Yasuharu Abe's Theory of Patek Philippe - Part 3 - Nautilus I

hello everyone.

This time, I would like to write about the Nautilus, which has recently seen a rapid rise in popularity and price. First of all, when talking about the Nautilus, one cannot leave out the "Ref. 3700/1", commonly known as the Jumbo, which was released in 1976.

Nowadays, this model is only occasionally offered at overseas auctions, and depending on its condition and accessories, it can fetch over 10 million yen.

About 15 years ago, when I had just entered the watch industry, the stainless steel model of the 3700 seemed to be quite rare, and I remember it selling for around 2 to 2.5 million yen.

The 3700 movement is equipped with Jaeger-LeCoultre's "Cal.28-255SC," which changes the date by moving it back and forth between 2 o'clock and 10 o'clock (10 p.m.) of the previous day. Those who know the design, with only the hour and minute hands and no second hand, will recognize it as a 3700 at first sight, but at the time, the Royal Oak and other watches had a strong image of being ordinary watches when looking at the design. However, the watch was designed by the famous Gerald Genta, including the IWC Ingenieur that we learned about later, and the image of the watch has changed to one of refined coolness, with a design that is free of waste and complete.

A few years later, the medium-sized "Ref. 3800" was released, but for me, it was a model that was relatively popular around 10 to 15 years ago, and I remember it selling for around 600,000 to 700,000 yen depending on the material, type of dial, and whether or not it had accessories.

The final version of the SS model "3800/1A" had a black dial with Roman numerals and leaf hands, and I remember that new ones were selling for 1.6 to 1.7 million yen even near the end of production. However, platinum models are rare, and I have seen two or three of them, which I think were over 4 million yen at the time. 18KWG models are also rare and few in number. Although the size is a little small, many Japanese people have thin wrists, so I think this model is popular. We carry a large selection of these watches, but the SS model with a blue dial is especially popular.

The "Ref.3710/1A" was a jumbo-sized watch with a power reserve display on the dial and Roman numerals as its indexes. It didn't leave much of an impression at the time, but it's an interesting design now. I don't think there are many of them on the market these days.

When it was still easy to buy and in the price range (around 3 million yen), I especially recommended the "Ref. 3711/1G." It is an extremely simple yet cool watch with an 18WG case and bracelet, a black dial and three hands. The production period was relatively short and there were few units in circulation, so I think it is now over 10 million yen.