Patek Philippe is a watchmaker known for luxury. Tiffany & Co. is also known for luxury. Now Patek Philippe and Tiffany & Co. are celebrating 170 years of their alliance as Patek Philippe has created a limited-edition run of its Nautilus wristwatches (Ref. 5711). The limited edition will be kept to just 170 units and the watches will be presented in steel and will be endowed with Tiffany’s famous Blue dials.

Each of the 170 watches will be dual stamped on the face with “Tiffany & Co.” at the bottom for 6 o’clock and with the 12 o’clock Patek Philippe on top. This is also as Tiffany & Co. ownership is now under luxury giant LVMH. According to the press release, this icon premiered in 2006 and will be retired from the collection in 2022.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates high-end collectibles as an alternative asset class. Some watches attract watch afficionados and investors alike. Perhaps the only question that needs to be asked is whether or not a person who can afford to buy this watch will want to part with it for a mere profit.

(Image above at Patek.com)

According to a CNBC reference, this watch launch is likely to set wealthy watch collectors into a buying frenzy. The move is also expected to send demand (and prices) higher. That is just what collectors and those who invest in collectibles want to hear.

This supposed to be the formal end of Ref. 5711, less than a year after Patek discontinued this watch. With only 170 being made, and with prior releases seeing such strong demand, these are not likely to last in the Tiffany boutiques for long. Patek Philippe had previously discontinued the watch as the company noted its attention and demand had gone too far.

The base of this watch had previously sold for roughly $30,000 and was on wait-list. In the secondary markets the price was exponentially higher. Reports have put the retail price around $52,000 and only be available at the Tiffany boutiques in New York, Beverly Hills and San Francisco that carry Patek Philippe. As for the sapphire-crystal case’s back, it bears the inscription “170th Anniversary 1851-2021 Tiffany & Co. – Patek Philippe.”

The December 6, 2021 press release confirmed:

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.

An exclusive watch partnership and release is not new between these companies. The previous limited editions Patek Philippe made especially for Tiffany & Co. were listed as follows:

• (2001) Refs. 5150R, 5150J & 5150G – 450 watches made, to celebrate the 150th year of partnership between the two companies, with 150 in rose gold, 150 in yellow gold, and 150 in white gold.
• (2009) Refs. 4987G-001 & 4987G-010 – 100 watches, for the first anniversary of the Patek Philippe Boutique at Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue in New York, with 50 watches with white dials and 50 with black dials.
• (2012) Refs. 4987G-001 & 4987G-010 – 50 watches, for the 5th anniversary of the Patek Philippe Boutique at Tiffany &
  Co. on Fifth Avenue in New York, with the Gondolo ladies’ wristwatch featuring art deco accents, a slightly cambered tonneau-shaped case, two rows of diamonds and large Roman numerals – broken down as 25 watches with a blue sunburst dial and 25 watches with a mother-of-pearl dial.
• (2012) Ref. 5396G-012 – 100 watches, with the men’s watch made in white gold with an annual calendar which displays the day of the week and the month.

The word “invest” was not listed anywhere in the press release, but it’s more than just likely some buyers of this watch will know they can buy the Ref. 5711/1A-018 Nautilus watch and have an instant profit if they want to.