a victim of its own success.

Keeping It Fresh

The Patek Philippe company has become synonymous with innovation. The company’s focus on keeping its catalog fresh is the same reason the 5711 was born in the first place. It’s also why Patek has been able to keep the Nautilus line from fading out of sight after so many decades. Patek Philippe has always had no scruples about discontinuing an aging watch model and introducing an entirely new one.

This is one way to look at Patek’s decision to retire the 5711. Discontinuing older watches in the collection is what allowed the introduction of newer ones like the ref 5711 in the first place. And now by letting go of its highly successful steel watch, we could finally see its rebirth in a newer and better model in coming years. Not long after discontinuing the revered Nautilus 5711, Patek Philippe introduced its successor, the 5811/1G, crafted in white gold. The change in material from steel to gold was significant too. It was an attempt to align the watch’s price with its true market value.

Redirecting Focus to Other Watches

Letting go of this watch is also Patek’s way of inviting buyers to explore the 140+ other models available in the manufacturer’s collection (including 26 other Nautilus watches). Unlike other watchmakers that don’t mind being defined by one watch, the Patek Philippe brand has never been a mono-model brand. The company prides itself in the richness of its collection and focusing on just one watch just because it was bringing in cash, was simply not on brand for the watchmaker. In the words of the company’s president himself, “We cannot put a single watch on top of our pyramid,”

An Aging Watch

Another likely reason for discontinuing this watch at the height of its fame is that its popularity wasn’t rubbing off well on the Patek Philippe brand. While the price was good and demand was great, the Nautilus 5711 was a relatively old watch. It was a basic steel watch with just a time and date functionality.

Patek Philippe had been producing the same generation of this watch for 15 years. While it was still very competitive in terms of price and demand, it was starting to lag behind while a more modern line of watches with better materials and the latest innovations were hitting the market. Having a rapidly aging watch as your brand’s flag bearer was bound to backfire in the long run and Patek probably didn’t want this.

The 5711 Bubble

Finally, the Nautilus 5711’s pricing may have been part of the factors that motivated its discontinuation. Even before the announcement that created a frenzied demand and skyrocketed its price, this watch was fetching over US$100,000 in the secondary market. This created unrealistic expectations, and many collectors began expecting other Patek Philippe timepieces to perform similarly.

But the watch’s popularity was only a bubble- one that was bound to burst at some point if allowed to spiral out of control. Patek Philippe knew this and decided to pull the plug early instead of feeding off its popularity and getting caught in the blackcurrant when the bubble eventually burst.

Conclusion

While it’s hard to say goodbye to such a beautiful timepiece, Patek’s decision to let go of one of its best-performing watches of all time was for the greater good. Fortunately, the reference did get a final swan song as the Swiss watchmaker released a few final variations of this watch before finally bowing out in 2021. One had a unique olive green dial, another was set with a baguette diamond, and the last was a limited edition Tiffany Blue collection. In all, it was a fitting send-off to such a beautiful watch that managed to win so many hearts.