To keep my finger on the pulse of the watch industry, I frequent forums and Facebook, where enthusiasts rant and rave about companies and models. When Patek announced they were killing their golden goose, the Holy Grail of watchmaking, the steel Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711, they unleashed a widespread feeling of offense. That was especially true for . . .
the collectors on the waiting list, who trusted the Maison to deliver a steel Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711. Wealthy, influential watch lovers who spent years, impassive and stoic, waiting for “the call” from their authorized dealer. With a stroke of a pen, Thierry Stern betrayed their loyalty to the lineage, based on receiving a tangible reward for their efforts and patience. The Patek President’s reasoning . . .
We don’t want Patek Philippe dependent on one model, like Audemars Piguet with their Royal Oak. Also, there are too many luxury steel sports watches in the world now. Our steel “experiment” is over.
We will continue to produce the Nautilus, but the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 made of plebeian steel is no longer our future. I will follow my father’s sage advice: Patek Philippe makes precious watches out of precious metal. For “silver” we’ll use titanium.
From Mr. Stern’s point of view, he’s absolutely right. The luxury steel sports watch market is now crowded, from the mid-market Bell & Ross BR 05 to the upmarket Chopard Alpine Eagle and A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus. Patek Philippe has the strength to abandon the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 and steer the market in the direction of their choosing.
But the decision leaves in its wake the disappointed hopes of many who would have liked to become Patek customers and were unable to do so. The posts of disgruntled
Patek Philippe fans are out there for all to see. “I would have liked to give my wife a Patek Philippe for her birthday,” a former 5711 hopeful wrote. “But now I don’t think I will.”
In reality, for the average multi-millionaire, pursuing the steel Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 grail watch was almost as quixotic as pursuing the Holy Grail itself. Even so, it was the light that brightened the path of so many wealthy watch collectors, guiding them on their long impossible march to the Promised Land.
By abruptly extinguishing this light, Mr. Stern runs the risk of alienating his following. They may well turn to other, less “famous” watchmakers to scratch their horological itch.
Watchmaker F.P. Journe’s reputation is rising in leaps and bounds. Just look at the results of the latest auctions of fine watches, where the models bearing the Invenit et Fecit
motto dear to Lépine have exceeded the seven-figure hammer price for the
first time in their history.
Since Mr. Stern announced his decision to terminate the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 with extreme prejudice, the prices of the pre-owned and gray market steel 5711’s have doubled. In some cases, more. That’s ironic. Gerald Genta created the steel Nautilus (and the Royal Oak) to save the Swiss watch industry from the quartz crisis by using the cheaper material to “democratize luxury.”
In that sense, Patek Philippe’s President is killing the golden goose, returning the brand to its entirely aristocratic roots. We shall see if the strategy maintains Patek’s primacy or opens the door to another pretender, who will inevitably face the same dilemma. Because every important watchmaker ends up with a grail watch. To a greater or lesser extent, how they manage the model determines their future.
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Click here to purchase Franz Rivoira’s comprehensive book The Watch Manual
You can read more of his horological writing at Quora.com
To keep my finger on the pulse of the watch industry, I frequent forums and Facebook, where enthusiasts rant and rave about companies and models.
Better you than me, brother. Just like clubs after 2 AM, nothing good happens in watch forums.
“By abruptly extinguishing this light, Mr. Stern runs the risk of alienating his following.” Definitely not, it just gets rid of the youtube douchebag and the clowns that walk into all the gray market “dealers” thinking they’ll get a deal. That customer you want to get rid of which is why Rolex has creeped up. I think they’ve recognized that Journe has eclipsed them when it comes to the high end and the Nautilus kept that distinction going.
The market has changed enough so that it is not in danger from the smartwatch or quartz crisis, but more from inflation and various external forces.
Tell you a secret … “multi-millionaires” who enjoy watches, along with otherwise not being a tiny, tiny weird obsessed minority, don’t hang out on forums. Trust me on that one.
Second, most guys with money who itch for a watch, aren’t that hung up on a 5711. The people who are hung up on it are the few weirdo forum basement dwellers, and guys chasing the dream of making a quick 30k flipping that piece.
Other than that? Really? Guys like us will go buy any of the other many Pateks that are on offer. We really don’t care all that much exactly which model specifically. We like to treat ourselves to a nice watch. Maybe a Patek, maybe an AP, maybe even something else.
Much like most of the general public who might go buy a Rolex doesn’t know what a ‘Batgirl’ is or why xyz steel sports is a must have, those of us who might want a Patek are entirely fine with the choices available.
The forums and blogs are a separate little bubble of people that are just also weirdos in real life. The rest of us also enjoy nice cars, vacations, side piece girls, all the many other things that money is good for.
Don’t be another cheap cliche, feeding into the minority audience who really gives a flying F about one specific model of anything.
You mean like weirdos who post serial comments on blogs under a different name for each within a 20 minute span? 😀
Takes one to know one, Denny / M.K. / Kevin! 😛
My mom told me not to feed the trolls. Peace.
[…] else, despite Stern’s decision to cancel their aspirations? Or will they move to other brands – as suggested by our man Franz. That remains to be seen. The first part of the watchmaker’s famous tagline – “You never […]
[…] have enough mindshare to do the same. Rolex can stop time when it makes a product announcement. Patek’s bungled EOLing of the 5711 was the talk of watch blogs for weeks. When you have that kind of sway, why would you share the […]