Hands-On: The Patek Philippe 50th Anniversary Nautilus Collection, Reference 5810G and 5610P

Here’s the thing. The 50th Anniversary Nautilus Collection was going to sell no matter what caliber was used, what case material was chosen, or what format was given. This is just a reality of the strength of Patek Philippe in the world today, and how in-demand integrated bracelet watches are. And to be clear, the Nautilus, along with the Royal Oak, set the tone long ago and remains at the pinnacle of the category. Actually, one would say the Nautilus remains at the pinnacle of *watches* in general when it comes to simple demand. It’s the one that the most powerful people I know lust after the most – and I’m not saying that’s good or bad, but it really just is. And here’s the thing: the 40th anniversary of the Nautilus was a bit of a let-down for me. Because the Nautilus really is *the watch* for so many of us, and indeed, I am a true fan and always have been, and indeed, always will be, no matter how many dinguses I see wearing them today.

As many of you know, the very first Patek Philippe I ever purchased was a 3940G. The very second? A Nautilus reference 3700A (I paid $18,000 for it, in a group buy with Paul Boutros, who bought a 222 for even less 😵‍💫). Some years later, I bought a very rare 3700G (I sold it to a close friend and mentor when he sold his company because it was something he’d always dreamed of owning). In 2015, when Nautiluses were still sitting in cases, I bought my first contemporary 5711, this time in rose gold. And wore it proudly to every event possible – including this Patek Philippe breakfast covered by GQ back in 2016. So yeah, I like them, a real lot. But I don’t like all of them.

In 2016, the hype around this line of watches wasn’t really there. But that’s not to say those who were in the category didn’t care about the Nautilus; we really did. And we expected just enormous things for the 40th anniversary – including, frankly, a replacement for the 5711. Not only did we not get that, but we also got two diamond dial watches with large 40th anniversary stamps on the dial. Despite their relative rarity, they are probably my least favorite Nautiluses to be made in my lifetime. So knowing that this year is the 50th anniversary of the collection, I, in some ways, made myself not even consider what Patek Philippe might do to celebrate. This mental blockade evaporated quickly, turning into pure joy at 1:15 AM Central European Time on April 14, 2026.

And Then Along Came The 50th Anniversary Collection, And All Was Forgiven

The scene was the Hodinkee war room, a conference room we commandeer each year since Watches and Wonders decided to have the majority of large brands release their wares at midnight instead of 9 am (thanks for that, btw 😵‍💫). The entire Hodinkee team is there, digging through each new release, providing real-time feedback to one another, and deciding who writes what. It gets goofy, fast. When the Patek Philippe releases dropped, it took us a while to dig through everything to find that 50th anniversary Nautilus collection because there was actually a general consensus that they’d hold the Nautilus launch for later in the year. We were wrong, and we were more than ok with it. Because the minute we realized what Mr. Stern and Team Patek came up with for this half-century mark, we all said, collectively, KABOOM. They’d done it. They’d really done it.

As Mark began writing the introducing post, I grabbed the mic (literally) and recorded this reel for social, and as you can kind of tell in that feed, I was processing what was happening in real time. Patek Philippe introduced three new Nautilus watches, two of which are downright perfect. OK, perhaps perfect is an overstatement, but they are damn, damn good, and exactly what a guy like me has been dreaming of! First, reference 5810G, which borrows the same broad dimensions as the 5811G (the in-catalog current Nautilus) at 41mm in white gold, but instead of it being 8.2mm thick, it is now just 6.9mm thick! On top of that, we’ve lost a running seconds hand and a date window! Now it’s important to note that this watch actually takes the idea of the original Nautilus (reference 3700) and reduces it beyond its original profile and specifications. The original watch is 7.5mm thick, and indeed, has a date window, where this 5810G does not. 

The *dramatically* thin profile is a result of a very interesting choice by Patek Philippe – to use the base caliber 240 in a Nautilus. Let’s be clear – this caliber was not used in the original Nautilus, or any Nautilus since (I am talking about the base caliber, not derivations which have been used in the 3712, 5712, and 5740), and there is, I’m sure, some reason for that. Though it was introduced in 1977, roughly the same time as the 3700. With it, you get an out-of-date by most standards but nonetheless charming caliber that is quintessentially Patek Philippe in a watch that is quintessentially Patek Philippe.

