Surprise! (But Not Really) - Our Thoughts On The New Patek Philippe 5811

I mean we all saw it coming. Right? Like, nobody is really surprised to see what’s basically the Nautilus again. Sure, it’s white gold and more expensive this time instead of the standard Steel and Rose Gold models of before - But does that really matter when Nautiluses are selling at almost half a million on the grey market?

But Patek Philippe’s retirement of the 5711 was certainly not the end of the line for the standard blue dial aesthetic of the Nautilus. So here we are, introducing the successor to the 5711, the 5811. Ta Da!

THE BASICS:

Brand: Patek Philippe

Model: Nautilus 5811/1G

Case Material: White Gold

Case Size: 41mm x 8.2mm

Water Resistance: 120 meters

Movement: Patek Philippe’s caliber 26-330 S C (In House)

Movement Specs: Automatic - 30 Jewels / 4-Hz / 45-Hour Power Reserve

Strap Options: White Gold Bracelet

THE JUICE:

There are some changes to the 5811 from even the latest green Dial 5711. For starters, the case has been “Jumbo” sized to 41mm over the standard 40mm of the more traditional Nautiluses. This was achieved by utilizing a mono-block style case instead of the 2-part construction typically used. This presents very minimal aesthetic changes, but still looks and feels like a standard Nautilus.

Of course, the white gold material hasn’t been offered in the Blue Dial Nautilus before, and will obviously not deter potential Nautilus buyers over, say, the steel models “Of Old”.

Inside the 5811 is the in-house caliber 26-330 S C. This movement has been the brand’s standard 3-hand movement since it’s unveiling in 2019. It’s fairly standard fair, beautifully decorated, exactly what you would expect from arguably the most prestigious brand on the market. It beats at 4 hertz and features “up to” a 45-Hour Power Reserve.

I remember last year, when Patek Philippe announced that it was going to discontinue the 5711 at “An Undisclosed Time”. Most everyone I saw rolled their eyes and said (Sarcastically) “Yeah, Okay Patek”. Nobody expected Patek Philippe to actually retire the blue dial it’s so famous for. Almost concurrently, the brand then released an Olive dial in steel, and thoughts started changing - Maybe some more dial options are coming?

Then came the Tiffany Blue Dial, that the entire watch industry couldn’t stop talking about. It caused a sort of, exhaustion around the Nautilus. Even at Wrist Enthusiast, our hands almost had no choice but to cover the model that every single other outlet exploded with. The model was so limited, and so exclusive, that it provided a ton of discussion around the reason it was even released. Only 170 were produced, and only a select few were even provided access to purchase, so a lot of enthusiasts, once again, rolled their eyes.

Which simply makes all the claims of discontinuing the 5711 feel like a lot of fluff. And to be completely fair, Patek never claimed to be killing off the Nautilus altogether, I think a lot of watch media hyped the idea around that, and further encouraged the rift between enthusiasts, and Patek Philippe. Was it fair? I believe that Patek has always benefited from media hype, whether it’s positive or negative - So for them, sure. For us? I don’t know. Let us know your thoughts.

I think, generally, with the release of the 5811, we are seeing a lot of the same thing we saw with other recent Nautilus releases. A lot of eye-rolling. This may not be a limited model, but it will be exclusive. And even though there are some upgrades, most notably the White Gold addition to the blue dial Nautilus catalog, the same story will happen with the blue. A handful will be able to get their hands on it, and it will sell for exorbitant amounts on the secondary markets.

The price differences between the Steel model at $35,000 USD and the all-new White Gold 5811 model at $69,000 USD will be nominal when both are selling well into the 6-figures on the grey market. And since the brand can only produce a max of “66,000 watches per year” - Per Stern, they will still be very difficult to obtain.

You can read more about the new 5811 at patek.com