Photo courtesy of Patek Philippe

Patek Philippe releases an anniversary watch to mark four decades of its iconic Nautilus.  With the creation of such a piece, the challenge is preserving the legend while simultaneously innovating the watch towards modernity. The Nautilus, as always, rises to the occasion, and here we give you 10 good reasons why this stunning limited edition piece should be part of your collection.

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 1. Go for Gold

The Nautilus Chronograph Ref. 5976/1G 40th Anniversary Limited Edition has an automatic movement with a 21-karat gold rotor.

 

2. Worthy Successor

Its predecessor, the Ref. 5980, was the first chronograph in the Nautilus line. It was released in 2006 to mark the model’s 30th anniversary.

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 3. Bigger and Better

The case is 30mm in diameter—3.6mm wider than the Ref. 5980. It’s also more robust and easier
to read with a bigger date window, hour and minute counters.

 

4. Out of the Box 

It comes in a box made from brown cork—an exact replica of the one the first Nautilus came in when it was released in 1976.

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 5. Power Play

Its impressive power reserve of up to 55 hours, or more than two days, is guaranteed.

 

6. Elite Club

The Ref. 5976/1G is crafted entirely in white gold and Patek Philippe will produce just 1,300 of them.

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 7. The Hours

Hours are represented by 0.30 carats of flawless Top Wesselton baguette and princess-cut diamonds.

 

8. All-in-One

It’s packed with features, including a flyback function, instantaneous date change with a switching cycle of one-tenth of a second, and the watchmaker’s Gyromax balance wheel.

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 9. Crystal Clear

It has a sapphire crystal case back revealing the movement’s elaborate details such as polished bores and gold-filled engravings with blued screws and ruby-red jewel bearings.

 

10. Perfect Finish

Vertical satin finishing on the bezel, high polishing on chamfers and alternating matte/mirror polishing on the bracelet links.

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 This article was published in the December 2016 edition of Hong Kong Tatler.