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Godfathar's Advice On Which Is The Best Nautilus Out There

Godfathar

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Dear members, newly joined, or the ones that have been here for a while and perhaps are not very familiar with the Patek Philippe reps.. I have been contacted literally by hundreds of members in the past year via PM. Some even have 0 posts, and others that have their weight in the community here. All of them were seeking my advice for wanting to buy the best nautilus out there. To my surprise, I got all members seek advice for the blue dial 5711. Not one asked me for the other dial colors (accept the 5711G on leather strap). I got very few ask me about the Nautilus 5980 Chrono which I will also address here.


First of all, I need to clarify something; my views on this thread are of only mine. The reader should understand that those views do not necessarily agree with what you think, and you might have different views, which is completely alright. A second thing I want to clarify especially for the new comers in the rep world, those grading systems of a rep being 1:1 with gen or with A++ quality is bogus, there is no such thing. Each rep has it's flaws, and you will never ever find a 1:1 rep to gen, if you want a 1:1 I suggest you stop reading now and go buy a gen. Also if you buy through our trusted dealers, you definitely see the quality is reflected in the price, without having to say it's A and A++, and so on.. If you search for a certain watch and find a cheap version and another version that is much more expensive, here is your proof. The cheaper will have a cheaper movement and most likely the factory won't take extra efforts to make the rep looks closer to gen. where the higher priced rep you will find a better quality movement, better attention to details.


With having said that, let's talk about the Nautilus 5711 blue dial first. The first Patek rep I was interested in and bought was the Nautilus 5711 SW200 blue dial. I bought this because with my untrained eye saw it the prettiest looking one out there. It was only few months later when I really started frequenting the forum that my eyes started to see the little faults, the enlarged end links, the extra pin on the first link were staring at me the whole time..


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This is when I decided to search for the best version.. Looked around, asked members as many are also searching like me, and I found the Nautilus 5711 Miyota BP factory. Only issue is that it was carrying the wrong hands. Then I saw few members actually replaced the hands with the hands of a 21J cheap nautilus version as it was sold very cheap. And one day I found one on the M2M for $80 and I snatched it immediately. After that I bought the BP nautilus, and sent both watches to the modder to have him swap hands. He did and I was happy with my watch.


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I kept seeing many versions pop up, MKF, and MKF V.2-3-4, and BP V.2.. Although the factories fixed many issues on those versions, there were still few issues that with my trained eyes today would stare at me.. MKF recently came out with a great dial, very close to gen, but still haven't managed to fix the thickness of the watch, the thickness was a huge tell from my side as the gen 5711 is well known for being a very slim watch, and the thickness on the new reps that host the bridge for decorating the movement made the factory make the case thicker. Also, member recently reported many issues with the bracelet, how hard it is, and how it sits wrong on the wrist. now this might not be a problem for many, but me personally, I am looking for a rep that is as close to the gen as possible, that means as thin as possible. What goes on at the back of my watch I really don't care that much about, I have never taken off my watch for anyone, and I am not intending to do so.


So to conclude, After all these months and few new 5711 models coming out, to me, I still think that the 5711 blue dial "undercoated" Miyota from BP Factory is the best rep you can buy today. Even better news, since I have bought mine and did the hands swap with a 21J cheapie, the BP factory upgraded the hands to the correct size hands. So now you can wear it immediately and it won't have any faults staring at you, no wrong dial pattern, no wrong end links, no extra pin on the first link, not a thick case, great bracelet, all those boxes are checked.

Update: There is a rumor lately that a new movement is getting developed, much thinner one, that will make the rep much slimmer. The word out is that V6F factory took the initiative. so in my opinion, although I am saying that the BP V.1 is the best you can find in the market today, I suggest you hold on buying any Nautilus steel watches till we see what V6F is coming out with.. But like always, don't have so much high hopes that the watch would be perfect, you should expect flaws, as I have learned that there is no way you will get a 1:1 with gen as I mentioned before. So my advice today, wait for the new 5711A to come out before pulling the trigger, and entertain yourself with purchasing other reps in the mean time :)


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While at it, let me brush up on the other Nautilus 5711G and 5711R that come with leather strap. In my opinion, the SW200 version is the best version to go for and make sure you get the grey dial for both references I mentioned before. This watch came with grey dial and black leather strap or brown leather strap for the RG model, which in the future you can buy a gen Patek Philippe leather strap and with little modification to the end links, you can install it on the SW200 watch and have an extremely close to gen 5711G and 5711R.



