How to get to try on blue Nautilus?

[Shem]

Greetings,

The Nautilus (either 5711 or 5712) is my grail watch, but despite visiting many ADs, I've ever been able to find one to try on. Every AD in my area tells me the wait time is months or years for a blue Nautilus of any kind (particularly the 5711), that you must put a 100% deposit of full MSRP down for them to even consider asking to get one in (and no guarantee it'll arrive in any timeframe short of years), and that there's no way they'd ever get one in stock for people to try on.

I'd really rather not spend that kind of money without even seeing the watch in person, particularly if I don't know when (if ever) it will come in. Does anyone have any suggestions of how I might get a chance to handle one? Has anyone had success at an AD in the Northeast US? Any help would be appreciated.

[Grey.Coupe]

Tying up a full MSRP deposit on this purchase, with an indefinite delivery window is not reasonable. Try again, or try another AD.

[FeelingTheBlues]

Originally Posted by Grey.Coupe

Tying up a full MSRP deposit on this purchase, with an indefinite delivery window is not reasonable. Try again, or try another AD.

I'd definitely go to another AD. Otherwise perhaps a grey dealer would be willing to organize a meet-up and let you try the watch but it would depend on where you live and if you are really considering the watch.

[subtona]

Here in nyc ive found 5712 on a few occasions, never a 5711.

If you ask, the salesperson may have one that is sold but still in the shop...sometimes they'll let you try it on.

[iazrollie]

I see the 5712 in stores frequently. However, I only saw the 5711 once and that was in London. It was a white dial.

One dealer told me to stop by the PP service center in NYC and ask to see one. But, when I called ahead, they said they wouldn't show me one. However, I feel like if I went there in person for a "problem" with my 5167, I could sweet talk them into showing me a 5711 that is there for service.

[alubin]

I agree that this a problem. I asked the Patek Boutique in tiffany's as i love the look of the watch but buying one sight unseen isn't in the cards. They told me they would call me when they got one in for me to look at but its been almost 6 month's and i haven't heard a word. I suppose that if i walked up and down 47th street I'd find one to try on but the thought makes me cringe.

[iazrollie]

Originally Posted by alubin

I agree that this a problem. I asked the Patek Boutique in tiffany's as i love the look of the watch but buying one sight unseen isn't in the cards. They told me they would call me when they got one in for me to look at but its been almost 6 month's and i haven't heard a word. I suppose that if i walked up and down 47th street I'd find one to try on but the thought makes me cringe.

I find that TIF boutique underwhelming. Every time I'm in there, they are supremely pretentious and yet barely have any desirable, fast-moving inventory.

[Shem]

So as for the gray market, I'd strongly prefer not to go that route. They only seem to charge a few hundred less (on a 26.7k or 36k watch respectively) and I couldn't be sure how it was handled, how many times it was polished or how much metal was removed, or that no "dealer in-house amateur watchmaker" didn't "fix it up good as new". As far as I've been able to find, there are no gray market sellers near me either, except the Diamond District which I avoid like the plague (I think there ARE actually a couple dealers there that have 5711/5712s right now, but I also value my safety and sanity).

As for advice to "talk to another AD," I've talked to 3 so far and gotten exactly the same story from all 3. "No way we can even request an allocation without full deposit, there are already x people ahead of you, and we can't guarantee if or when you'd get it because Patek doesn't tell us anything."

Edit: Actually, one of them HAD gotten an un-promised 5711 in a month prior he said, but it sold instantaneously to the very first Patek-interested patron that entered the establishment and he has no idea if or when he could get another one even if someone offered him twice the price.

Do any of you actually have 5711s or 5712s? If so, how did you get them?

[iim7v7im7]

In three years of looking, I have found 1 white 5711 and 2 5712s looking at a local dealer and 3 stores in NYC. I have an excellent relationship with my PP AD who I have now purchased three watches from. Given that, they have offered me:

1) to call me the day one arrives. They typically see 1-2 5711s a year. All sell quickly.
2) order one with a deposit with no commitment to purchase with the depost being usable towards anything that they sell if I don't like it.
3) I was told 2-6 months on delivery with the potential of a price increase in the
interim

Most buy them sight unseen with the assurance that if you don't like it you can sell it at a very small loss. You can learn something from a trying on a 5712 or 5726 which you might find as well.

Good Luck,

Bob

[mps354]

I requested a 5711 in july/august 2013 from my AD that I have purchased several watches from. Much like you, I hadn't ever tried one on due to the scarcity of the pieces. In any event, they requested one from patek, and the estimate they received was for march...2015 at best, and I wasn't even the first in line. A few months later, I received a call that a white dial 5711 had arrived for another customer, but that I had a day or two to stop by and try it on before the buyer picked it up, which I did.

To make a long story short, I was notified in mid/late December that a blue dial had arrived, and whoever was ahead of me apparently passed, so it was mine for the taking about 15 months ahead of the estimated date of arrival. However, I had to make the decision that day, as there were others on the list. They also gave me 15% off list price, so I agreed to it before even taking it out of the packaging.

