DDF Factory Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 Green Dial Super Clone, They Finally Got the Green Right

The DDF Factory green dial Nautilus 5711 is the only green 5711 super clone I would sell right now. The olive green dial brightens and darkens with the light the same way the gen does, the case ears are done at the factory instead of welded on later, and it runs a Dandong clone 330 with hacking seconds and the correct gold winding wheel. BBF sits too dark, has the wrong date font and no ears, and 3K’s grass green is simply the wrong color.

The date numerals sit a hair off center on every piece, the date is a slow roll that starts after 11 pm rather than the gen’s instant jump at 11:55, and under a loupe the movement still shows an extra regulator and no timing weights on the balance. None of that is visible from across the table.

The green dial Nautilus 5711 is one I get asked about constantly. The one I had on hand before this was the BBF, and what I told people then was that the dial sat too dark. The gen is already a deep blue-green, BBF pushed it darker still and it looked muddy. The DDF just came in, and the color is a big step up from BBF, the dial texture and a handful of small details got upgraded too. If you like this green and want something that passes from across the table, the DDF is the one to buy

Where I stand first, since I always say it. I’m a VS dealer, DDF is not my home factory, VS doesn’t make the 5711 so I bring in the best version I can find. This is what I’d hand a client today

DDF Nautilus 5711 Green Dial Under the Loupe: Embossed Pattern, Text and Date Font

Under a desk lamp, the color first. Zoom in and the embossed pattern is very clear, the dial text is the bold type, correct, and on the second row the E and V run together, that’s correct too. Date font is bold with the special shape, correct

One small letdown. The date numerals sit slightly off center. Not a few bad units, pretty much every piece has it, and it’s not the whole disc from 1 to 31 either, a handful of numbers are a hair off. From arm’s length the dial details are fine, and the color, honestly, is done really, really well

How the DDF Olive Green Shifts Under Different Light Compared to Gen

Change the light, normal indoor lighting with a bit of daylight coming in, not direct sun, and the olive green comes out, far more obvious than the olive on the BBF. In good light it gets brighter, in poor light it’s less green and less bright, same as the gen shot with the light behind it, turn it toward the light and it lights up again. That shift matches the gen. There’s a hint of green-gold sitting in the pattern, it’s a good looking dial

DDF vs BBF vs 3K Green Nautilus 5711: Dial Color, Date Font and Case Ears

Three factories make this green right now, DDF, BBF and 3K. 3K is a straight pass, their green is grass green, the color of a lawn, completely wrong. BBF has the wrong date font, the dial color isn’t as good as DDF, and the case ears aren’t there

The ears deserve a bit more. DDF does them at the factory, shape is pretty close to gen, the difference is they’re not as full. Getting ears added after the fact costs extra and it’s not cheap, the method is welding steel into the corner, with or without existing ears, then polishing it back out, how round and how well shaped it ends up is entirely down to the guy doing it, a good one can get it fuller and rounder and closer to gen. The stock DDF ears aren’t as full as a good aftermarket job, the forehead area is slightly flat

Having them at all is already good. Someone who knows about the ears looks at this and sees ears. Not like the BBF where there are visibly none, and if that person knows the gen always has them, that’s an instant call. On the DDF they can’t tell

Bezel Brushing, Bracelet Finishing and End Link Play on the DDF 5711

Brushing on the bezel is clear and fine. The color reads very low key until you put it under light, then the recognition factor is very high, it draws the eye. Bracelet finishing is good, the brushing has no roughness to it, link edges are all rounded off. The end link play is average, not huge, but it’s there, it lifts up and down, and when it lifts it’s the end link moving, not the bracelet bending, which is what real end link articulation should be

How the DDF Nautilus 5711 Wears on a 6.5 Inch Wrist

Wrist around 16.5 to 17 cm, roughly 6.5 to 6.7 inches, wears snug without touching the end links. Thinner wrist, I’d suggest having the end links modified to open up the play a bit, it sits closer and the wrist is more comfortable. The Nautilus got popular on being thin and comfortable to wear, the rest is brand pull and the Genta design, and the feedback from people who’ve got this one is that it’s very comfortable, weight is moderate, the bracelet hugs well and the links flex well

Clasp engraving is deep, and the Calatrava cross logo inside the clasp got an upgrade this round, the shape is closer

Clone 330 Movement in the DDF 5711: Rotor, Winding Wheel and Engraving vs Gen

Movement is now the 330, a Dandong-built clone 330 integrated movement, upgraded to hacking seconds. The fixed part of the rotor assembly has a touch of discoloration, only visible under magnification, to the naked eye it’s nothing, ignore it. Rotor has the three fixed claw shape, the winding wheel has a slotted screw in the middle and a gold wheel around the edge, different from the silver disc on the 324, that’s the correct upgrade, on the gen 330 both of those look exactly like this. The rotor itself is the half round shape, correct

Engraving is deep and neat, quite a bit better than the 3K and BBF engraving. Overall polish brightness, comparing against BBF by eye, the edge finishing and the brightness are both a notch better, the 3K I haven’t had in hand for a long while, from memory it’s also behind this one. Gold chatons are there, the regulator is still the extra one that shouldn’t be there, and there are no timing weights on the balance, that’s the gap to gen, and it’s a caseback-under-a-loupe thing

Setting the Time and Date on the DDF Nautilus 5711 Super Clone

Setting works the same as gen. Turn the crown down a few turns and it pops out, turning up winds it, twenty to thirty turns from a dead stop is enough. Pull to the first position for the date, if the hour hand is in the top half of the dial you can’t set the date directly, pull to the second position and bring the hour hand down first. Second position is time, turn the crown down and the hands go clockwise, same direction as gen. Push it back in, date is set by turning the crown up, same as gen

While setting the date I ran through the whole disc, a few individual numbers have a slight bit of blocking, most are very good, it’s a print issue on this particular date disc, bold font and the special shape are all there, just the odd one that’s a touch off, not serious

DDF 5711 Date Change Explained: Slow Roll After 11 PM, Not the Gen Instant Jump

The date change needs spelling out, because it’s not the usual slow creep. Gen is an instant jump, starts around 11:55 pm, and during the jump there’s a little eye roll, say 15 to 16, the 15 drops down a bit, the 16 peeks in, then it snaps over to 16. The DDF is a slow change, nothing happens after 10, after 11 it starts to roll. The gen doesn’t move at all before 11:30, it waits until the minute hand is past 50 before it starts to show any movement

So what’s the difference. A normal slow date starts rolling at 10, this one is pushed back about an hour, and against the gen’s instant jump it’s still about half an hour early. Whether it finishes at 11:55, 12:00 or 12:05 is adjustable. I’ve got a blue dial one here too, same behavior, starts rolling right at 11, the blue is done very well too, that one gets its own write-up

Hour Markers, Hands and Dealer QC on the DDF 5711 Green Dial

A few more things on the dial. The marker edges have a touch of rounded polish. On the gen green the marker edges aren’t as round as on the blue dial to begin with, but there’s some, the DDF has some too, not that obvious, a little behind gen. The embossed pattern is clear, text is done very well. Hands will have one or two small flaws more or less, nothing serious, from arm’s length you won’t see it, under a loupe you will, cleanliness is okay, that part comes down to the dealer’s QC, I go over every piece before it ships. The date font, flipping through the whole disc, is all quite good

Which Green Nautilus 5711 Super Clone Should You Buy

No need to weigh it up any further. If you want a green 5711 that passes from across the table, the DDF is the only one, the other two aren’t worth considering