2021 will be the last production year for Patek Philippe’s stainless-steel Nautilus Ref. 5711/1A-014, patek.com.

With the production of the iconic stainless-steel Patek Philippe Ref. 5711/1A Nautilus coming to an end this year, we take a look at some exquisite timepieces positioned to fill the gap for aficionados seeking a similar modern, sporty zeitgeist.

It was with a strong dose of disappointment that the watch-loving public took the recent news that the stainless-steel version of the Patek Philippe (patek.com) Nautilus, the Ref. 5711/IA, was taking a final victory lap in 2021. While the company unveiled four new versions of the Nautilus timepiece during this season’s virtual watch shows, including a new olive-green dial color for the stainless-steel 1A (along with a diamond-adorned green 1A, a rose gold Nautilus Time Travel Chronograph and a high-jewelry take on the model), take a good long look at the offerings below, and sigh.

A surprise collection of Aquanauts picks up where Ref.5711 leaves off , expanding the sporty offerings from Patek Philippe for 2021.

The waiting list for the steel version of the Nautilus was reportedly years long, and unless you carry a great deal of industry weight, these are all most likely already spoken for as well. One can only speculate on what Patek Philippe’s next move will be to replace or revise a watch that, with the possible exception of the Ref. 5524G Calatrava Pilot Travel Time “pilot watch” in 2015, was as sporty and visually accessible as the watchmaker ever got.

Late watch designer Gérald Genta created something that became more than just an icon when he brought his “porthole” case concept to Patek Philippe in 1974. Genta had already crafted the bold, octagonal Royal Oak for Audemars Piguet two years prior, igniting the market for luxury timepieces in steel. But the first Nautilus release in 1976, the Ref. 3700, powered by a thin 2121 movement created in collaboration with Jaeger-LeCoultre, served as the core inspiration for the line as it moved forward over the next 45-plus years and resonated successfully with public demand, creating unrivaled disruptive gravitas for a beautifully simple, steel sports watch. While we wait to see what’s next from Patek, here is a quartet of outstanding timepieces that capture a complementary vibe on high horological gleaming sportiness and looks.

DRIVE DE CARTIER MOON PHASES

Introduced in 2016, the Drive de Cartier was a bold introduction for the storied house that fused heritage design cues—especially those of the signature Cartier (cartier. com) watch face—into a curved, modern, easy-to-wear case approach. And, in a big departure for a maker so associated with fine jewelry, the early versions included steel executions. Steel has continued as a thread in the Drive story, as the line has expanded to include second-time zone iterations, tourbillons and, more recently, a steel moon phase timepiece.

Cartier Drive de Cartier Moon Phases in stainless steel, cartier.com

Arguably, a classic moon phase indicator rides better at 6 o’clock on Cartier’s signature Roman-numeral, central-gauged dial than almost anywhere else, but that classicism doesn’t detract a whit from the timepiece’s modern, clean appeal. Powered by the manufacture 1904-LU MC movement, the Drive de Cartier Moon Phases lunar indicator needs to be corrected only one day every 125 years.

The Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin Skeleton with visible movement in white gold, vacheronconstantin. com

VACHERON CONSTANTIN OVERSEAS PERPETUAL CALENDAR ULTRA-THIN

While there are stainless-steel executions of the Vacheron Constantin (vacheron-constantin.com) Overseas timepieces (from $20,900 for a core two-hand approach and peaking at $109,000 for a tourbillon in steel), one of the latest versions of the watch, the Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin, proves that this clean, sporty 41.5 mm canvas, reenvisioned in 2016, can easily house a fine, travel-ready, bragging-rights complication—in a mere 8.1 mm of thickness—and arrive wrought in white gold without introducing an overdose of fussiness to the package at all.

Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin in white gold, vacheronconstantin.com

Of course, as a white gold watch carrying an exacting perpetual calendar that includes moon phase, date, day of the week and month indicators that anticipate variant days in a month and leap years (no adjustment required until the year 2100, in fact), the Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin commands the most premium price in this group.

Chopard Alpine Eagle XL Chrono in stainless steel with blue or black dials, chopard.com

CHOPARD ALPINE EAGLE CHRONOGRAPH XL

The story of the Alpine Eagle’s design actually goes back to the house’s first steel sports watch created in 1980, the St. Moritz. Karl-Fritz Scheufele, the son of Chopard (chopard.com) Co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, discovered a vintage St. Moritz in the company’s offices and assumed it was a prototype the company was planning to produce.

But he had actually unearthed his father’s first watch design, something he had created at the age of 22, and brought it back to the forefront. The Alpine Eagle was created from the St. Moritz inspiration in 2019.

The latest news here is the Alpine Eagle Chronograph XL from last year, folding in a natural time-keeping function to the line while retaining the clean spirit of the original steel two-hand version. Sporting a 4 4 mm case and integrated bracelet in gleaming Lucent Steel A223 (a proprietary Chopard alloy that is 50% harder than traditional stainless steel and packs more intense reflective qualities), the Alpine Eagle Chronograph XL’s pushers form an understated low-profile activation approach that integrates beautifully into the strong case design.

GIRARD PERREGAUX LAUREATO INFINITY EDITION

Girard-Perregaux (girard-perregaux.com) actually launched the in-house-designed Laureato in 1975, predating the Nautilus by a year. At the suggestion of its Italian distributor, G-P named the model after the 1967 film The Graduate, indicating a shared youthful appeal with the Genta design. But the Laureato’s story has been one of perpetual use as a beautifully clean-slate design to which to bring more and more innovation and complication. Nearly every manner of material and function found its way to the watch in the ensuing decades, even some recent skeletonized versions, without overtaxing and disconnecting from the core case design.

Girard-Perregaux for Wempe Laureato 42 MM Infinity Edition, girardperregaux.com

In the recent Infinity execution, an exclusive design available at Wempe boutiques worldwide, the Laureato revisits its midcentury origins. A handcrafted inky black onyx dial (the result of a 15-step craftsman process) with stunning, clean, modern pink gold accents that jump right out of the noir backdrop highlight this 42 mm timepiece.