Patek Philippe

TonyR
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Patek Philippe Nautilus 5800 review ( & comparison vs the Aquanaut)

By chance, a month and a half ago I got my first Patek Philippe watch. It was an Aquanaut ref 5065/1a and it was a watch that I never considered owning before I purchased it that day. I was always a believer that Patek’s where way over priced for what you get. I must admit that I still feel to a certain extent they are not two or three times as nice (price wise) vs an equivalent VC or AP but the watch was so well done and so impressive in person that I immediately had my eye on another Patek. I like Patek’s sport models very much so I wanted another one and the Nautilus fit the bill nicely.

Before making the purchase of the Nautilus 5800 I did a search on the various forums to see some pictures and get some info. Aside from the fact that there is very little information in regards to the 5800 posted on the forums, I called about six or seven grey market dealers just to get an idea of its availability. Only two dealers had one and both where selling them way over list. The other dealers could not get or haven’t ever had a 5800 in stock. They all had the 5711’s in steel. (At prices above list as well) This lead me to believe that the watch was either very hard to get or not very popular. With that being said, below are some pictures of the watch as well as a comparison against the Aquanaut which I thought would be helpful seeing that people try to decide between these models all the time:

First of all, the new box is a major improvement over the old ones. When your buying a watch at this price level you expect an impressive display and the new box certainly doesn't disappoint.





This is how Patek used to package thier steel watches. As you can see, the new boxes are a major improvement.






Here are some side by side shots of both watches. I was surprised at the diameter of the Nautilus when I first looked at the watch. It measures 38.4 mm from wing to wing but looks smaller than the Aquanaut which measures 38 mm. The dial and crystal on the Nautilus is smaller which in turn makes the appearance of the watch look smaller than what it really is.







Here are some head shots.









Both watches have outstanding bracelets. I like them both very much for different reasons. The old Aquanaut bracelet is very sporty and matches the dial of the watch perfectly. The Nautilus bracelet is pure elegance. Both are extremely comfortable the only knock I have is that the Aquanaut’s clasp is a little hard to unhook. It looks like Patek fixed that with the new bracelet design on the 5167.







As you can see both cases are thin. The watches are very light as well, they almost feel like your not wearing a watch when you have one on your wrist.



The bezels look almost exactly the same, although I slightly like the look of the Aquanaut’s case better. I could do without the wing on the left hand side of the Nautilus.





The movements are very similar looking and top notch as far as finishing goes.







Here are some wrist shots.









Here are some shots of both watches with a 42mm VC Overseas Chronograph. This should give you a good idea of how these two stack up in appearance against a bigger watch.





In ending I have to say I like both watches very much. As far as the Nautilus goes if your wrist is 7 inches or smaller the 5800 is going to fit perfectly (my wrist is 6.5 inches) If your wrist is above 7 inches I would go with the 5711. I would say that both the Nautilus and Aquanaut have a place in the collection with the Aquanaut being a little sportier and the Nautilus a little dressier. If I had to choose one over the other it would be the Nautilus only because I have to wear a suit everyday to work. I would be curious to hear what everyone else's preferences are. All in all, I hope this review was helpful.

Tony
This message has been edited by MTF on 2008-06-15 03:30:54

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