Opinion – Thoughts on the Patek Philippe Nautilus ref.5711 (and why I didn’t buy one)
The segment of luxury sports watches remains an interesting and intriguing category in the world of watches. Since the very first luxury sports watch was introduced in 1972 – the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref. 5402ST – many brands have tried to enter this segment, most of them without the success they had envisioned. The watch we will be looking at today did succeed, and might just have superseded the immense success of the Royal Oak. I’m talking about the Patek Philippe Nautilus and today we’ll be looking at this extremely popular luxury sports watch.
One of my favourite quasi-apocryphal watch tales goes like this: There’s a guy who, for lack of anything better or more pressing to do with his life, decides to yacht-hop his way from home to Australia. Somewhere along the way, his watch (a Rolex, natch) is lost at sea. Upon mooring his boat, said sailor runs a comb through his sun-bleached locks, dons his finest T-shirt, shorts and shoes (perhaps Crocs, though hopefully not), and makes his way to the nearest Rolex boutique. Said boutique, in the manner of snooty, apocryphal boutiques everywhere, treats the intrepid traveller with disdain. The traveller, with the means and freedom to sail his yacht around the globe without a care in the world, navigates his way to another retailer and, in true Pretty Woman style, plonks down cash for a solid gold Yacht-Master (natch). I’m sure you’ve heard this story, or a local variant of it, before. It’s a good one. And even if the tale didn’t really happen, there’s a kernel of truth in there. Don’t judge people on their appearances. Not only is it bad sales in an age where streetwear reigns supreme, it’s also generally a not nice thing to do.…
A little over a week ago I found myself paying more attention than usual to the pre-flight safety spiel. Perhaps due to the fact that I was standing in a sunny clearing, looking at a helicopter. “Don’t go near the tail rotor, don’t put your hands up when you get out, and if you lose your hat, don’t worry about it.” Sensible life advice. Half an hour and a hundred-odd kilometres later I found myself looking down at my destination: a sweeping golden-brown field on the top of a mountain — Spicers Peak Lodge. It’s a beautiful location, sweeping vistas and high country that is equal parts stunning and Australian. It’s also, thanks in no small part to its elevated position, the perfect place to learn more about Montblanc, a brand for which the mountain is more than a literal logo. It’s also a metaphor for the pursuit of something higher, something greater. Given all that, it makes perfect sense that my wristwear of choice for the weekend was the TimeWalker Date Automatic, a no-fuss number that’s made with action in mind … My first impression was … that it was lighter than expected. This isn’t my first foray with…
Editors note: Fancy a date? If you’re single and ready to mingle, this question, when asked by the right person, would likely be met with rapturous approval, but ask someone who’s into watches and the answer is a lot less sure. Few elements of watch design are as contentious as the seemingly innocuous date window. Where some see a useful calendar tool, others see a symbol of all that is wrong with the world. Last year I went into bat for the humble date, and we thought it was about time to revisit it … We’ve got a surprisingly complex relationship with date windows in the Time+Tide office. And not just because we’ve been known to forget to set them on occasion. No, every time we review a vintage reissue, it can be assured that we’ll have a host of comments on various social media platforms that read something like this: “Love the design, but they RUINED it with that ugly date window.” I understand this reaction and, to be fair, there are plenty of sloppily designed date windows out there. But ruining a watch? I’m not so sure. A few years ago we were interviewing Walter von Känel, CEO of Longines,…