On this page
hese two watches are usually discussed as a choice of metal. In practice the metal is the part you can barely see. The 5811 that followed the steel 5711 in 2022 looks almost the same across a room, weighs noticeably more on the wrist, and costs more than A$100,000 extra to buy today. The question is what that money buys.
For most buyers, the steel 5711/1A-010. In our experience as a dealer, a 2020 5711 sells for about A$240,000 and an unworn 2026 white-gold 5811/1G-001 for about A$355,000 — around A$115,000 more for a watch most people cannot tell apart by eye. Choose the 5811 if you want current production, white gold and its newer clasp, and ideally if an authorised retailer will allocate one at Patek Philippe’s Australian retail of A$128,100.[1]
The metal is most of the difference. From 2019 the 5711 used the same calibre 26-330 S C as the 5811.[1][7] The 5811 differs in its white gold, a case a millimetre larger at 41 mm, and a new fold-over clasp.[1][18]
Summary
The 5811/1G-001 is current production: Patek Philippe lists it in Australia at A$128,100.[1] Patek announced that 2021 would be the last production year of the steel 5711/1A, and that year presented it with a new olive-green dial, the 5711/1A-014.[7] The 5711/1A-010’s retail was reported at about US$30,000 in 2021, about A$43,000 at today’s exchange rate.[12][19]
On the secondary market both trade far above any retail. Phillips sold two 5711/1A-010s with their Certificates of Origin in 2024, for US$76,200 in New York and HK$711,200 in Hong Kong — about A$109,909 and A$130,735.[8][9][12]
The 5811 is 41 mm in 18-carat white gold, the 5711 40 mm in steel.[1][9] The 5711 was rated to 120 m, and so was the 5811 at its launch; the 5811’s page today reads 30 m, after Patek moved to a single 30 m rating in 2024.[1][17][20][21]
General information only, not financial, tax or legal advice, and not a valuation. Secondary-market prices are the author’s, as a dealer in both references; Chrono24 is cited for its price-history trend, read on 6 October 2026. Auction figures are the realised prices on Phillips’ own result pages, reported as published. Currencies are converted at the Reserve Bank of Australia rate of 2 October 2026 — USD 0.6933, HKD 5.4400, CHF 0.5752 per Australian dollar.[12] Prices change without notice.
Key takeaways
Who this is for
This guide is for a buyer choosing between the two references, and for an owner of one weighing the other. It is particularly relevant to:
- buyers with around A$250,000 to A$400,000 deciding whether white gold is worth the difference;
- buyers who may be allocated a 5811 at retail and want to know what the alternative costs;
- owners of a 5711 weighing a switch;
- anyone importing either reference who wants the Australian landed cost first.
It is not a valuation, and it does not replace advice from your own adviser.
How this guide was prepared
Specifications, the Australian retail price and the 5711’s history come from Patek Philippe’s own pages and its 2021 Nautilus press release, read on 6 October 2026; completed sales from Phillips’ own lot pages; the price trend from Chrono24’s price history; and secondary-market prices from the author, a dealer in both references. The 5711/1A-010’s 2021 retail comes from a press report, named and dated. Conversions use the Reserve Bank of Australia, and tariff, tax and consumer-law positions come from the Australian Border Force and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The “Eden’s insight” section is the author’s own view as a dealer in both references. HYPA’s own listings are not used as evidence.
Factors at a glance
| Factor | 5711/1A-010 (steel) | 5811/1G-001 (white gold) |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Discontinued; 2021 its last production year | Current production |
| Retail | About US$30,000 reported in 2021, about A$43,000 today | A$128,100, Patek Philippe Australia |
| Secondary market, Oct 2026 | About A$240,000 (2020 example) | About A$355,000 (unworn, 2026) |
| Trend (Chrono24) | Peaked early 2022; rising again since 2025 | Highest around 2022 launch; rising again since mid-2025 |
| Completed sales | Phillips 2024: A$109,909 and A$130,735 | — |
| Case | 40 mm, steel | 41 mm, 8.2 mm, 18-carat white gold |
| Movement | 26-330 S C with stop-seconds from 2019; earlier calibres without | 26-330 S C with stop-seconds |
| Water resistance | 120 m as made | 120 m at launch; 30 m on Patek’s page today |
| Clasp | Earlier fold-over clasp | Fold-over clasp with four catches and 2–4 mm micro-adjustment |
| Extract from the Archives | Available once first sold ten years ago | Not yet available for any example |
| Tariff heading, duty | 9102, Free | 9101, Free |
Eden’s insight: is white gold worth the premium?
I’m Eden, founder of HYPA International. We buy and sell both of these watches, so read this as a dealer’s view, not a neutral one.
The difference that matters most between these two watches is price, and the gap on the secondary market is wider than it ever was at retail. When the 5711 was discontinued in 2021, its retail price was reported at around A$43,000 in today’s money. Patek Philippe’s Australian retail for the 5811 today is A$128,100. On the secondary market, a 2020 blue-dial 5711 sells for about A$240,000, and an unworn 2026 white-gold 5811 for about A$355,000. That’s around A$115,000 more for a watch that looks almost the same, and Chrono24’s price history shows the white gold trading above the steel ever since the 5811 launched.[10][11]
And they really do look the same to most people. Most people can’t tell steel from white gold just by looking. The difference you notice is the weight. A 5811 weighs around 204 g, and about 190 g of that is 18-carat white gold, so it is noticeably heavier on the wrist than the steel 5711. It is also a millimetre larger, and it has the newer folding clasp.