So, I guess I can fully understand the long wait, and in all likelihood the ADs don't really have a good idea of when the next one might come in, but I would guess you can find an AD that will put you on the waiting list without a deposit.

[Shem]

Originally Posted by mps354

They also gave me 15% off list price, so I agreed to it before even taking it out of the packaging.

Whoa, I just caught this. 15%?!? Every AD I've spoken to has said unequivocally that this model is never discounted anywhere for any reason and that they could sell every single one Patek gives them until the end of time without discounting a dime. How did you manage it?

[gtbguy]

Originally Posted by mps354

They also gave me 15% off list price, so I agreed to it before even taking it out of the packaging.

I just bought my 5711/01A with the blue face a few days ago, on January 2nd and got a discount. The AD had a new one and a used one (for just a bit less money) so I decided to buy new. So far I love it, its lighter in weight than my Daytona so I'm adjusting to this. Maybe it depends on location but I think it is possible to find one and even get a small discount.

[Shem]

Thanks, Bob. I'm in the same state as you are, so I'm curious which AD you use, particularly if they'd be willing to give a potential new customer the time of day (unlike the ones I've spoken to). This would be my first PP purchase and I haven't purchased anything at an AD that sells PP before, so I don't have an "in," so to speak.

The ADs I've spoken to have also said ~1 per year and that they can't even get the 1 unless it's already sold (i.e. full deposit), so a "call the day of" is out of the question (at least with those ADs).

Using deposit toward anything in the store wouldn't really work for me, as this would be the capstone and I don't really want anything else.

2-6 months is certainly much better than what I've heard. Again, both local and the one remote AD I've spoken to have all said it could be years and there's no way to know.

All of the above applied to the 5712 as well as the 5711 (anything with a blue dial).

It's sounding like I'm pretty much going to have to either forget about the Nautilus or decide it's worth dropping all that cash on something I've never seen and may never get regardless of the cash.

[Shem]

Ok, seems like consensus is thus:

There's really no possible way to get to see or try on a blue-dialed Nautilus in real life without buying it outright (this is already pretty much a deal breaker for me).

But, if I decide to buy one anyway, it might be possible provided I

1) go to an AD and buy a bunch of high-dollar watches to earn the right to put down a non-refundable partial deposit instead of a full one, but still be waiting possibly years with no way of knowing how long,
2) it might be possible to find an AD that will put me on a waiting list without a deposit (I haven't found an AD that didn't already have an extensive waiting list WITH deposits, but maybe if I call one in a very rural area?) in which case I might get a call someday offering me one, so I have to keep 30k at the ready indefinitely just in case.

I should really PM the guys who have recently made "incoming" posts about their blue Nautiluses and ask them how in the world they did it!

[mps354]

I get your frustration, but the upside to the scarcity of the model is that you can probably unload it at any time without much loss or trouble. I'd keep calling ADs in your area to try and track down a 5711 in either color or 5712 to try on, even if they are already spoken for, as both will feel similar. Once you've tried on any of those models and like them, you can ask davidsw to try and track one down to buy...I've seen him post a few in the for sale section in the past.

Other than that, not sure what else I can suggest

[Shem]

Thanks mps354. I think some of my frustration is that I see tons of guys on forums who have 5711s and 5712s, and then even more including some who got them recently, and others who say they're getting them imminently, whereas I don't see any reasonable path to getting it done. Maybe it's all relationships from being frequent Patek buyers or something, which isn't really doable for me. I'll keep asking around I guess.

[mps354]

The 5711 was my first new patek from an AD, so I don't necessarily think you have to buy multiple watches to get a look. I ended up waiting 6 months...much better than the 21 month estimate, but still a long time. Maybe I lucked out, you never know how serious the people ahead of you are.

As a side note, I haven't heard of many people who bought a 5711 sight unseen and didn't love the 5711, so it might be a risk worth taking if one pops up on the sales forum from a trusted seller. I purchased an aquanaut from davidsw without seeing it in person, and was very happy. With that said, I believe I could have unloaded it with little to no loss if I didn't like it.

I will send you a pm with additional contact info if you'd be willing to buy from a non AD.

[Shem]

Originally Posted by mps354

The 5711 was my first new patek from an AD, so I don't necessarily think you have to buy multiple watches to get a look. I ended up waiting 6 months...much better than the 21 month estimate, but still a long time. Maybe I lucked out, you never know how serious the people ahead of you are.



As a side note, I haven't heard of many people who bought a 5711 sight unseen and didn't love the 5711, so it might be a risk worth taking if one pops up on the sales forum from a trusted seller. I purchased an aquanaut from davidsw without seeing it in person, and was very happy. With that said, I believe I could have unloaded it with little to no loss if I didn't like it.



I will send you a pm with additional contact info if you'd be willing to buy from a non AD.

