Patek Philippe Nautilus 5980/1A-001

The brainchild of legendary watch designer Gerald Genta, the Nautilus was introduced in 1976 to compete with Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak, another now-iconic Genta-designed steel sports watch launched a few years earlier. Its case shape, with ear-like projections either side, was like nothing the industry had seen before and despite not being an immediate hit it’s now one of the most sought-after Patek models around. Notably, this all-steel reference 5980 model from 2008 features a single, concentrically designed sub-dial at 6 o’clock to display its chronograph functions, while a small aperture at 3 o’clock displays the date, discreetly set amongst the signature horizontal ridges of the stunning blue-grey dial. Through the transparent caseback, the gold rotor of the automatic Caliber CH 28-520 movement can be viewed. This is a highly sought-after timepiece, now discontinued, from arguably the world’s most illustrious watch brand.