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Now the 5980, there are few versions of the watch, the 5980 that I am talking about is the one that hosts the infamous "ticking bomb" A7750 movement. Now with this watch the sub dial doesn't work at all, so you have to let go of the fact that you want to see it move.. it will come to you reseted at 12 o'clock mark and that's it. On the other hand the chrono hand (the hand that sweeps across the face of the watch counting seconds) moves perfectly, and will also resets perfectly if your movement is well oiled. But I have received many advice to leave it centered at 12 mark as well and not to use it, because with the A7750, the less work on it, the better chance it will not break down, and the power reserve will not be drained. So if you like the look of the watch, then just have it on without trying to work the chrono hands (which btw will come in chrome unlike the gen in silverish white, so that's a tell you have to decide if you can live with, or ask a modder to paint the chrono hand white like I did :). And this is also something that gen 5980 will do. The gen chrono also can be stopped and the sub dial reseted, so the look of the chrono hand not moving and the sub dial is reseted is not a tell. One flaw for me that I have noticed, the watch is thicker than the gen. Unfortunately to host the A7750 movement, they had to do that. But when I had it on my wrist for the first time, I realized that the factory made the back case thicker not the actual case, which when you put it on your wrist, the back case digs in your wrist and doesn't show the thickness. It was only when you take it off and see the side profile, you will realize the thickness.

Update: Since the time I wrote this, there has been newer version of the 5890 reps that came out, unfortunately all of them and I mean all of the new versions came with decorated movement, and you know what that means by now right? thicker rep, today the new versions are so thick, that I would rather use them as paper weight that have a brick on my wrist pretending to be a 5980. I advice you to do your research, and stay away from the latest versions that look exactly the same as the one I bought but much thicker to hot the fake bridge, this is an instant tell, as I mentioned before, the rep is thicker than gen to begin with, having the new version host the decoration on top of the thick movement and have a huge back case is a pity really.. I am sure many new comers do not realize that there is a thinner version out there with out TDs, they just have to contact them and specifically ask them for the 5980 without decoration to have a less tell from the thickness.


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After painting the chrono hand white to look like gen


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Last words, 5980 blue dial is one of my favorite Patek watches today. I take extra care of it to preserve the movement from breaking. But the quality of the watch is very high, and on point with the gen. no flaws starring at you if you paint the chrono hand white.


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Since I have written this post back in March 2016, I have experimented with yet another Nautilus 5711A, only this time it is the white dial. It is obvious that the white dial is not very demanded among the Patek enthusiasts, as you can tell by the lower price of the gen white dial when compared to the well sought after 5711A blue dial, but over here at the rep world, I wanted to let you know that the white dial 5711 is truly astonishing, and it is by all means the closest rep to the gen. Unfortunately, just like all the super reps, you will not find it over the counter, you will have to work on reaching that level of accuracy and closeness to the gen white dial 5711. What I mean is that you have to mod the watch to get to have a watch on the wrist that is practically impossible to call out. the most important aspect to this theory is that you get the thinnest possible watch you find out there for the white dial 5711. In this case reach out for the 5711A BP V.1 with white dial. the construction of the case is the thinnest among all the other decorated Miyota movement cases. Yes it is undecorated, and that's the reason for being able to make it closest to gen in terms of thickness. The gen is 8.5 mm including both crystals, the BP v.1 is 9.1 mm, now that's the closest you can ever get from all the reps in the market today. Only problem, is that the BP V.1 has a weak printing on the dial, the printing is so thin, that you can see that something is wrong with the dial unfortunately, also unlike the BP V.1 blue dial, the white dial didn't get the upgraded thicker hands, actually it's funny to know that the BP V.1 white dial has silver thin hands, not even matching the markers on the dial which have a black sheen to them, they look so odd on the watch, so the dial is not up with the quality of print, and the hands are completely wrong color and size, but again the case construction is the perfect size for this project. Now if you look around for the best dial and hands, you will find that the 5711 white dial from MKF is so high quality, and very very very close to gen. I have been always impressed by the attention to details of the MK factory, but I never agreed with their decision of wanting to decorate the Miyota and making their watches thicker to host the decorated fake bridge. but their dial and hands are just exquisite. so what I did is purchase only the hands and white dial from MKF through our TDs, and send it to my modder to swap them with the white dial and hands of the BP V.1... long story short, it is done, but not as easy as we thought, he had to re-size and re-shape the MKF dial to be able to fit it in place of the BP white dial, also he told me that the MKF dial is a bit thicker, so he was afraid that the thickness of the new dial will press on the movement and particularly on the date wheel and stop it from turning, so he made a custom bracket to hold it far from the date wheel. but after few months of wait, I received today what I believe personally is the super rep of the Nautilus finally. the 5711A white dial. BP V.1 case, MKF white dial and matching hands.

