Nautilus 2019 · 5711/1A-011 · Box and Paper 40mm · White · Stainless Steel

Patek Philippe gave the steel Nautilus ref. 5711/1A a new movement in 2019, the same year the decision was made to retire it. Patek’s page for the white-dial version, ref. 5711/1A-011, still named the 324 S C in February, but the 26-330 S C by July.

The new caliber grew out of the 324 S C after several years of work, and its name records its size, 26.6 mm across and 3.3 mm high. Height and power reserve stayed the same, but setting the watch did not. Pulling the crown out now stops the balance, so the time can be set to the second, which the 324 S C did not allow.

Patek’s engineers also set out to keep the seconds hand from trembling. In place of the usual center seconds pinion and its friction spring, they fitted an anti-backlash third wheel whose split teeth each carry a leaf spring of 22 microns. Behind the sapphire case back, the winding rotor is cut with two rounded recesses either side of its pivot, a shape that marks the new caliber.

The case holds an earlier change, made when the 5711 arrived in 2006 for the collection’s 30th anniversary. It came out slightly wider across the hinges than the 1976 original, the Nautilus (3700), one we have offered. Patek explained that this had nothing to do with the fashion for bigger watches, since the hinges had gained half a millimeter to take a softer curve.

Patek Philippe’s president, Thierry Stern, later said he decided at Baselworld 2019 to retire the 5711, not wanting one model to “dominate Patek’s image.” This example, from 2019, was fitted with the 26-330 S C, joining the white dial Patek offered from 2012 to 2019 to the movement of that final year. For collectors, that pairing is the appeal, and the Nautilus (7018/1A-001) shows the Nautilus as Patek sized it for women.

Sources: Patek Philippe; Europa Star; Monochrome