History of the Nautilus
The '70s were a time of great change within the watchmaking industry. The Quartz Crisis was wreaking havoc, with the number of watchmakers in Switzerland having dropped from 1,600 to 600. At the time of the Nautilus' release, the world was already shifting towards highly-commercialised, quartz technology.
Against this backdrop, the concept of a luxury watch in steel was a truly revolutionary idea. In 1976, the introduction of Patek Philippe’s Nautilus firmly altered the direction of luxury sports watch design. It offered a true competitor to Audemars Piguet's then four-year-old Royal Oak, equally designed by Gérald Genta. The original reference 3700 was not only unprecedented in its design, but also in its initial pricing to consumers. When the Nautilus was released, the retail price for the watch was $3,100 - considerable for the time, and comparable to many of Patek Philippe’s gold dress watches.
Remarkably, Gerald Genta is said to have sketched the 3700’s design whilst dining meters away from Patek Philippe executives. His “five minutes of work”, is today considered one of the masterpieces of modern design. Its etymology comes from Jules Verne’s novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, after the "Nautilus" submarine, used by Captain Nemo.
The 5712
Following the introduction of the original Nautilus, Patek Philippe experimented with different case sizes, materials and dial designs. A few decades after it was originally sketched, the time felt right to gradually integrate a dose of complexity into Genta's design. Introduced in 2005, the ref. 3712 marked the first time a significant number of complications were integrated into the Nautilus case. Released the following year, the ref. 5712 has carried this legacy forwards to the current day, integrating a date, moonphase, power reserve and subsidiary seconds display. It was one of several models launched to mark the 30th anniversary of the Nautilus collection.
The 5712 reinterprets a number of signature design elements from the original Nautilus, mostly notably, the gradient blue dial with horizontal grooves. The different complications are laid out in an intuitive manner, retaining legibility and balance, despite the wealth of information displayed. Usually placed in prime position, in this case, the "Patek Philippe" signature is discretely shifted to the right. It additionally features all the traditional indications of a time-only watch, with applied hour-markers and Nautilus hands with luminescent inserts.
Similar to its predecessor, the 5712 measures 40mm - between 10 and 4 o'clock - classing it amongst the "Jumbo" collection. It features Patek Philippe’s modern interpretation of the Nautilus case, with 3-part construction, sapphire case-back and curved "ears" on either side. The case and bracelet are excellently finished, with beveled, polished and granular surfaces. The steel bracelet has virtually no stretch, with flat central links.
The Movement
The reference 5712/1A-001 is powered by Patek Philippe’s in-house calibre 240 PS IRM C LU (for petite seconde, indication de réserve de marche, calendrier et lune – small second, power reserve indicator, date and moon), visible through the sapphire display-back. It features 29 jewels, a straight-line lever escapement, shock absorber mechanism a self-compensating flat balance spring and a monometallic balance, adjusted to cold, heat, isochronism and 5 positions. Furthermore, the 22k solid-gold micro-rotor is finished in classic Patek Philippe style, with Geneva stripes.
The Set
The watch comes with a Patek Philippe outer box, wooden inner box, Certificate of Origin, leather wallet, product literature and setting pin.
If sold within the United Kingdom, this Patek Philippe Nautilus 5712/1A will be subject to 20% VAT. Viewings are currently suspended for the time being.
