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Tiffany & Co’s Patek Philippe Nautilus sells for over US$6 million at auction

The timepiece, one of only 170 pieces that exist, went under the hammer at a Phillips auction in New York, and fetched more than 100 times its retail price.

Tiffany & Co’s Patek Philippe Nautilus sells for over US$6 million at auction

The limited edition Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref 5711 made exclusively for Tiffany & Co. (Photo: Phillips)

What could possibly make a Patek Philippe Nautilus more desirable than it already is? The answer – an exquisite Tiffany Blue dial.

A limited edition Patek Philippe Nautilus designed in conjunction with Tiffany & Co has sold for more than US$6 million (S$8.2 million) at a live Phillips auction on Dec 11.

The watch, which features a Tiffany Blue dial, went under the hammer for US$5.35 million, with the auction house premium taking the total price tag to US$6.5 million. This makes the timepiece the eighth most expensive watch ever sold at auction.  

The timepiece features dual stamping of the signatures Tiffany & Co at 6 o’clock and Patek Philippe at 12 o’clock. (Photo: Phillips)

Proceeds from the sale will be donated to The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental organisation headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

The Tiffany & Co Patek Philippe Nautilus was only recently released. The timepiece, Nautilus Ref 5711/1A-018, was designed to celebrate the 170th anniversary of the partnership between the jeweller and watchmaker. An initial agreement in 1851 made Tiffany & Co the first official retail partner for Patek Philippe timepieces in the US.

Aside from a Tiffany Blue dial, the timepiece features dual stamping of the signatures Tiffany & Co at 6 o’clock, and Patek Philippe at 12 o’clock. A sapphire-crystal case back bears the commemorative inscription “170th Anniversary 1851-2021 Tiffany & Co – Patek Philippe”.

The sapphire-crystal case back with commemorative inscription. (Photo: Phillips)

Only 170 pieces are available exclusively at Tiffany boutiques that carry Patek Philippe in New York, Beverly Hills and San Francisco in the US for a retail price of US$52,635. The timepiece that sold at the Phillips auction is the first of the limited edition series and the only publicly available example. The auction price achieved is more than 100 times retail.

The announcement of the timepiece took the world by surprise. Steel Nautiluses are highly sought-after by collectors. In April 2021, Patek Philippe revealed the retirement of the 5711. An olive green dial version was released, meant to be the last of the Nautilus 5711.

In an auction held in July this year, a Nautilus with olive green dial sold for almost half a million dollars, 11 times its retail price.

Source: CNA/st/ds

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