It’s Cleaning Day at Patek Philippe, With (Apparently) 24 References To Be Discontinued, Incl. All 5711s

Products are introduced. Products have a commercial life. Products are discontinued. There’s nothing exceptional in this, it’s named a product life cycle… Regularly, for various reasons, watch brands add or remove some references from their collections, whether because of a need to innovate, because of the introduction of a new design, because a new movement is coming, or because the product isn’t successful enough. Classic business practices. And, of course, we don’t report on every discontinuation on the market. But when a brand such as Patek Philippe is about to remove 24 references from its collection, there’s something special happening. Indeed, you’ve read correctly. According to well-informed and usual very reliable sources, such as Jasem Al Zeraei a.k.a @patekaholic, 24 references, including all Nautilus 5711s and many more models, are about to disappear… 

Overview

As said, and of course this should be taken with precautions as Patek Philippe has not yet confirmed that all references will be gone soon, there will be 24 models discontinued in the collection, covering watches from the Complications, Grande Complications, Calatrava, Twenty-4 and, of course, the Nautilus collection – the latter being confirmed since all the models mentioned below are already out of the brand’s website.

Let’s now have a closer look at all references to be (apparently) discontinued… And maybe speculate a bit on the reasons behind these discontinuations.

The Nautilus Collection

Starting with the obvious, the Nautilus. As now officially stated by the brand, and something that we’ve come to expect for about a year, the classic time-and-date Patek Philippe Nautilus, known as the reference 5711, is out of production. It was the case already for the classic steel-and-blue model since mid-2021, but now all models bearing the reference 5711 are gone. This includes the short-produced 5711/1A-014 with its coveted olive green dial, but also its counterpart with a diamond-set bezel. The rose gold version, with a chocolate-brown dial, known as reference 5711/1R-001, has also been removed from the collection. In short, there are no 5711s anymore available from Patek Philippe.

What can we expect? It seems legit to think that Patek will launch sooner or later (maybe sooner than later) a new time-and-date Nautilus, with probably a new movement, replacing the Calibre 26-330, an evolution of the Calibre 324 (please give us more power reserve…) We’d like to see some updates on the bracelet too, maybe with interchangeability and fine-adjustment. But, most probably, the update will remain discreet as Patek Philippe isn’t really allowed to mess with such an icon… Or maybe, there won’t be anything new in the field of the classic Nautilus, and the 5711 will be the last of the time-and-date models… Who knows? Let us know in the comments what you’d like to see coming from Patek as a replacement for the defunct 5711, a watch that has been introduced in 2006 for the 30th anniversary of the birth of this legendary watch.

In addition to all 5711 models, Patek Philippe is also removing the stainless edition of the Nautilus Travel Time Chronograph – the reference 5990/1A-001 – from its collection. The full gold edition of this watch (launched in 2021) is still present in the collection, which let us think that it’s not really about time for a replacement of this watch.

The classic hand-wound Calatrava is gone…

Talking about emblematic models, it seems that it’s time for the most classic of the Calatrava watches, the enduring reference 5196, to be discontinued. Launched in 2004, available in 4 versions (J, G, R and P) with a 37mm case and equipped with a veteran movement, the small hand-wound Calibre 215 from 1974, this sub-collection certainly has great interest, being the descendant of the original Calatrava 96, but it might be slightly outdated, size-wise and mechanically. Patek Philippe has recently launched the Calatrava “Clous de Paris” 6119 with a brand new, much more modern movement, and we’d love to see the classic 96-inspired reference updated with this thin, powerful calibre and a small seconds counter positioned low on the dial. Of course, we surely want the emblematic design to remain. In short, take the reference 6119, remove the pattern on the bezel, update the dial slightly, and keep the 39mm case and the great movement inside… Voila!

In addition to these 4 references – all identical except for the materials and the dials – Patek Philippe could also discontinue a fifth model in the Calatrava collection, the 5297G-001, an automatic watch in white gold with black dial and diamonds on the bezel and the hour markers.

