Nautilus 5990/1R

Since 1839 the company has carried on the vision of its founders Norbert de Patek and Adrien Philippe, bringing to life countless inventions and innovations. Owned and operated by the Stern family since 1932, Geneva’s last family-owned independent watch manufacturer sits at the cutting edge of watchmaking technology. Patek Philippe maintains a tradition of innovation, boasting an impressive repertoire of more than 80 patents, including the Minute Repeater, Annual Calendar, and the Perpetual Calendar.

The history of the Patek Philippe Nautilus is closely linked to the history of another iconic timepiece, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, whose creation in 1972 defined the whole new category of luxury wristwatches in stainless steel.

Following the growing success of the Royal Oak, Patek Philippe decided that it was time to also develop an exclusive sport watch with finishes of the highest quality.

For Patek Philippe this new model had a key role for its overall marketing strategy as it had to refresh the brand image while perpetuating tradition. The target was represented by dynamic business managers of the new generations.

The inspiring idea was the shape of a porthole, like those that could be found on transatlantic liners. The patented case was formed by a solid backcase/middlecase monobloc and the distinctive octagonal bezel secured to it by four lateral screws to ensure water-resistance. Each of the eight sides of the bezel were subtly curved to trace a perfect arc of a circle, a subtle detail making a big difference from a design point of view.

The name of the watch was taken from the Jules Verne's novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" where Nautilus is the submariner used by Captain Nemo. It was a lucky choice although the new watch was not actually a professional diver even if it offered a water resistance of 120 metres thanks to the particular structure of the case. In fact, the combination of the wide lugs with the lateral ears provided uniform compression on a rubber gasket that allowed the case to become more resistant to penetration as water pressure increased.

The watch

The Nautilus Travel Time Chronograph Reference 5990/1R in a generous rose gold version contrasting with the sunburst blue dial featuring an embossed horizontal pattern and applied hour-markers.

The baton-style hands are in rose gold with a luminescent coating. This new model combines three highly sought-after complications: a self-winding flyback chronograph, an easy-to-use Travel Time function (dual time-zone), and a date display, coupled with local time.