Spotlight On The Patek Philippe Nautilus 5726

The Patek Philippe Nautilus 5726 Debuts in 2010

Patek Philippe launched the Nautilus watch in 1976. Two decades later, in 1996, Patek Philippe unveiled a brand new complication called the annual calendar. And finally, in 2010, Patek Philippe brought these two significant watch innovations together in the form of the Annual Calendar Nautilus ref. 5726.

The first model to kick off the collection was the Nautilus ref. 5726A-001 with a 40.5mm stainless steel porthole-shaped case and rounded octagonal bezel combo characteristic of the Nautilus watch, a black gradient dial with the customary horizontal grooves, and a black leather strap fitted with a steel foldover clasp.

Powered by the automatic Caliber 324 S QA LU 24H/303 mechanical movement, the Nautilus 5726 features an annual calendar complication along with a moon phase display. The day and month windows sit right below 12 o’clock, the date window is located at 6 o’clock, and the moon phase aperture is right above 6 o’clock further surrounded by a 24-scale for AM/PM indication. As its name implies, an annual calendar watch only requires adjustment once a year on March 1, where the date needs to be manually advanced by three days in non-leap years and by two days in leap years.

As long as the watch is running, it will continue to indicate the correct time/date/day/month/moon phase for the rest of the year. It’s also important to note that the extremely accurate moon phase display only deviates from the true lunar cycle one day every 122 years. Of course, the intricately decorated and finished movement, complete with the 21k gold rotor, is visible through the sapphire caseback.

Steel Bracelet Patek Philippe Nautilus 5726 Joins in 2012

In 2012, Patek Philippe expanded the Nautilus 5726 Annual Calendar with moon phase display lineup with two new versions. Both versions were based on the inaugural model but this time, the watches were fitted with the famed stainless steel Nautilus integrated bracelets. Similar to the one on the very first Nautilus from the seventies, these iconic integrated Patek metal bracelets are often imitated but never duplicated.

Patek offered these two new stainless steel bracelet Annual Calendar Nautilus models with a choice of a black gradient dial (ref. 5726/1A-001) or a white dial (ref. 5726/1A-010). The black gradient dial retains the same white gold applied hour markers and hands with luminescent coating while the white dial version benefits from black oxidized hands and markers to make them pop against the crisp background.

Aside from the bracelet and dial options, the rest of the specs remain the same, including the same 40.5mm diameter (and 11.3mm thickness) of the porthole-shaped case, the 120m water resistance, the rounded octagonal bezel, the self-winding Caliber 324 S QA LU 24H/303 movement, and the exhibition sapphire caseback.

The Blue-Dialed Nautilus 5726 Takes Over in 2019

In 2019, Patek Philippe discontinued the black dial Nautilus 5726/1A-001 and the white dial Nautilus 5726/1A-010 with steel bracelets in favor of the blue dial Nautilus 5726/1A-014.

As declared by Patek Philippe, the new blue to black gradated dial of the Annual Calendar Nautilus is directly inspired by the dial color of the original Nautilus model of 1976. The rest of the specifications remain the same including the coveted stainless steel integrated bracelet.

Annual Calendar Nautilus 5726 Timeline

Throughout the relatively short history of the Annual Calendar Nautilus, Patek Philippe has made four references so far, all in stainless steel, with an assortment of bracelet and dial options.

How To Set The Patek Philippe Nautilus 5726

To set the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5726, follow these steps. Remember to never unscrew the crown underwater, always screw back the crown when you’re done with adjustments, and never set the watch while it is on your wrist. Also, never correct any calendar displays between 8 pm and 3 am or the moon phase display between 9 am and 11 am–these are considered the “danger zones.”

Step 1

Unscrew the screw-down winding crown and turn the crown about 10 clockwise turns to wind the watch. Pull out the crown out to the last notch.

Step 2

Move the hour and minute hands so they show 6:15 am (use the 24-hour subdial as your guide to differentiate between AM and PM hours). This is an important step because making calendar and/or moon phase adjustments during the so-called “danger zone” can damage the movement.

Step 3

Using the accompanying stylus, push the corrector located at 4:30 (date corrector) on the case until you reach “1” (first day of the month).

Step 4

Using the accompanying stylus, push the corrector located at 1:30 (month corrector) on the case until you reach the correct month.

Step 5

Using the accompanying stylus, push the corrector located at 4:30 (date corrector) on the case until you reach the correct date.

Step 6

Using the accompanying stylus, push the corrector located at 10:30 (day of the week corrector) on the case until you reach the correct day.

Step 7

Using the accompanying stylus, push the corrector located at 7:30 (moon phase corrector) until you reach the correct moon phase.

Step 8

Turn the winding crown to set the correct time (noting the AM/PM hours).

Step 9

Push the winding crown back all the way and screw it back into the case.