Patek Philippe Nautilus

I was at my dealer the other day and he told me he had a special watch he was saving for me. He pulled out this gorgeous Iced Patek Philippe Nautilus! I couldn’t believe my eyes! The way the curved crystal played with the light!

Today I would like to highlight my Patek Philippe Nautilus Reference 5726. This is the annual calendar version of the Nautilus. Having held a 5711, 5712, 5980R and a 5740P, I feel like the 5726 is as perfect of a modern nautilus as one can currently buy.

But having watched the gray market prices steadily climb and then explode with the news of it being discontinued, I started looking at other models in the Nautilus range and fell in love with the 5740 after handling one in-person. I purchased it from a trusted reseller at an absurd markup over MSRP. Is it worth that price? Of course not, but it is a fantastic watch and as long as the market doesn't crash anytime soon I feel okay with the money being tied up in it.

Whereas the Edifice is a tiny bit more expensive so I would only wear it on the weekends. But the Holy Grail of the Collection: the Nautilus, is a watch that I would wear on very special occasions, for example a wedding, or a family member’s birthday party.

This was the first Swiss watch that really 'spoke' to me, the horizontal lines paired with a sunburst effect and the unique applied indices really make this a design you don't see anywhere else except maybe the Patek Nautilus with similar horizontal lines but that's pretty much where the similarities end. The exhibition caseback display of the movement is also neat, though I honestly don't find myself peering at it that often.

And at 36mm in case diameter and a svelte 7.5mm thick, it’s ideal for my 6” wrist. The bracelet is smooth and comfortable and evenly distributes the weight of the watch around the wrist.

Patek Philippe Nautilus 5726/1a-014. Feels great on the arm and is a joy to wear.

Lee Michaels is the Patek AD in Baton Rouge, great people to work with. Even back in 2014 the blue Nautilus was pretty unobtainable, and I literally called every AD in the country and left my contact info. Most laughed at me, but Lee Michaels called me back a week later because their wait-listed buyer backed out when the watch showed up. For real “forever” pieces like the Nautilus, Daytona, Journe, and Speedy I want my name on the papers.

Just got our first Patek Philippe Nautilus Travel Time Chronograph Reference 5990/1, rose gold version. The stunning sunburst blue dial features an embossed horizontal pattern and applied hour-markers. The baton-style hands are in rose gold with a luminescent coating. This new model combines three highly sought-after complications: a self-winding flyback chronograph, an easy-to-use Travel Time function (dual time-zone), and a date display, coupled with local time.