Patek Philippe president Thierry Stern will not say how many of the new white gold Nautilus 5811 the company will produce, but demand is certain to exceed supply, which will bring the usual challenge of disappointing good customers to authorised dealers.
He is also refusing to say for how long the descendant of the iconic 5711 in stainless steel will be made, telling The Daily Telegraph, “I will stop production before there are too many of them and the value goes down.”
WATCHPRO was visiting a Patek Philippe AD in the United States on the day after the 5811 dropped, and the teams’ phones had not stopped pinging with requests from long-standing customers; most of whom will never be able to buy the new Nautilus.
“Each retailer will receive maybe one or two pieces and there will be thousands of people calling to inquire about buying one, so it will not b an easy situation for retailers, that’s for sure,” Mr Stern concedes.
Before anybody feels too sorry for these authorised dealers, remember these unicorn watches will be reserved for only the biggest spending customers, who are likely to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds at their chosen stores on other watches and jewellery in order to stand a chance of getting a 5811.
One AD told WATCHPRO that the rumour doing the rounds is that Tiffany & Co. — the only Patek Philippe authorised dealer in the world permitted to stock the almost mythical Tiffany Blue-dialed Nautilus 5711 — will sell that watch for the retail price of $52,635 if a customer buys other watches and jewellery totaling $300,000.
That is only if the customer passes the test of being important by virtue of their history with Patek Philippe and/or Tiffany. Being a mega celebrity probably helps.
There is no limit on the production of the white gold 5811, retailing for £56,190, and Mr Stern will not give any sort of figure on how many will be made and for how long.
“Is it going to be 500 piece or 5,000? It is difficult to say. There is not an exact number, it is a feeling,” he tells The Daily Telegraph.
