Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 vs 5811: What Changed and Which to Buy

The Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 and 5811 are the two generations of the three-hand Nautilus with date: the 5711/1A is the 40 mm steel watch made from 2006 to 2021, and the 5811/1G-001 is the 41 mm white gold watch that took its place in October 2022. They share the calibre 26-330 S C, the date at 3, the sweep seconds, the horizontally embossed blue dial and 120 m of water resistance, and they differ in metal, size, bracelet clasp and above all in how they are bought: the 5811 has a published retail price and an allocation list, while the 5711 is only available pre-owned at a secondary-market premium. This guide sets the two side by side, explains why Patek retired the steel watch, covers how each wears, gives dated price context for 2026 and lists what to check before buying either. Our separate Nautilus 5711 guide covers the steel reference on its own. Bizak & Co. sources both to order; the Patek Philippe Nautilus collection lists the references we can seek.

Last reviewed on October 5, 2026 by Filip Biczak. Prices are dated observations, not quotes.

Patek 5711 vs 5811: what changed?

Sources: Patek Philippe, Nautilus 5811/1G-001 for the current watch, and the Patek Philippe Nautilus collection page, which lists the references in production and no longer lists the 5711/1A.

Read the table from the bottom up. The movement, the functions, the water resistance and the general design are the same; the metal, the extra millimetre, the clasp and the dial gradient are the differences. Patek did not redesign the Nautilus in 2022; it moved the three-hand date model from steel to white gold, added practical upgrades and gave the result a new reference number.

Why did Patek discontinue the 5711 and launch the 5811?

The 5711/1A-010 arrived in 2006 for the Nautilus 30th anniversary as the modern successor to the 1976 reference 3700, with a three-part case, a sapphire case-back and the calibre 324 S C. By the late 2010s demand had outrun supply to the point that the steel 5711 was the most requested watch in the catalogue and the retail allocation had become a lottery. In January 2021 Patek Philippe confirmed that the 5711/1A-010 was being retired; the stated reason was that one steel reference had come to dominate the brand's image in a way the company did not want.

Two short-run steel versions closed the reference out. The olive green 5711/1A-014, shown in April 2021, was produced for about a year, and the 5711/1A-018 with a Tiffany Blue dial, announced in December 2021 for the 170th anniversary of the Patek Philippe and Tiffany & Co. relationship, was limited to 170 pieces. Both have their own guides: the 5711/1A-014 green dial and the 5711/1A-018 Tiffany.

The 5811/1G-001 followed in October 2022. Making it in white gold rather than steel raised the retail price, moved the watch out of the entry position in the Nautilus line and, in principle, reduced the gap between retail and secondary value that had made the steel watch a speculative object.

Steel or white gold: does the metal matter?

On the wrist, white gold and steel look alike at a glance. Both are white metals, both take the Nautilus mix of brushed surfaces and polished bevels, and from across a table the 5811 reads as a steel Nautilus. Up close the differences show. White gold is denser, so the 5811 head and bracelet weigh noticeably more than the 5711 and the watch feels more substantial. White gold is also softer than steel, so the bracelet links and the polished chamfers pick up hairline marks faster, and a 5811 worn daily will need refinishing sooner than a steel 5711 would.

The practical consequence is about ownership rather than looks. A steel 5711 is the tool-watch version of the design, cheap to refinish and indifferent to knocks. A white gold 5811 is a precious-metal watch that happens to look like steel, and it is the one Patek will sell you new.

How do the 5711 and 5811 wear? 40 mm vs 41 mm

The extra millimetre is less than it sounds. The Nautilus case is measured across its widest point from 10 to 4 o'clock, including the "ears" on each flank, so a 41 mm 5811 is about 2.5 percent larger than a 40 mm 5711, and both watches are among the thinnest in their category at a little over 8 mm. The 5811 is in fact fractionally thinner. The integrated bracelet keeps the lug-to-lug short on both, so each sits well on a wrist from about 16.5 cm (6.5 inches) up. On a smaller wrist the 5711 is the easier fit; on a larger wrist the 5811's slightly wider dial opening fills the space better.

Weight is a bigger difference than size: white gold adds a clear heft that some owners enjoy and others find tiring against the 5711's lightness. The 5811/1G-001 review goes into the wearing experience in more detail.

Bracelet, clasp, dial and case-back: the detail differences

• Clasp. The 5811 bracelet is a redesign with a fold-over clasp that locks securely and includes an adjustment system, so the wearer can fine-tune the fit by a few millimetres without removing links. The 5711 clasp is a conventional fold-over with no micro-adjustment; fit is set by link removal only. For daily wear this is the single most useful upgrade.
• Dial. The 5711/1A-010 dial is blue with horizontal embossing, shading darker toward the edge on later examples. The 5811 dial is a blue-black gradient: blue at the centre falling to near-black at the rim, which reads darker in most light. The hour markers and hands are applied white gold with luminous coating on both.
• Movement. Both the late 5711 and the 5811 carry the calibre 26-330 S C, which replaced the 324 S C in 2019. The 26-330 added a stop-seconds function, so the seconds hand halts when the crown is pulled out for precise setting, and a revised date-change mechanism; power reserve is about 35 to 45 hours. A 5711 from before 2019 has the 324 S C without stop-seconds.
• Case-back. The 5711 brought a sapphire case-back to the steel Nautilus in 2006, and the 5811 keeps a sapphire display back showing the 26-330 S C with its 21 ct gold rotor. Neither watch has a solid back.

Which is easier to buy: 5711 or 5811?

