Patek Steel Market: Back on Track
In recent months, the Nautilus and Aquanaut models have shown signs of recovery in the secondary market
A New Record for the 5711
The headline of last week was undoubtedly the new record set by the Nautilus Ref. 5711/1500A, created as a one-off piece for the 30th anniversary of the Children Action charity. This timepiece fetched an astounding CHF 6,700,000 (approximately $7,560,000), surpassing the $6,503,500 achieved by the 5711/1A-018 "Tiffany" sold at Phillips in 2021 to Zach Lu.
What makes this unique piece so remarkable is its hand-engraved case and bracelet featuring Māori motifs, marking it as the first Nautilus with engraved decoration produced by the manufacture. Another factor driving its record-breaking price is the material: stainless steel, one of the rarest metals used by Patek Philippe.
Strong Performance for Patek’s Steel Models
While the secondary market has been experiencing stagnation for over a year, characterized by stable or declining prices, recent months have seen a return to positive trends for certain Patek steel models.
The PATEKPHILIPPE35 index, which tracks the 35 most famous Patek models, began 2024 at €105,298, hitting a low of €100,770 in September. However, October and November have shown a steady recovery, with the index climbing to €101,240 and €102,110, respectively.
Drilling down into individual models within this index reveals intriguing performances, particularly for steel timepieces.
Despite the general market trend, the Nautilus models in the photo performed well in 2024, with increases ranging from +11% to +14%, showing a strong correlation among the three timepieces. Most interestingly, the 5712, which is still in production, showed a higher increase than the iconic 5711, which is now discontinued. It is likely that Patek Philippe will soon discontinue this watch and move on to the next reference, even changing the material used, as was the case in the move from 5711/1A to 5811G. The market is already anticipating what many consider to be an imminent discontinuation, which is why the price is rising so rapidly and in high probability will rise further once the news is made official.
The Nautilus collection was also not the only one to show growth; the steel Aquanaut also recorded positive figures.
Compared to the Nautilus, the market performance of the Aquanaut is more subdued. In fact, compared to the price at the beginning of the year, the value is down -14.11%. The worst period was June, when the watch touched €43,536, but since then the price has been rising again, reaching €51,283 in July 2024. After that, values stabilized between August and September, and then registered another jump in November, peaking at €54,682.
Final Thoughts
Underlying these results is certainly the importance and iconicity that these models hold among enthusiasts and within the entire watch industry. For this reason, despite the general market trend, Nautlius and Aquanaut continue to perform well. This is compounded by Patek Philippe using steel less and less as a lever to increase the desirability of a product, as happened with the new Cubitus in steel and olive dial.
Another factor that could explain the increases in recent months is the release of Patek's new sports model, the Cubitus. Presented as the house's new entry-level sports watch, it has been rather poorly received by enthusiasts, as evidenced by rapid price declines in the secondary market. This choice, with a design very reminiscent of the Nautilus, ended up bringing attention back to the original model, contributing to the recent increase in its value.