Here are the pics..


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When I first received the BP V.1 , you can see how the dial is weak, and so obvious that the hands are completely the wrong size and color.

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This is the MKF white dial and matching hands, obviously better quality printing on the dial, and correct size and color hands.

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My great modder after fixing all the issues and successfully installing the MKF dial and hands on the BP V.1 case.

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It's as close as you would be able to get in thickness to the gen

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Now from now on, when I get asked by PM to help with finding the best Nautilus, I will just add the link to this post, and have the discussion here ;)
 

R2L

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Thank you for this great write up! Have been interested in Pateks for a while and this will help me get started!


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Cristobal

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I've been stuck on the mkf V2 for a while now and was planning on pulling the trigger but after reading your post and looking at the pictures that show how close the BP really is to a gen. I'm definitely pulling the trigger on the BP version!! Thank you for this post [MENTION=102925]Godfathar[/MENTION] it really help me a lot!!
 

prdk-

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Also thank you for this info. I just ordering the BP with the upgraded hands......
 

Retina

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There is no ticking bomb for this 5980 my friend. The ticking bomb only applies if there is a transfer gear for second hands, which this model does not have.
 
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rjk1

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I second this, but it's still good practice to be somewhat delicate with these 7750s.

I'd also recommend a Prof crystal on these because they really make the dial pop. I had one on the bp miyota prior to selling it... however since they updated to the fat hands it really is a no brainer - the original bp miyota is hands down the best nautilus rep.
 

Godfathar

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There is no ticking bomb for this 5980 my friend. The ticking bomb only applies if there is a transfer gear for second hands, which this model does not have.

Yes you are absolutely right, but tbh, I felt when I started wearing the 5980A that the movement is very delicate.. especially when dealing with the crown and the tube, I had to be extra caring to make sure it didn't break.. some members also had issues with the tube, and the crown not screwing back.. I think taking care of the movement in general is the way to go to make sure the rep lives with you for a long time.




I second this, but it's still good practice to be somewhat delicate with these 7750s.

I'd also recommend a Prof crystal on these because they really make the dial pop. I had one on the bp miyota prior to selling it... however since they updated to the fat hands it really is a no brainer - the original bp miyota is hands down the best nautilus rep.

I love AR clarity crystals, but I have an issue with putting a double AR with green tint on the BP model, as the dial color already leaning more towards green. If I could get a double AR with blue tint, then it might be a better fit. although I have to say that the gen 5711 doesn't have double AR, but who cares as long as it is satisfying you on a personal level.
 

Retina

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[MENTION=3857]Godfather[/MENTION]

I do have a 5980 rep myself, I must be lucky :) it keeps impeccable time...

You pointed out most of the good points nevertheless, the two main issues I have are the clasp and the thickness of the caseback, other than that, it's a well made rep


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Godfathar

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^^ [MENTION=93698]Retina[/MENTION] , yeah , but in my experience, the extra thickness hides very well when on the wrist.
 

watcheye

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Thanks for such a thorough and well thought out review. This is coming from one of the many who has asked for your opinion previously!!


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rjk1

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Well the watch is already quite different than gen so I’d say the ar makes the dial pop very nicely. Steve’s are colorless, pbdad has a green tint and vac has a yellow tint. I’d definitely say Steve has the best coating
 

Farishmy

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Thank you for the insightful post Godfather, now I'm debating whether to get the AP15400 or the Patek.


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Phantomtech

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The green dial is what keeps me far away from this. If they would just update that color then this would be the rep to get. Otherwise, the SW200 is still better. (in my opinion)..
 

Stewart77

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Great review! Are the models available in rose gold the same quality?
 

Godfathar

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The green dial is what keeps me far away from this. If they would just update that color then this would be the rep to get. Otherwise, the SW200 is still better. (in my opinion)..

I know what you are saying, but to me, I am willing to live with the greenish shade with all other flaws tackled, than live with the better (not perfect) dial color of the SW200, but all the other tells are jumping at me every time I looked at the watch.. you know which ones I am sure.. so it comes down to what you can live with I guess :D

Great review! Are the models available in rose gold the same quality?

it should be the same quality I suppose.. I don't own any RG Nautilus watches, so I don't know, but the RG Aquanaut I have is marvelous.