The gold has a value of its own, but not the value the price suggests. At early-October 2026 gold prices, 190 g of 18-carat gold is worth about A$27,000. That leaves close to A$90,000 of the premium paying for a difference most people can’t see.
Neither watch is at its peak. On Chrono24’s price history, the 5711 peaked in early 2022 and is well below that today, though it has been rising again since 2025. The 5811 was at its highest around its launch in 2022 and fell hard, though it has been climbing again since mid-2025.[10][11]
They’re both beautiful watches. If a friend came to me with A$300,000, I’d tell them to buy the steel 5711. For a watch that looks this similar, I don’t think the white-gold premium is justified, even once you count the gold in it.
Most people can’t tell steel from white gold just by looking. The difference you notice is the weight.
From 5711 to 5811: what changed, and what it kept
Patek Philippe launched the Nautilus in 1976 and reworked it for the collection’s 30th anniversary in 2006, when the steel 5711/1A arrived with a blue-black gradated dial: the 5711/1A-001 until 2009, then the 5711/1A-010 from 2010. Patek announced that 2021 would be its last production year, and gave it a send-off in olive green, the 5711/1A-014.[7] The white-gold 5811/1G-001 followed in October 2022.[17][18]
The dial carries over: Patek describes the 5811’s dial as “Sunburst blue with black-gradient rim, horizontally embossed”.[1] The case grew to 41 mm and is 8.2 mm thick, against the 5711’s 40 mm.[1][9] Monochrome reported a “two-part construction” with “a new pull-out piece lever system (patent pending) that allows the winding stem to be pulled out from the dial side”.[18]
The bracelet is where the wearing difference shows. The 5811 has a “patented fold-over clasp secured with four independent catches” whose micro-adjustment “can be extended by 2 to 4mm for enhanced wearing comfort”.[18] aBlogtoWatch put it more bluntly: “Gone is the little dangly clasp, replaced by a thin butterfly-style deployant.”[17] Across a day on the wrist, a few millimetres matter.
The movement is not the difference it is often said to be. Patek’s 2021 release says the calibre 26-330 S C, with a stop-seconds mechanism, had been powering the 5711 since 2019, and the 5811 uses the same calibre.[1][7] Only 5711s made before 2019 lack stop-seconds;[18] both Phillips lots cited here are earlier watches, with the 324 S C.[8][9]
What each one costs today
The 5811 has a retail price you can, in principle, pay: A$128,100 on Patek Philippe’s Australian page.[1] In principle, because a current Nautilus at retail goes to buyers an authorised retailer chooses to allocate it to. Patek lists five points of sale in Australia: J Farren-Price Jewellers in Sydney, the Patek Philippe boutiques in Sydney and Melbourne by The Hour Glass, The Hour Glass in Brisbane, and Watches of Switzerland Australia in Perth.[6]
Without that allocation, both watches are bought on the secondary market, at the prices in Eden’s insight above. Year, condition and papers move individual prices: a later example with its full set costs more, a worn one less. On Chrono24’s price history the 5711 peaked in early 2022 and the 5811 around its 2022 launch; both have been rising again since 2025, the 5811 from a low in mid-2025.[10][11]
Completed auction sales give a second reference point for the 5711. Phillips sold one as lot 52 in The New York Watch Auction: X on 8–9 June 2024, from its original owner with its Certificate of Origin and box, for US$76,200, about A$109,909.[8][12] Five months later, as lot 811 in The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XIX on 23–24 November 2024, another with its certificate, box and two extra links sold for HK$711,200, about A$130,735.[9][12] Both were pre-2019 watches; the market has moved since, and two results are a range, not a price.
Papers: the Certificate matters more than the Extract
The Certificate of Origin is the document that cannot be replaced: “The Certificate of Origin can unfortunately never be re-issued.”[3] Read the full reference and year from it, not from the listing title — a 5711/1A-010 is not the olive-green 5711/1A-014.
An Extract from the Archives can be requested “for any Patek Philippe timepiece that was first sold at least ten years ago from the date of the request”. It costs 500 Swiss francs, about A$869, and is sent within ten weeks of a confirmed order.[5][12] No 5811 is eligible before October 2032; a 5711 first sold by October 2016 qualifies today.[4][17]
Water resistance: a change of rating
The 5711/1A-010 was rated to 120 m, and Patek’s 2021 release gives the olive-green 5711/1A-014’s case as “water resistant to 120 meters”.[7][21] The 5811 was reported at the same 120 m at its launch, but Patek’s page now reads “Water-resistant to 30m”.[1][17][18] In 2024 Patek moved its water-resistant watches to a single 30 m guarantee; SJX reports that it covers “washing… hands, showering, bathing, swimming and other aquatic activities, including diving to a depth of 30 m”.[20] A listing that quotes 120 m for a 5811 is repeating the launch rating.
