Another one of Gerald Genta's iconic creations. The Patek Philippe Nautilus was conceived using the universal shape of a porthole found on most maritime vessels and released just four years after the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak was launched in 1972.
Just like on the rest of Genta's creations, the alternating brushed and polished areas on the bezel as well as the flat top cases are part of the design. Patek Philippe commissioned monsieur Genta to come up with a design that would compete with the Royal Oak and that would stand the test of time. The end result, the iconic Nautilus. With its unmistakeable black-blue dial this timepiece was released in 1976 as ref. 3700/1 in stainless steel and with the name Nautilus 'Jumbo' due to its large—40mm— case diameter at the time. Since then, the Nautilus has established itself as a classic, elegant sports watch from one of the top Haute Horlogerie houses.
The black-blue dial on the Nautilus often looks either chocolate brown or black depending on the lighting conditions. This watch comes with a 45-hour power reserve thanks to its self-winding caliber 324 S C, screw-down crown, sapphire crystal case back and a stainless steel bracelet. The watch is very comfortable and the bracelet somewhat light for our taste. The watch has a strong presence on the wrist and extremely accurate timekeeping with +1 seconds a day.
The Nautilus is definitely a piece that needs to be part of any collection looking to honor monsieur Genta's creations or any power collection. Now, if you already own a Royal Oak, an IWC Ingenieur SL and a Vacheron Constantin Overseas, it is very likely that you will end up adding a Nautilus to complete your poker of aces. Probably in due time and time is already ticking.
Sticker Price $29,800. For more info on this watch click here.
