Patek Philippe

Originally unveiled in 1976 and designed by the legendary Gerald Genta, the Nautilus reference 3700 was the first sport watch in the 137-year history of the manufacture. It was voluminous and made of steel, although the prevailing trend favored very slender watches in gold. It was water resistant to 120 meters, a sensation at the time. And unlike any other wristwatch, it embodied a maritime, nautical aspect. The reference 3700 was in production until 1990.

The movement is an ultra-thin, automatic caliber 28-255 C, which remains the thinnest automatic movement with a center rotor ever produced. The integrated bracelet is one of the key features of the Nautilus, with brushed links and polished center links, this thin bracelet is one of the most comfortable sport bracelets ever made. 

Approximately less than 1,150 timepieces were produced in yellow gold for a total production of 7,300 references 3700.

The present example was manufactured in 1979 as is evident by the accompanying Extract from the Archives, confirming the date of the sale as May 30^th, 1980.

It’s remarkable in several ways: the first of which is the seldom seen tropical nature of the chocolate brown ribbed dial. This is also a first-generation example demonstrating original finishing and a tight Gay Frères bracelet produced from 1976 to 1982.

Finally, the indexes and hands are manufactured from yellow gold, indicated by the lower-case Greek letter ‘sigma’ at the bottom of the dial. The ‘sigma’ signature was a visual declaration of the use of precious materials and was adopted by a number of manufactures throughout the 70’s - emphasizing the inherent value of a high-quality, mechanical watch.