Patek Philippe’s Nautilus Turns to White Gold

He also expressed a desire to pull away from the pack of steel sport watches, including the Rolex Daytona and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, that have maintained a hegemony over the watch industry for the past five years or more.

“Many brands have been pushing steel because it’s easier to sell,” Mr. Stern said, referring to the lower prices that steel watches command.

“But the major brands don’t have stock anymore,” he continued. “The shops are empty. The business is coming back. There’s no reason why today you should sell only steel watches.”

“We’ll keep steel for sporty watches, mostly the Aquanaut,” he added, referring to a collection Patek introduced in 1997. “But it’s dangerous and too easy for me to make only steel.”

Talk about an understatement. Beginning around 2017, as the global watch market heated up, demand for Ref. 5711 soared; waiting lists were said to be 10 years long. The trophy watch phenomenon seemed to culminate last December, when Patek Philippe debuted a Ref. 5711 limited edition of 170 pieces featuring a Tiffany Company blue dial made exclusively for the New York City retailer. One sold at auction later that month for $6.5 million.

Mr. Stern has been vocal about his distaste for the speculative frenzy that has overshadowed the Nautilus in recent years. He said the brand buys about 200 pieces, a variety of the brand’s models, from the secondary market every year “to check where they’re coming from.” If they were initially sold by authorized retailers, and Mr. Stern is not satisfied with the retailers’ explanations about why they ended up for resale, “there are sanctions,” he said.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/18/fashion/watches-patek-philippe-nautilus.html