On the yellow gold micro rotor of the 240 caliber, there is a small engraving that reads “50 – 1976-2026”, which is *SO* much better than what we got ten years ago. The finishing of the 240 remains as it ever was, which is very nice, nothing more, nothing less. I think it’s important to note that this caliber is dramatically inferior to the caliber used in the 5811G (26-330 S C) from a technical perspective. 

That caliber was introduced mid-stream in the 5711 and born into the 5811, and features hacking seconds, an innovative “declutching” in the winding system to reduce wear, a LIGA wheel to eliminate any stutter in the seconds hand, and a date wheel that can be set any time of the day without fear of damage.

So let’s not get it twisted here – the use of this 49-year-old movement in the Nautilus has created a very special limited edition for collectors, but it will not (and should not) replace the completely modern and lovely caliber used in the production Nautilus (as some Instagrammers have suggested). Would I have loved to have seen a brand new ultra-thin caliber in these anniversary pieces, like, say, Vacheron dropped this year? Sure, but no big deal. Because the 5810G isn’t about movement specs or finishing, is it? It’s about how it wears, and how it makes you feel, and in that capacity, the 5810G is an absolute killer.

In short, this watch would make *no sense* as a new production piece, but makes perfect sense as a tribute to a half-century of the Patek Philippe Nautilus.

There are two different versions of the 5810G – one on a white gold bracelet (5810/1G-001) in an edition of 2,000 pieces, and another on a composite strap with baguette markers in an edition of 1,000 units (5810G-001). The bracelet watch is clearly the winner here, although I don’t believe anyone who will be allocated the baguette version will be asking for a pity party. The way these watches sit on the wrist is just *incredible*. Holding roughly the same dimensions as the original 3700 from east to west, they feel wide, deserving of the original “Jumbo” nomenclature. The thinness makes it feel even better. Which is saying a lot because in the decade and a half or so I’ve owned multiple references of Nautiluses, I haven’t complained ONCE about how they wear. In fact, quite the opposite. They’re all just great.

Now, had Patek Philippe stopped with the only two different 5810G’s, I would’ve called the 50th anniversary a success. But they didn’t. They took it a step further, and man, did they deliver something special. 

The 5610P takes the format from above, the same hours-and-minutes-only display, with the 6.9 thinness (via the caliber 240), and drops the dimensions to an absolutely perfect 38mm. And the case is platinum instead of white gold. This is a tribute to the Nautilus of the 1980s – the reference 3800 (and 5800), which has become quite en vogue over the last few years as smaller watches have come to the forefront. The combination of a fully platinum case (with that epic brushed bezel!) and the smaller case size is really so much more than the sum of its parts on the wrist. It was an absolute highlight of Watches and Wonders 2026 for me, and that’s saying a lot because this was a really strong year by most standards.

The bracelets on both the 5610P and 5810G are of modern construction and have a butterfly clasp with extension links on both sides, which is nice to see. The interesting thing here is that, in addition to using this older caliber, the thin case has reduced the waterproofness from 100m to just 30m for all three watches. It’s not a huge deal because the odds of someone taking a precious metal, limited edition Patek Philippe swimming is quite low, but still, for a watch created on the principle of being an aquatic sporting watch, one could critique it. I won’t, though, because these watches are really just so good compared to basically anything that came out this year – compared to the 40th anniversary watches, they are absolutely otherworldly good.

The white gold watches are in the low 90s, and the platinum watch is around $112. As if pricing even matters for these watches. For whatever it’s worth, the pricing is not offensive if one were to compare what else is out there these days, both from big brands and independents. 

But again, anyone who has requested one of these would likely pay just about any price to be a part of this club, wouldn’t they? I’ve heard from friends on both the client and AD sides that demand is extraordinary. And frankly, for these, it really should be – because, as I said on the first day of our Watches and Wonders Podcast, Patek Philippe absolutely crushed this.

But what’s more than that is that if you’ve been paying attention, for every square watch with a round movement, there is something genuinely, undeniably great coming from Patek Philippe as of late. Think example A, B, and C, which all represent an incredibly encouraging sign for where Patek Philippe is headed over the next few years. And as a tried and true lover of all watches, the industry is just so much better when Patek Philippe is firing on all cylinders. And it looks like we are headed in that direction once again, and sooner than some may have thought.

For more information on the Patek Philippe collection of 50th anniversary wristwatches, click here.

And yes, we’ll have a hands-on with the final piece of the collection – an 8-day travel clock – soon!