Patek Philippe Nautilus Power Reserve – 5712/1A-001

Spotting luxury watches on the wrists of famous people gets to be a bit of a habit when you're writing about the industry. So it's easy to get inured to the procession of bold, beautiful faces and bold, beautiful timepieces. When you see multiple-thousand-pound watches everywhere you look, they don't look so special anymore.
And then you see one on the wrist of Iron Man.
Now, Robert Downey Jr is famous for being a fan of the luxury watch. If you could get a peek into his watch safe, you'd probably hang up your horology-nerd spurs and find a new career. This is a man who commands anything up to $70 million per movie. And who had, at the time of writing, a net worth of $220 million. When you've got all that cash in the bank, you can have any watch you want.
So, the watches you do want? They're really worth a second look. Like the Patek Philippe Nautilus Power Reserve (ref 5712/1A-001). The actor behind Tony Stark regularly rocks this timepiece. And when we dive behind the dial, it's easy to see why.
The Patek Philippe Nautilus Power Reserve 5712/A-001 is powered by Patek's calibre 240 PS IRM C LU: a mechanical self-winding movement with a seconds subdial, a moonphase indicator with date, and a power reserve indicator. The movement has an off-centred mini-rotor in 22 K gold, 29 jewels, and 11 bridges. The 265 parts work in perfect harmony, as you'd expect from a Patek calibre, and the exquisite finishing of the baseplates and bridges can be seen through the sapphire crystal caseback.
It's impossible to know the 'real' Robert Downey Jr, of course. But I can't help but feel there's a good chunk of him in the on-screen version of Tony Stark. Urbane, sophisticated, a little bit cocky—and deeply in love with machines, mechanics, and invention. Now, Patek Philippe is hardly a brand that can be labelled 'cocky'. But it is clearly a brand that understands, and is infatuated with, the perfection of high-level machinery.
There's a reason Patek Philippes are the only luxury watch that consistently show solid resale value. The quality of these luxury watches is genuinely second to none. And the quality of the Nautilus Power Reserve really does befit a Tony Stark watch collection. Everything, from the decorative finishes on the movement to the perfect pairing of light and shade on that legendary dial, just—works. For the guy who built the Iron Man suit, that's the highest of accolades.
Iron Man doesn't only love machines for what they do, of course. He's big into how they look. You only have to take a peek into his garage, a glimpse at the rows of gleaming bonnets and supercharged engines, to understand that. The inventor who drives a succession of hot rods, Audi R8s, Bugattis, and Acura NSXs, clearly knows that the link between performance and vision is a powerful one. And that's the secret of the Patek Philippe Nautilus Power Reserve.
On the dial, set into those trademark stripes, you'll find three indicators with four purposes. The first is the power reserve, for which this 40 mm luxury watch is named. It's got a minimum reserve of 38 hours, and a maximum reserve of 48 hours.
The second indication combines moon phases and date. The phase of the moon is shown on a beautifully decorated disc, adorned with moon and stars. As the disc rotates over the course of the lunar orbit, the moon is first revealed and then pared down as it emerges from, and passes behind, the outer curves of its aperture. Around the edge of the indicator, you'll find the days of the month, indicated with a hand. Date correction must happen every month that has fewer than 31 days.
The third indicator is the seconds, sweeping in a small subdial at 5 o'clock. The proportions of the three indicators are beautifully done (the moonphase indicator is biggest), and the alternation of their smooth surfaces with the lined blue dial is perfect.
Hour indexes are applied with lume, as are the hands. The case is waterproof to 60 m.
If you could only ever own one luxury watch in your lifetime, the Patek Philippe Nautilus Power Reserve 5712/A-001 would be an excellent choice. Masculine but not overbearing, this timepiece is the perfect fusion of style and function. And hey, if it's good enough for Iron Man…
Image Credit – officialwatches.com vedere di piu rolex replica e Hublot