Patek Philippe Nautilus 50th Anniversary ref. 5610/1P-001 Review

The Nautilus turned 50 this year, and Patek marked the occasion with far more restraint than anyone expected. Gérald Genta's design debuted back in 1976 as a steel sports watch priced like a gold one, confused most of the market, and then spent five decades becoming the most requested thing in the catalog. The anniversary set unveiled at Watches and Wonders 2026 runs to three wristwatches, and this platinum 5610/1P-001 sits at the top of the pyramid. 

The case measures 38mm from 10 to 4 o'clock (which is how Patek has always measured the Nautilus) and stands 6.9mm tall. That makes it the smallest of the three by some margin and easily the heaviest, because platinum lends the bracelet a heft that white gold simply can't match. Polished and satin surfaces alternate across the case, bezel, and bracelet exactly as they have since the beginning, and the signature platinum Patek diamond sits unusually in the case flank at 9 o'clock. 

Hours and minutes, and nothing else 

The dial is sunburst blue with the horizontal embossing the model has worn since day one, fitted with applied white-gold batons and matching rounded hands, both with a luminous coating. What's absent is the date. The original 3700 had one at 3 o'clock, and most Nautilus references since have kept it, so losing it isn't quite a return to 1976, so much as a tidying up. The dial feels considerably calmer as a result. 

Behind the sapphire caseback sits the caliber 240, the ultra-thin automatic Patek introduced in 1977, and has never had much reason to replace. It measures 2.53mm in height, beats at 3Hz, and winds via a 22K gold micro-rotor that is recessed into the plate rather than perched on top of it, which is precisely why the finished watch comes in under 7mm. On the anniversary, the rotor is engraved with "50 1976-2026", a subtle detail that makes it worth turning the watch over. 

Production runs to 2,000 pieces, which sounds generous for an anniversary edition, but certainly won't feel that way to anyone trying to buy one. Fifty years after its introduction, Patek Philippe returns to the proportions of the original and a clean dial layout that celebrates the enduring legacy of the Nautilus.