This $52,000 watch sold for over $6.5M
From Patek Philippe’s farewell Nautilus to Rolex copycats and the rise of turquoise dials—the wild story behind a $52K watch selling for millions.
The Tiffany & Co Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711
In 2021, a stainless steel watch with a turquoise dial sold for a jaw-dropping $6.5 million. Why? The answer involves Patek Philippe, Tiffany & Co., the end of an icon—and a color trend that spiraled into madness.
Lets start from the beginning. In 2021 Patek Philippe turned 170 years old and they did two major things that year. The first, they decided the discontinue the 5711 line in January that year. The second, they made one final release of the 5711… the turquoise Tiffany& Co stamped dial.
It was made extremely limited, just 170 pieces. So an already sought after discontinued model had just hit the market for the very last time, all collectors wanted one. It was priced at ‘just’ $52,350, obviously you couldn’t just walk into Patek and buy one, you had to be invited so retail price doesn’t matter much in this instance as if you were invited, it’s likely $52k was pennies to you.
But the first watch was was sold at auction, with the proceeds being donated to ‘The Nature Conservancy’. People estimated it would sell somewhere between $750,000 to $1 Million. No one expected it to sell for $6.5 Million, which made it one of the most expensive watches ever sold. What led to this massive price? It was a mixture of everything:
Limited to 170 pieces
Tiffany& Co stamped dial
Last release of the 5711
Proceeds donated to charity
Peak of the watch market (Covid times)
170 years of Patek
In the coming months celebrities such as Jay-Z and Leonardo DiCaprio were seen wearing it and its price now sits around $1.5 Million (still not cheap, but much less than its peak).
More about the Nautilus
The Nautilus was born in 1976, designed by the legendary Gérald Genta—the same designer behind the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. At the time, the idea of a luxury sports watch in stainless steel was revolutionary. Watches in steel weren’t supposed to be expensive. But Genta flipped that narrative on its head, and the Nautilus—particularly with its porthole-inspired case and integrated bracelet—slowly became a cult favorite.
Fast forward to 2006, when Patek Philippe released the Nautilus 5711/1A to mark the 30th anniversary of the original Nautilus. It wasn’t flashy or loud. It was thin, understated, and had a simple three-hand design with a date window. But it had that magic blend of sporty elegance that made it perfect for any occasion—from a beach club to a boardroom.
Over the years, as hype around luxury steel sports watches exploded, so did demand for the 5711. Celebrities wore it. Collectors obsessed over it. Waitlists stretched out for 10 years or more. And even though its retail price hovered around $30,000–$35,000, secondary market prices soared well past $100,000 even before the Tiffany version was announced.
By the time Patek announced in 2021 that they were discontinuing the 5711 altogether, demand was already at an all time high.
What then happened was even crazier. Rolex. They had released a turquoise dial Oyster Perpetual. It’s retail price was set at $6,100 but because it shared the same dial colour as the Patek it was seen selling on the grey-market for price of over $20,000. Just because of the dial colour! And not just Rolex saw this, all turquoise dial watches were selling like a wild fire.
Has the release of the Patek brought turquoise back into fashion? As recently Tudor released a turquoise dial Black-Bay chronograph. Honestly, if you’re looking for a great watch for the money, look at the Tudor. They have some really great pieces and don’t hesitate to contact me if you’re looking for one, I will try my best to get you sorted out!
Not only Tudor, but this year we have seen Rolex release a turquoise dial Daytona. Now what are your thoughts on it? I first saw images of it about a month before release in some leaks and I thought it had to be a joke, it looked like a child’s watch. Then it was released and I was NOT a fan at all. I remember posting about it on X and most of the comments were in agreement with it, what was Rolex thinking???
As time went on and I saw more of it, I kinda started to like it. The colours started to look better together and I thought it was a nice watch. It’s always hard to judge a watch just from pictures though and I will update you on my thoughts when I finally get to try one on in person.
The price of this watch on the second hand market has sky-rocketed recently, its sitting at around $160,000.
Actually all the new releases are selling for much higher than retail, the Gold 1908 Jubilee is selling for around $72,000 and the new white gold sprite for around $67,000. This boost is likely just because they are new and harder to find as well, over the next year or so I’d expect to see around a 10-20% drop in price, so if your looking to make money on a watch, I would not recommend buying any of those watches.
Watch of the week: Zenith Chronomaster Original
Movement: Elm primero 3600
Price: $10,000
Nickname: ‘The modern classic’
This watch is a direct descendant of the original El Primero A386, one of the world’s first automatic chronographs, released in 1969. But unlike many “vintage reissues,” the Chronomaster Original keeps the vintage case size (38mm), the overlapping tri-colour subdials, and that iconic red chrono hand—all while packing in one of the most technically advanced chronograph movements on the market today.
The El Primero 3600 movement beats at a lightning-fast 36,000 vibrations per hour (5Hz), which means the chronograph hand can measure time to 1/10th of a second—a rare and visually stunning feature that gives the central chrono hand a smooth, almost liquid sweep.
It’s not just about specs though. The watch carries immense heritage. Zenith famously hid its El Primero tooling in the attic during the Quartz Crisis to preserve it—one of the boldest acts of horological defiance in history. That same spirit lives in this piece.