Work out the Australian landed cost
The metal changes the tariff heading and nothing else about the duty. Australia’s tariff schedule puts wrist-watches with a precious-metal case under heading 9101 and others under 9102, and both carry a general duty rate of Free.[13]
GST is where the money is: “10% of the value of the taxable importation” — the customs value, any duty, and the transport and insurance to bring the goods here.[14] On a watch at A$240,000 that is roughly A$24,000 before freight. An electronic import declaration at A$10,000 or more adds $152.00, a documentary one $192.00, plus $48.00 air biosecurity.[15]
Consumer law depends on how the watch reaches you. The ACCC says that “when an overseas business sells products directly to consumers in Australia, the business must follow the Australian Consumer Law, including the consumer guarantees” — though enforcing them against a business overseas is harder.[16] If the watch is delivered to an overseas address and forwarded or carried in, those guarantees do not apply.[16]
Buying through HYPA
HYPA International is a registered second-hand dealer in Victoria, Registration No. SHD-0018017, and an independent dealer, “not affiliated with, endorsed by or an authorised retailer of any manufacturer named on this website.”[22] A 5811 from HYPA is a secondary-market purchase, not a retail one.
HYPA currently offers a 2021 Nautilus 5711/1A-010 and an unworn 2026 Nautilus 5811/1G-001, each with its full set.
Payment is by bank transfer only, including PayID and Osko. Insured Australian delivery is included in the price of every watch, and you may collect in person or take hand delivery in Melbourne by appointment once payment clears. If you believe a watch is faulty or not as described, tell us within 7 days of delivery, or as soon as reasonably possible after that. If a defect is confirmed we repair, replace or refund in accordance with the Australian Consumer Law, and an agreed refund is paid by bank transfer within 5 business days of the watch being received and the defect confirmed. Other than where the Australian Consumer Law requires it, we do not offer refunds for a change of mind.[22]
The reference-by-reference guide to the current Nautilus collection sets the two in their family, and the guide to buying a pre-owned Patek Philippe covers the authenticity and seller checks this comparison assumes. If you own a 5711 and are weighing a switch, how HYPA values a watch you want to sell sets out what we ask for.
Common mistakes
Most people cannot tell steel from white gold by eye, and by the author’s figures the gold in a 5811 is worth only a fraction of the premium.
Patek says the calibre 26-330 S C, with stop-seconds, powered the 5711 from 2019.[7]
Pre-purchase checklist
Frequently asked questions
Patek Philippe 5711 vs 5811: steel or white gold?
What does a Patek Philippe 5811/1G-001 cost?
Why is there no retail price for the 5711?
How heavy is the white-gold 5811?
Patek Philippe publishes no weight. By the author’s figures, a 5811 weighs around 204 g, about 190 g of it 18-carat white gold, and it is noticeably heavier on the wrist than the steel 5711.
Does the 5811 have a better movement than the 5711?
Can I get an Extract from the Archives for either watch?
As of October 2026, only for a 5711 first sold by October 2016. An Extract can be requested for a timepiece first sold at least ten years ago, costs 500 Swiss francs — about A$869 — and is sent within ten weeks of a confirmed order. The 5811 launched in October 2022, so none is eligible yet.[5][12][17]
Can I swim with either watch?
Do I pay duty and GST importing either one into Australia?
Sources and references
- ↑[1] Patek Philippe — Nautilus ref. 5811/1G-001 White Gold (read from Australia, 6 October 2026)
- ↑[2] Patek Philippe — Nautilus collection
- ↑[3] Patek Philippe — Frequently asked questions, watch authenticity
- ↑[4] Patek Philippe — Frequently asked questions, Extract from the Archives
- ↑[5] Patek Philippe — Ordering an Extract from the Archives
- ↑[6] Patek Philippe — Official points of sale, Australia
- ↑[7] Patek Philippe — New Nautilus models, press release, 2021
- ↑[12] Reserve Bank of Australia — Exchange rates, 2 October 2026
- ↑[13] Australian Border Force — Chapter 91, current tariff classification
- ↑[14] Australian Border Force — GST and other taxes
- ↑[15] Australian Border Force — Import processing charge
- ↑[16] Australian Competition and Consumer Commission — Consumer rights and guarantees
- ↑[17] aBlogtoWatch — Patek Philippe Nautilus 5811 debuts as the white gold 5811/1G-001, 18 October 2022
- ↑[18] Monochrome — The new Patek Philippe Nautilus 5811/1G replaces the 5711, 18 October 2022
- ↑[19] Hypebeast — The price of a Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5711 has exploded since its discontinuation, 5 February 2021
- ↑[20] SJX Watches — Insight: Updated Criteria for the Patek Philippe Seal, 8 December 2024
- ↑[21] aBlogtoWatch — Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A-010 watch review, 16 April 2018
Eden John founded HYPA International in Melbourne and works across buying, selling and sourcing for collectors and private clients in Australia and internationally.
Every watch HYPA offers is assessed for authenticity, condition, provenance and completeness before sale; the same standard is applied to a watch it is offered.