Neither is easy, but the routes are different. The 5811/1G-001 is a current production reference, so an authorised dealer can in principle allocate one at Patek's published price; in practice allocations go to established clients with a purchase history, and a new client at most boutiques should expect a long and open-ended wait. The 5711 is out of production, so the only route is the secondary market, where supply is whatever current owners choose to sell. The 5711/1A-010 was made for 15 years and is the most common three-hand Nautilus, so there is usually something on offer; the green 5711/1A-014 and the Tiffany 5711/1A-018 are rare and surface irregularly.

How much is a Patek 5711 vs 5811? Price context in 2026

Two things stand out. First, the 5811's secondary premium is of the same order as the 5711's, so moving the watch to white gold did not close the gap between retail and the open market; it only raised both numbers. Second, on the secondary market the current white gold 5811 asks more than the discontinued steel 5711/1A-010, which runs against the usual rule that a discontinued reference trades above its successor. All of these are asks observed on the dates given, not sales; ask for a dated quote for the exact reference, year and set. Our Patek Philippe price guide explains how to compare quotes across references.

Which should you buy: the 5711 or the 5811?

Buy the 5811 if you want the current watch, white gold, the adjustable clasp and the possibility, however remote, of a retail allocation. A 5811 bought from an authorised dealer carries Patek's warranty from the date of sale; its secondary price is the highest of the three-hand date models.

Buy the 5711/1A-010 if you want the steel Nautilus as it was designed, a lighter watch that takes daily wear without concern, and a secondary price that has been lower than the 5811's. Look for a 2019 or later example if the stop-seconds function matters, and expect the watch to be out of its original warranty.

Buy neither if what you want is a Nautilus rather than this Nautilus. The 5712 moon phase and the 5980 chronograph offer the same case family with more complication, and the Nautilus vs Aquanaut comparison covers the steel alternative Patek still makes.

Buying a 5711 or 5811: what to check

• Papers and extract. A 5811 should have its Certificate of Origin stamped by an authorised dealer with the date of sale; a 5711 should have the same, and an Extract from the Archives can be requested from Patek for an older watch. Serial numbers on the certificate, case and movement should agree.
• Movement version. On a 5711, check whether the watch has the 324 S C or the 26-330 S C; pull the crown and see whether the seconds hand stops. A 2019 or later 5711 should hack. Every 5811 should hack.
• Dial. A 5711/1A-010 dial is blue with horizontal embossing; a 5811 dial is a blue-black gradient. Embossing lines should be crisp and the applied markers undamaged. Be cautious with a blue dial described as green or Tiffany without the matching reference suffix on the papers.
• Case and bracelet finish. Brushed surfaces should run in even, straight lines and polished bevels should be sharp with a clear edge. A refinished Nautilus loses crispness at the bevels first. White gold on the 5811 marks more easily, so some wear is normal; soft, rounded bevels are not.
• Clasp. The 5811 clasp should lock positively and the adjustment should move and hold; the 5711 fold-over should close with a clean click and show no loose pins.
• Bracelet integrity. Hold the watch by the head and let the bracelet hang; a bracelet that sags into a curve has stretched pins. White gold links show this sooner than steel.
• Price against the band. A full-set 5711 or 5811 offered well under the market is the single most reliable warning sign.

Our authentication process describes what we inspect before dispatch.

Quick answers

What is the difference between the Patek 5711 and 5811?

The 5711/1A is a 40 mm steel Nautilus made from 2006 to 2021; the 5811/1G-001 is a 41 mm white gold Nautilus introduced in October 2022 with a blue-black gradient dial and a redesigned bracelet clasp with an adjustment system. Both have the calibre 26-330 S C, date, sweep seconds and 120 m water resistance.

Is the Patek 5811 steel?

No. The 5811 is made only in 18 ct white gold. Patek Philippe retired the steel three-hand date Nautilus with the 5711/1A in 2021 and did not replace it with a steel reference.

How much is a Patek Philippe 5811?

Patek's published price, in the US$70,000s in 2025 and 2026, is on its product page. Secondary-market asks for unworn examples have been far higher; Bizak's sourced catalogue listed the 5811/1G-001 at US$212,175 on October 5, 2026, sourced to order.

How much is a Patek 5711 now?

There is no retail price because the 5711 was discontinued in 2021. Full-set 5711/1A-010 asks have generally sat in the low-to-mid US$100,000s in 2025 and 2026; Bizak's sourced catalogue listed one at US$152,440 on October 5, 2026, sourced to order, with the green 5711/1A-014 at US$295,094.

Is the 5811 bigger than the 5711?

By one millimetre in diameter, 41 mm against 40 mm, measured from 10 to 4 o'clock. The 5811 is about 8.2 mm thick against the 5711's 8.3 mm, so on the wrist the size difference is barely visible; the extra weight of white gold is more noticeable than the extra width.

Request a Nautilus 5711 or 5811 sourcing quote

Tell us which reference and dial you want, the preferred year range, condition and whether a full set is required, plus your budget and timing, through our sourcing enquiry form. We confirm the specific watch, photographs, papers and final price before you commit. Catalogue entries: 5811/1G-001 white gold, 5711/1A-010 steel blue dial, 5711/1A-014 green dial, 5711/1A-018 Tiffany dial, 5711/1R-001 rose gold; browse the Patek Philippe Nautilus collection or sell or trade your Nautilus.

Related reading: Nautilus 5711 guide · Nautilus 5811/1G-001 review · Nautilus 5712 guide · Patek Philippe price guide.