How the Rise and Fall of Patek Philippe’s Nautilus Reflects the Horological Tumult of 2024. Because I admire a wide variety of Patek’s watches so much, I often find the focus on the steel Nautilus, Aquanaut, and now the Cubitus, too narrow. Patek’s past, present, and future are so much broader than its steel sports watches—a point I made at length earlier this year, and which Patek has also made in refreshed ad campaigns pushing diverse collections.
So it is with some relief that I read the recent data report from showing values for the steel Nautilus 5711 dropping back down to Earth. When I saw middling auction results for various Nautilus references at Phillips last week, I felt like a window opened again onto the broader story of Patek Phillipe’s horological accomplishments.It may sound counterintuitive to suggest that falling prices are a good thing for a brand, but in Patek’s case it almost seems inevitable, given efforts by the brand to steer its catalog in new directions. looking solely at the watch while side-stepping the gossipy pop-cultural baggage accompanying the turbulent release. There was quite a lot of that, unfortunately.Much of 2024’s controversy started with the rise of the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 over roughly the past seven years—including Patek dropping a limited Tiffany-dial version that shot through elite hands like hot potatoes and soon followed, shockingly, by the discontinuing of the reference in 2021. For a few years, it seemed as if there was always some dramatic headline about the Nautilus. For the Nautilus, we can see the contours of the roller coaster ride (not only for Patek Philippe but also for watches more generally over the past several years).are rare, especially the first-generation 3700/1A. For decades, the Nautilus held a relatively marginal position in the Patek catalog, while the grand complications, complications, chronographs, and even the simple Calatrava remained the watches Patek Philippe was known for