Everything
Buying a watch is easy. But buying a watch you actually want to wear – along with one that comes with legitimate street cred – has become increasingly difficult in recent years. Want a Audemars Piguet Royal Oak? No chance. Rolex Submariner? You’ll be waiting years. How about the Tiffany Patek Philippe Nautilus, then? Perhaps when hell freezes over.
Here’s the rundown.
On Monday, December 6, The New York Times broke the news that the much-loved, highly coveted, yet recently discontinued Patek Philippe steel Nautilus (Ref. 5711) had resurfaced only with a slightly different look… What you will find on its dial would be the imprinting of the Tiffany & Co moniker adorned in its signature robin’s egg blue colourway.
Enter the Tiffany Blue 5711; a true unicorn of the horological world.
Now, what makes this watch incredibly special, beyond the fact that it is a steel Nautilus, is that it is extremely limited to exactly 170 units, making it arguably one of the most sought-out watches in the world right now.
Even Patek Philippe’s president, Thierry Stern, agrees that there will be some unhappy customers, he told The New York Times.
“It may be a big problem. They [Tiffany] may not realise how difficult it’s going to be to choose the clients.”
With a price tag of $52,635 USD (close to $74,000 AUD), the watch world already speaks of the potential resale value that this timepiece holds, with pundits suggesting it might reach five figures at an upcoming auction at Phillips. With 1 of the 170 units allocated to the Phillips auction, the Tiffany Blue 5711 stands as possibly the watch that rewrites the history for secondhand watch sales (shattering the watch community in the process, mind you).
While a regular steel Nautilius currently sells pre-owned for anywhere between $150,000 and $650,000, the Tiffany Blue 5711 will most certainly topple these figures thanks to the sheer nature of its exclusivity.
The silver lining for those that may feel a little salty about the new watch going to auction is that 100% of the proceeds of the auction sale will benefit The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental organisation.
Many have wondered what the future holds for the enigmatic partnership between Tiffany and Patek Philippe, but it would seem that the recent takeover of LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault’s son, Alexandre Arnault, as executive vice-president of product and communications at Tiffany & Co is doing the respective companies wonders.
While only 29-years old, Arnault spent the past four years as CEO of luxury luggage brand Rimowa, building a solid resume of his own. Now at the helm of Tiffany & Co, just this year, the brand has collaborated with the likes of Supreme, American artist Daniel Arsham, as well as working with music luminaries Jay-Z and Beyoncé as the brand’s official ambassadors.
A big year no doubt, it would seem that exciting times lie ahead as Arnault steers the age-old jewellery giant into a bright, modern future ahead.
