Has the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5990/1A-001 been discontinued? 

It’s safe to say that the Nautilus 5990/1a-001 has indeed been discontinued.  There were rumours about it being discontinued in late 2021 and by January 2022 it had been removed from the Patek Philippe website. 

The 5990 isn’t the only reference to be discontinued in 2022.  So what might be replacing these iconic pieces and what does that mean for you if you own one, or if you are on a waiting list for one? 

What does this mean for the value of a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5990/1A-001 now? 

Putting a value on a pre-owned watch is difficult because there are so many factors to consider.  The number one factor being: is it steel or gold?  Then, does it show any signs of wear?  Is it in good working condition?  Does it come with a full set? (Meaning the box and the papers).  If you have a 5990/1A-001 and you are interested in knowing the current value, contact Chrono Hunter.  

The retail price of the 5990 was just over £40,000.  Already the price has jumped by over £200,000.  So assuming the watch is in the best possible condition, the lower end of the price is likely to be around £175,000 - £250,000, but of course, this could change rapidly as the 5990 becomes more difficult to find.  

Why is it hard to find a Patek Philippe reference? 

Patek Philippe makes around 60,000 watches a year, which, compared to Rolex’s one million watches made per year makes it quite a small amount.  This accounts for the difficulty of finding the reference you want, and the far higher prices compared to Rolex watches. 

On the plus side, this means that owning a Patek Philippe watch that has been discontinued is a great investment piece to have right now.  If you do have one, find out the value of it with Chrono Hunter. 

A quick history of the Nautilus watch 

The Nautilus line began in 1976 with the reference 3700/1 in stainless steel.  Making a steel sports watch was a new idea at the time and designed by Gerald Genta, who also designed watches for the competition.  It had a 42mm case, which at the time was considered quite big.  The rounded hexagon shape of the bezel was inspired by the nautical look of the windows Genta was dining in at the time he designed the watch.   The windows were inspired by the portholes on trans-Atlantic liners of the day. 

Going along with the sea-faring theme, the name “Nautilus” was chosen because of the influence of the portholes, but more importantly, the fact that the watch was waterproof to a distance of 120 metres.  

In spite of the generous size of the watch, the depth of the case was very slim, at just 7.60mm.  The automatic calibre 28-255 C was based on Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 920.  The same movement was also used in the first Audemars Piguet Royal Oak reference 5402 as well as in the Vacheron Constantin 222.  At the time, the movement was quite revolutionary. 

Patek Philippe's “Travel Time” Chronograph with Stainless Steel, 34 jewel and horizontally embossed grey dial, was introduced in 2014. The 5990 has two timezones. The instantly recognizable rounded edge slightly octagonal bezel and clock face are a favourite with watch lovers. It is waterproof to 120 metres.  Stainless steel, fixed bezel, chronograph at 6 O’clock for chronograph minutes and date at 12 O’clock. Night and day indicators at 3 and 9 for local and home.  

One white faced Chronograph prototype was created in 1978 which sold at auction for 250,000 Swiss Francs in 2015.  In 2012 Patek actually added a white dial version of the Nautilus to the catalogue. 

If you were on the waiting list for a Nautilus 5990/1A-01, what happens now? 

As far as we are aware, if you’re on a waiting list for a reference that gets discontinued, you will not be transferred to another waiting list for another reference.  If the reference gets discontinued, so does the waiting list. 

This makes sense because only you can decide what your second choice will be.  However, if you were hoping for a Nautilus, maybe you’d consider a different style of Nautilus.  

If you were waiting for a 5990, you might want to consider looking for a reference 5980/1R or a 5800/1A-001.  Being Natulilus, these have the same kind of look as the 5990 with the gentle hexagonal case, but they are a little smaller.  The 5800 has water resistance to 120 metres, just like the 5990.  However, the 5800 has no water resistance. If you swim or do water sports, that may be an important consideration.   

The Nautilus 7118/1A is another 5990 look-alike except that there are no secondary dials and the case is 35mm.  Made of stainless steel, with a grey horizontal striped face just like the 5990, it is only waterproof to a depth of 60 metres.  Still iconic in its style and good looking on the wrist. 

The first “grand complication” of the Nautilus line was the 5740/1G-001.  This watch is a step up in luxury and retails at over £100,000.  However, it is made of white gold rather than steel, even though it maintains the rugged look of a sports watch.  It has a chronograph, two time zones and an annual calendar that tracks the correct number of days in each month, including the extra February day every four years. 

The 5726A-001 is another Nautilus you might like to consider.  With a 40.5mm steel case, it’s even more similar to the 5990 in size.  It comes with several complications, including an annual calendar, moonphase and 24-hour subdial.  

Things we love about the 5990/1A-01

The sheer elegance of the design of the 5990 makes it a popular collector’s piece.  The 40.5mm stainless steel case is bold yet comfortable, while the 12.8mm thickness - really quite slim compared to some other watch designs, means that it sits quite low on the wrist, making it easy to wear and easy to slide under a shirt cuff rather than getting caught on it.   It’s a good watch for a wrist that has a 14cm circumference.  It measures 51mm from endlink to endlink and has a  clamshell locking mechanism.  

The 28520 calibre movement, 34 jewel watch has two time zones and is  120 metres water resistant.  The bonus is the see-through back so you can view the mechanism.  This watch is truly iconic in style and is historically interesting. 

Other references being discontinued 

Reasons for a watch manufacturer discontinuing certain models can be more than one and might include: 

• There may be a new design coming that they need to make room in their catalogue for
• There may be technical advances in the watch such as new materials 
• There may be a new type of movement in the works 
• There may be new complications being added 

This isn’t the only Nautilus reference to be discontinued.  Many others - more than twenty, in fact, appear to be on the chopping block, including the 5711/1R-001, 5711/1A-014 and the  5711/1300A-001, to name just a few. 

In December 2021, Patek Philippe announced a new technology in their chiming watches - an unusual feature of luxury watches for which they are famous.  Their chiming watches are designed not only to deliver the chimes with precise timing but also to deliver a beautiful sound that is pleasing to the ear and has the most desired fade time. 

Recently, Patek Philippe has designed an enhanced volume feature for their chiming watches (named “fortissimo”) which delivers a louder chime sound while maintaining clear audio with no distortion.  The sound of the watch chime can be heard at six times the distance of the normal chime.  They achieved this by using an oscillating wafer which, as you can imagine, has to be incredibly miniature.  

A special edition line of 15 watches will begin the roll-out of this new technology and will be well worth checking out if you like the idea of adding a Patek Philippe chiming watch to your collection.  

Patek Philippe started up an “Advanced Research” department in 2005.  Working alongside their normal Research and Development department, they are aiming to take watch design and development to the next level.  Could this be the reason for the thinning out of their catalogue? 

With so many discontinued references, it might be a clue that something very exciting is coming up in the near future!  Watch this space!

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