I know DavidSW is a trusted seller and all, but I really don't want to pay the same amount for a used watch with unknown history as I could get a new one for and have no idea what I'm actually getting -- whether it's been polished, repaired, serviced by an unauthorized party, dropped, etc. I'm sure DavidSW is honest about how he treats the watch but I don't know his suppliers. This is particularly true if, like you say, it's possible to get massive discounts from an AD that actually exceed gray seller discounts.

[.db]

Originally Posted by Shem

Thanks mps354. I think some of my frustration is that I see tons of guys on forums who have 5711s and 5712s, and then even more including some who got them recently, and others who say they're getting them imminently, whereas I don't see any reasonable path to getting it done. Maybe it's all relationships from being frequent Patek buyers or something, which isn't really doable for me. I'll keep asking around I guess.

Just to share my experience. My 5712 was my first PP and I had no previous relationship with my AD. I went in off the street, expressed my interest in a 5712/1A. Tried on a 5712R, 5711/1A (which I didn't expect them to have) and a 5726 for comparisons sake. I made a small, refundable deposit after negotiating the price and waited a short time for it to come in. This was in California. Compare that to when I lived in Germany, and it was even difficult to find many SS Rolex sports models. I waited longer for my GMTIIc, and one of the ADs said they wouldn't even add me to their list as it's already too long and I'm not a repeat customer.

[jenniferjanef]

Originally Posted by Shem

Greetings,

The Nautilus (either 5711 or 5712) is my grail watch, but despite visiting many ADs, I've ever been able to find one to try on. Every AD in my area tells me the wait time is months or years for a blue Nautilus of any kind (particularly the 5711), that you must put a 100% deposit of full MSRP down for them to even consider asking to get one in (and no guarantee it'll arrive in any timeframe short of years), and that there's no way they'd ever get one in stock for people to try on.

I'd really rather not spend that kind of money without even seeing the watch in person, particularly if I don't know when (if ever) it will come in. Does anyone have any suggestions of how I might get a chance to handle one? Has anyone had success at an AD in the Northeast US? Any help would be appreciated.

Full MSRP deposit is too much! Fly to Asia... Check out Macau, HK, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur... Not hard to find at all. 15% off MSRP is not uncommon. Shop around. Good luck!

[jenniferjanef]

http://www.passions.com.sg/v2/watch/...111a-011-steel

Good price and readily avail. Very trusted seller based in Singapore. Look for Jonathan. Good luck Mate.

[mps354]

Sorry, just to clarify, I hadn't bought another patek from the AD when I got the discount, but had purchased other watches from them

[Maxy]

You might be able to try if you are ready to pay $2114.64

Thats the 8% Restocking fee at this gray dealer for watches over $4k.

[jenniferjanef]

Originally Posted by jenniferjanef

http://www.passions.com.sg/v2/watch/...111a-011-steel

Good price and readily avail. Very trusted seller based in Singapore. Look for Jonathan. Good luck Mate.

Wow... Yesterday still available and today is sold... There is something magical about the 5711 line. Very high in demand indeed. Love mine albeit the case is a little flat and large for my small rounded wrist... I love it so much I am gonna wear it still hahaha..

J

[FremStar]

Originally Posted by Puffy

got mine from davidsw....

Amazing pic!

Originally Posted by jenniferjanef

Full MSRP deposit is too much! Fly to Asia... Check out Macau, HK, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur... Not hard to find at all. 15% off MSRP is not uncommon. Shop around. Good luck!

Sound advice! A vacation and brand new timepiece at the same damn time!

Originally Posted by myopiccoog

I bought mine sight unseen. Bought it used mint from a grey last summer. I paid 30 back of retail. Just have to know what you are doing or ask for help! :)

For the 5711 I would go grey because you will wait if you go AD.

Yep! I vividly recall this transaction and was with you along with the other two blokes in this pic every step of the way during your thought process! I would have purchased it if you didn't, however, wasn't on the market for a Patek at that time! You did great on that one my friend!

[Demonoid]

Originally Posted by jenniferjanef

Wow... Yesterday still available and today is sold... There is something magical about the 5711 line. Very high in demand indeed. Love mine albeit the case is a little flat and large for my small rounded wrist... I love it so much I am gonna wear it still hahaha..

J

Nonsense. It looks perfect on you!

[jon_jon]

This past year, I have only seen a blue dial 5711 at an AD in Asia. They also had the white dial 5711 AD. They are hard to find at ADs.

[lovej]

Australian AD last year

[RussW]

Some ADs hold events where you can view a wide selection of models. I've tried on 2 blue 5711s this way (albeit they were non working models) in the UK. I presume US ADs do something similar?

[beshannon]

I guess I must have gotten lucky last year then as I had the chance to try on both the blue and white 5711. I ultimately bought the white dial version. While I am aware that they are rare and had to see, I think if you continue to look/ask around you should be able to find one especially if you are serious about buying it.