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Antiquorum gambles on selling a factory sealed Patek Philippe olive green Nautilus

Monaco auctioneer will test the market for the 2021 5711/1A steel Nautilus with a reserve price of €50,000 to €150,000.

Two things strike me about the breaking news that Antiquorum will auction a brand new, factory sealed Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5711/1A — the steel model with an olive green dial that launched in April — at its July 21 sale.

First, what will Patek Philippe and its authorised dealers think and could there be a backlash against Antiquorum?

Patek Philippe ADs live under constant terror that one of their customers will flip a Nautilus and they could lose the brand because the watchmaker believes its integrity is tarnished if instant profits are made in this way.

Secondly, I am fascinated by what price Antiquorum achieves for the watch.

Antiquorum’s photographs of the 5711/1A show the watch still in its factory sealed inner plastic packaging.

Patek Philippe instructs its authorised dealers to remove this packaging as part of its measures to deter sales to grey market flippers.

Sealed watches command premium prices because it is guaranteed they have not been worn.

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Antiquorum has provided a photograph showing the watch’s certificate, and even displays its serial number and movement reference number.

Using these reference numbers, Patek Philippe will be able to trace which of its authorised dealers sold the watch.

A Patek Philippe retailer, who asked not to be named, told WatchPro today said that if they did not remove the inner plastic packaging on a watch that ended up being resold, it would lead to instant dismissal as an authorised dealer.

This level of policing by Patek Philippe is deemed necessary because ridiculous prices are being asked online for the stainless steel green Nautilus.

It is less clear whether customers are actually buying, which makes the Antiquorum auction all the more interesting because it will set a secondary market price for the green Nautilus.

On June 22, we reported an example appearing on Jomashop for $363,600, more than ten times its retail price of $35,000. We checked again today (July 6) and the watch is still on sale.

When that Jomashop story ran, we could find very few of the new reference on sale. Chrono24 had four listed, three of which were “Price on Request”, which likely means the dealers do not actually have the watch, and the fourth is advertised for $362,225 by a dealer said to be in Dubai. eBay and Chronext had none on offer.

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Antiquorum says it is delighted to be the first auctioneer to sell the 2021 Nautilus.

“The Patek Philippe Nautilus continues to be one of the biggest bestsellers in watchmaking. An incredibly coveted and sought-after model, we are honoured and proud to offer for the first time at auction a Ref. 5711/1A in fantastic condition, which since its introduction in 2021 by the brand is already sold out everywhere,” says Antiquorum CEO Romain Réa.

The watch has been consigned from its original owner and factory sealed, allowing bidders a rare opportunity to acquire a brand-new Nautilus that is currently incredibly difficult to obtain, Antiquorum describes.

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1 Comment

  1. The watch dealers are operating some sort of ponzi scheme, watch buying is a total joke now.

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