It has been talked about for a year, yet upon hearing the news that the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 in steel is going out of production, some people reacted with dismay. Recommendations, waiting lists, compulsive purchases of other watches to ingratiate themselves with dealers while waiting for him, the holy grail of luxury sportsmen, were not enough. In the end, not everyone who thought they 'deserved it' managed to buy one. To fasten on the wrist, as would be logical, or to resell at a high price.
Consider that at the Phillips auction last 20 July, a 2016 Ref. 5711/1A-010, still in its sealed box, fetched HK600,000 (about €64,000), more than double its list price.
It is sad to see in the auction catalogue the watch still in its sealed plastic and cardboard box, just as it came out of the factory. Because what we are witnessing is not collecting, but pure - and small - speculation.
Collecting is driven by desire, by the fever to possess the unobtainable object. The one you flaunt in the right circles to say, as in the shampoo advertisement: 'Because I am worth it'.
Two historic Ferraris were released in 1984: the Testarossa and the new 288 GTO. The latter had an exclusive production run, so much so that only 272 examples were built in total, and it sold for around 200 million lire at the time. For the Testarossa, 170 was 'enough'. I was a child in 1984 and I can't really say why I remember this funny anecdote, told one evening by my father laughing out loud. An acquaintance of his had gone to Maranello to buy a GTO, but he was refused because he was not yet a Ferrari customer. So he 'elegantly' pointed to a Testarossa, asked the price and bought it: 'I am now a customer. I would like to buy a GTO'.
A final curiosity. The news of the definitive withdrawal from the 5711 catalogue was actually an indiscretion, later confirmed by Patek Philippe. The image published on social media is nothing more than a screenshot of the communication sent by the company to its dealers.
