Year: 1978
Reference No: 3700/1
Movement No: 538’399
Case No: 1’306’597
Model Name: Nautilus
Material: Stainless steel
Calibre: Automatic, cal. 28-255 C, 36 jewels
Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Patek Philippe bracelet, max length 175mm
Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Patek Philippe deployant clasp
Accessories: Accompanied by Patek Philippe cork fitted presentation box. Further delivered with two Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming the date of manufacture of the present timepiece in 1978 and its subsequent date of sale on the 14th September 1979.

Having made its important debut over 45 years ago, the Patek Philippe Nautilus has become one of the most iconic timepieces of the century. First released in 1976, the ref. 3700 was the creation of a genius in the field, Gerald Genta, who also designed the biggest rival of them all, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak four years prior. It was whilst dining meters away from the Patek Philippe executives was inspired by the porthole of a ship constructed via a solid mono-block case with octagonal bezel. Housed in the heart of the watch is the calibre 28-255C taking blueprints from the Jaeger-LeCoultre calibre 920 from 1967. The development was financed by Audemars Piguet which revered to cal.2120 for the Royal Oak, Vacheron Constantin with cal. 1120 and Patek Philippe for the cal. 28-255C for the Nautilus. Lean and refined in its profile at only 3.15mm, it is regarded as one of the most legendary movements ever produced. Produced from 1976 to 1990, the ref. 3700 can be divided into two main series, with early example from 1976 – 1982 bearing the ref. 3700/1 stamp and examples produced from 1982 – 1990 onwards stamped with ref. 3700/11. Other notable features to differentiate the two is the integrated bracelet with examples from the first series measuring a wider 16mm and later examples measuring 14mm. Hand-made with ridged grooves manufactured by Stern Fréres, the very first examples highlighted dials with small painted hash outer minute tracks and gradually transitioned into dotted outer minute track, as well as the attached accent of the second “E” of “Genéve”, and “σ SWISS σ” applied on the bottom of the dial. The present example belongs to an example from the first series from the second year of its production in 1978 confirmed by an Extract from the Archives. Retailed by Argentinian retailer Ricciardi identifiable via the retailer’s serial number engraved beneath the case lugs, this present example belongs to a rare example and is further fresh-to-the-market being the fourth ever example known retailed by Ricciardi. While PHILLIPS in Association with Bacs & Russo had the privilege to auction the first example known in Geneva 2016, to further solidify its originality both examples were sold to Ricciardi on the same day on the 14th of September 1979. Boasting an attractive and well-preserved case with a flawless dial that has begun its desirable brown tropicalization process, it is further accompanied by its rare original cork fitted presentation box with the retailer’s sticker intact inside the box. The grandfather of all Nautilus models, the present early example is no less than a collectible specimen of the one who started them all and the second known example retailed by Ricciardi. PHILLIPS in Association with Bacs & Russo would like to thank Mstanga for contributing to the research of this present timepiece.