Multiple Watches from the Complication Collection, Including most world timers

The World Time function is a classic for Patek Philippe, which has been one of the first brands to ever commercialize such watches, with the help of watchmaker Louis Cottier. This function is an all-time icon within the collection, but for 2022, Patek will apparently discontinue the 2 classic versions – reference 5230R-012 and 5230G-014, released in 2016 – as well as the handsome model with cloisonné enamel dial – reference 5231J-001 released in 2019. All three watches are powered by the same movement, based on the veteran 240 micro-rotor base (born in 1977). It could well be that Patek Philippe is planning on updating its World Time watches with a new base movement, more modern and with extended power reserve. Tell us in the comments what’d you like to see in a possible new Patek Philippe World Time.

In the same vein, the Blue version of the World Timer Chronograph Flyback – reference 5930G-010 launched in 2016 – will apparently be phased out. It seems like a rather logical evolution of the collection, this edition coming to the end of its life cycle, and being replaced by the platinum-green edition launched in October 2021, the reference 5930P-001. Our guess is that we won’t see any evolution in the field of this rare combination of world time and chronograph soon (the movement being modern).

Still in the Complication collection, Patek Philippe is apparently planning the discontinuation of three watches equipped with an annual calendar function. First are the two calendar-only reference 5205R rose gold watches – 5205R-001 with white dial, 5205R-010 with black dial – leaving the collection only with the 5205G and its handsome combination of white gold case and gradient blue dial. These two rose gold models were launched in 2013… probably we’re talking about the end of their life cycle. In the same vein, the Chronograph Flyback Annual Calendar 5905P with its blue dial could soon be gone. With the arrival in late 2021 of the stainless steel model with a green dial, it feels like a simple reduction of the collection, just like when Patek removed the previous black edition of the 5905P.

Multiple Grand Complications Discontinued

Looking at the collection of the most complex watches by Patek, there will apparently be multiple discontinuations, starting with a couple of Chronograph Monopusher Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar, the 5372P-010 Salmon Dial and the 5372P-001 Blue Dial. Nothing surprising in these watches being phased out, as Patek rarely keep such complex timepieces for very long in the collection.

Slightly more surprising, it could be that the very attractive 5320G-001, a vintage-inspired perpetual calendar with cream dial and perpetual calendar launched in 2017, will be discontinued. Possibly, since the arrival of the In-Line Perpetual Calendar reference 5236P and the fact that fewer and fewer watches are using the calibre 324 as a base, this watch could be replaced with a movement based on the Calibre 31‑260… Or it could be an arbitrary decision to get it out!

Also on the edge is the highly-attractive Chronograph Perpetual Calendar 5270P-001, in its platinum and salmon dial combination. Introduced in 2018, it has since been joined by the 5270/1R-001 in rose gold with black dial and solid gold bracelet, as well as the 5270J-001 with a yellow gold case in 2020. To us, this feels like a natural evolution and simply the end of the life cycle of this watch, knowing that Patek changes regularly the watches in its 5270 lineup… But still, we’ll miss this stunning watch!

Finally, still in the Grande Complication collection, Patek Philippe will apparently discontinue two of its most classic models, the 5204R-001 and the 5204-1R-001. Both watches are Rattrapante Chronograph Perpetual Calendar in rose gold but since a new version with slate grey dial has been launched in late 2021, it again seems like the end of a life cycle, no more.

Fewer watches in The Twenty~4 collection

Finally, it seems that Patek Philippe is about to reduce slightly its Twenty~4 Automatic collection, by removing two high-end models, both in rose gold with matching bracelet, and diamonds on the bezel and the bracelet. This concerns the reference 7300-1201R-010 with brown dial and the reference 7300-1201R-001 with linen dial.

Note: keep in mind that, apart from the Nautilus models, Patek Philippe has not yet officially confirmed that the references above will be discontinued.