HAD I been writing about the hottest Patek Philippe a couple of years ago, I would, of course, have nominated the Ref 5711 steel Nautilus: at one time this watch was trading at five or six times retail. I was even told a story (maybe apocryphal, but so strange it’s probably true) of four men each buying a quarter of a Nautilus. Had the boom persisted, fractional ownership of Nautili might have become a thing, like apartments in Lanzarote or limbs of racehorses.

The madness ended. The bubble deflated. The Nautilus remains the same great watch it always was, but the Patek of the moment is as far from the Nautilus as it gets.

A watch about the size of an Alka-Seltzer, all the Ref 96 does is tell the time. Customarily cased in gold, it has neither bells nor whistles – not even a date window, let alone a chronograph or perpetual calendar. As to sportiness, I wouldn’t wear it out on a damp day and would advise against doing anything as risky as washing your hands with a 96 on your wrist.

The Nautilus 5711

Until the last 18 months or so, I doubt many collectors gave much thought to the Ref 96; it was considered a watch for Patek obsessives. It is historically significant as the first model introduced by the Stern family in 1932, following their acquisition of Patek to stop it going bust. The Ref 96 was the seed that grew into a horological forest of simple, classic round watches known collectively as the Calatrava.

Yet, with the exception of a few far-sighted collectors — including Patrick Getreide, whose Design Museum exhibition in 2022 featured several spectacular Calatravas — the Ref 96 had not made much of a dent in the market until now. The exhibition may have been ground zero for the astonishing revival of interest in the 96. However, as I curated it, I am partisan. Most Patek-watchers believe the patient zero in this instance was Mike Nouveau.

Nouveau is the millennial watch trader par excellence: a dealer and content generator whose social feeds are full of endearing braggadocio and, increasingly, Ref 96s. I asked him how he had got into them. “I was interested a long time before I ever had one; I knew it was an important watch. I just don’t think I had the opportunity to buy a good one until three years ago.”

It was around that time that small watches became a mainstream trend for men, and Nouveau saw a chance to rehabilitate a classic. “People probably didn’t have a lot of experience with the 96 and possibly never even considered them just because a listing says 31mm case diameter.” Instead, he likes to quote a lug-to-lug length of 38mm, which he argues still gives the watch presence on the wrist. As contemporary watches have come down in size, vintage pieces that would have been deemed too small even a couple of years ago are now perfectly acceptable. And, with no complications to clutter the dial, the time remains perfectly legible.

The Calatrava Ref 6196

The Ref 96 remained in production for more than four decades, an exceptional run that ended in 1973. So many were made over so many years that Nouveau likens its dial variety to that of the Rolex Day-Date. And they are, relatively speaking, affordable — although prices are climbing steeply. Time was when you could get a decent 96 for a little over $11,500. That particular ship has sailed, and according to dealers I spoke to, prices rose around 50 per cent last year, with special pieces now commanding sums that put you in the vintage Daytona ballpark — mid-1970s 6239 or 6265 territory.

Desirability is in the details. Sector dials score high: a 96 in steel with a sector dial fetched around $65,156 at Sotheby’s two summers ago. Breguet numerals are also much appreciated: a pink-gold 96 with Breguet numerals made $137k when it crossed the block that July.

Interest was further stoked by Patek Philippe with the launch last year of the Ref 6196. Any Calatrava with the “96” suffix signals a direct descendant of the Ref 96. For many, it was their favourite Patek of the year, and with its platinum case and salmon dial with applied faceted baton indices, it’s easy to see why.

Its popularity is nowhere near the craziness of the Nautilus boom. Nevertheless, given the swift rise in price and enthusiasm, we might yet see the 96 become a candidate for fractional ownership.

This article first appeared on Esquire UK

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