In the last decade, double-signed watches have become a thing and are now some of the most coveted timepieces out there. When I look back at auction results from twenty or thirty years ago —yes I have some very old catalogs in my possession—, these double-signed watches were not priced like they are today. Commanding a high premium when compared to models that don’t include the name of a famous retailer on their dials, double-signed timepieces have simply skyrocketed. In my opinion, the culprits are some of the auction houses over-hyping some of these watches, some new watch collectors flexing on Instagram, and lastly, the person controlling the allocation of these timepieces at Tiffany that allowed for many watch dealers disguised as watch collectors to get their hands on some of the double-signed watches to feed the frenzy.
While I personally see no value in having a double-signed dial showing the name of a retailer like Tiffany, Serpico y Laino, Gübelin, Cartier, and Türler next to a big name like Patek Philippe, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, or Vacheron Constantin, I do see that you somewhat devalue your brand by adding a household brand name like Tiffany & Co. to it. Regardless of my humble opinion, there are others out there that see it as the ultimate watch grail to own, but to each his own.
Now, let me play devil’s advocate here for a minute.
Other than Patek Philippe, when was the last time that you saw the name of a famous retailer on the dial of a modern watch in the last 40 years? The answer is almost never other than the AP Royal Oak Offshore Scuba made for Wempe a while back. If you feel like correcting me, please drop me a line, and will edit this article accordingly.
Even though there are some partnerships out there like the one between Tudor and Bucherer, the Heritage Black Bay Bronze Blue Bucherer does not include ‘Bucherer’ on the dial. Have you ever asked yourself why? Well, probably because Rolex —the brand that owns Tudor— knows better, and doing something like that would devalue the perceived value of their sister brand. But I could always be wrong.
Now, back to the ‘hyped’ Patek Nautilus Tiffany 170th anniversary. This past Monday, December 6, 2021, Patek Philippe dropped yet another limited edition run of the Nautilus after having discontinued the reference at the end of January 2021 and after having presented an olive green sunburst dial Nautilus reference 5711/1A-014 back in April 2021 during Watches & Wonders 2021 that was meant to be the Nautilus’ last edition. Regardless, now there is another ‘last edition’ this time reference 5711/1A-018 in a 170-piece run endowed with a double-signed Tiffany Blue dial to commemorate the 170th Anniversary of the partnership between Patek and Tiffany.
How many more ‘last editions’ are we going to see of the Nautilus 5711 before is gone for good?
In Patek Philippe’s words: “It pays tribute to the 170-year shared vision and the historic ties that link Patek Philippe with the United States. Only a quantity of 170 units will be available exclusively in the Tiffany boutiques in New York, Beverly Hills, and San Francisco that carry Patek Philippe. Tiffany & Co. will auction off one of the commemorative watches with Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo on December 11th, with 100% of proceeds benefitting The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental organization.”
Now, what do you guys think about the very ‘discreet’ almost ‘purposefully concealed’ “LVMH” on the number one of 2021 imprinted on the display case back of the watch?
Clearly, LVMH —who recently acquired Tiffany & Co. after the deal almost fell through and even had to recur to litigation— needed to put their mark no matter what on this particular watch. Was this done for some reason that goes beyond the mere fact that they now own Tiffany & Co.? What do you guys think?
Unlike Audemars Piguet —which is still in the hands of the direct descendants of their founders—, the original founders of Patek Philippe, Antoine Norbert de Patek, and Jean Adrien Philippe who founded Patek, Czapek & Cie. in 1839, have nothing to do with today’s Patek Philippe. Don’t forget that in 1932, Patek Philippe was acquired by Jean and Charles Henri Stern, the two brothers that were owners of a fine dial manufacture in Geneva, Switzerland, and that they are not linked in any way to the original founders of the company.
Lastly, with regards to the upcoming Phillips auction where this new watch will be offered for sale, I have to take my hat off and congratulate Patek for putting the first of these watches up for sale and for donating those proceeds to The Nature Conservancy. However, this seems more like the perfect move to set the bar really high for where the secondary market pricing should be taking off from, rather than a mere act of kindness on their end.
Do you remember the olive green Nautilus reference 5711/1A-014 that sold for almost half a million dollars at Antiquorum? You can read about it here. Afterward, don’t forget to read my investigative report on Gregory Pau who consigned that watch to Antiquorum.
Considering the current prices for anything related to 5711s or Nautiluses, my educated guess is that this new Patek Nautilus Tiffany 170th Anniversary ref. 5711/1A-018 will sell north of one million dollars when the Phillips hammer comes down tomorrow December 11th, 2021 in New York City.
Now, let’s wait and see the dog and pony show!
