Watch clubs are a notoriously exclusive affair. Often well-gatekept from the rest of the world, they’re a place where collectors can gather and talk about their wristwear, or watches they like, or even daylight savings. Anything to do with the time really. While that may not sound exclusive, getting in to the watch club is the hard part. You need something in common, something shared. Having the same watch is normally a pretty good start.
One watch club is likely to be harder to get into than any other, and that is the Patek Philippe and Tiffany & Co. club. It all started late in 2021, when Patek Philippe president Thierry Stern announced the end of one of the brand’s most iconic models, the 5711 Nautilus. At the time, in an interview with The New York Times, Stern confirmed there would be "a victory lap" for the watch, which as we know now, culminated in the release of this watch—the dial repainted in the familiar shade of blue, and with small Tiffany & Co.branding.
It sent the watch world into meltdown then, and it still does today. Only 170 pieces were produced, making it a very select club to be a part of. All (but one) were allocated out on release, with the other going under the hammer for auction immediately. With a retail price of close to $80,000—it’s the secondhand market price that really highlights the exclusivity of the club.
Of the few listed for sale on the watch platform Chrono24, prices reach up to $5.26 million AUD. In terms of actual sales, only two have been sold publicly, with the most recent in 2022, going for $4.75 million. Big money stuff.
Watches send messages, we know that. But there’s something about this familiar shade of blue on your wrist that really drives the message home. It shows you've either got connections, or money, or both. There are of course, those watch collectors that we assume have one, but are waiting for confirmation, big watch guys like John Mayer and Daniel Arsham likely have one in their stash. But the people that have found themselves (and been photographed in) in what some deem to be the “holy grail” of watches, have amassed one of the world’s most expensive, but random watch clubs of all time.
Here are the celebrities who we know are in it (so far).
