We are always scouring the web for the most amazing watches currently available, and each Friday we share five standout pieces with you.
We recently detailed how you can buy a current model Rolex or an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak at relatively reasonably prices today, and below we do the same for the Patek Philippe Nautilus.
With a watch that’s been around since 1976 and was designed by the beloved Gerald Genta, deciding exactly which Nautilus to get isn’t always easy. However, we are unabashedly in favor of those Nautilus models that adhere closely to Genta’s original 1970s design. Our opinion was solidified when an unpolished Patek Nautilus 3700/1A (the very first iteration) blew our minds in Coppenhagan a couple years ago.
With our strong opinions about the Nautilus acknolwedged, we have curated five amazing examples that will keep you quite close to what Genta and Patek Philippe originally offered—including a 5711 for good measure. These watches wont come cheaply, but the prices are far better than they were only a year ago, before pandemic collectors left the collecting scene.
The Nautilus reference 5711 has been the watch to get for years, especially since Patek cancelled the reference in the middle of the biggest hype-fest the brand has ever seen (more on this below). Though we recommend earlier and, we think, far tastier references below, the 5711 remains a market benchmark for the genre of the luxury sports watch, and certainly for the Nautilus more generally. Chrono24’s watch market index, Chrono Pulse, reports that over the past three months the steel Nautilus 5711 has dropped by -8.56 percent, while over the past year it’s down -14.17 percent. (You can learn more about using watch market indexes in our colleague Victoria Gomelski’s guide.) And prices on the vintage and neo-vintage Nautilus models we recommend are similarly down.
The Patek Philippe Nautilus is so powerfully iconic that the brand has gone to great lengths to downplay the watch in what we have called elsewhere an attempt to “avoid Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak problem.” Patek recently ran ads stating that “there is no star” and that the family-run business simply offers “collections” and not “hero watches.” All of this downplaying really began when Patek Philippe discontinued the stainless steel Nautilus reference 5711, offering up a Tiffany blue version as a final run, and then only offering precious metal versions.
As watch expert and author Jack Forester wrote in the height of the hype, “This news…[is]… already spreading like wildfire across social media, confirming the fanatical attention the 5711 has garnered for itself in recent years.” And it’s exactly that attention which caused Patek to stop producing stainless steel versions of the Nautilus. And so, to the pre-owned market we all must turn.
This is where we come in with five amazing, extra-vibey examples of the Patek Philippe Nautilus that you can buy right now. We will walk you through some of the Nautilus’s history as we show you what we think are the very coolest examples on the market today.
-
Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700/11A | $225,000
Image Credit: Wind Vintage The Nautilus launched in 1976 with the reference 3700 in steel, and that’s what’s leading us off this week, with a beautiful full-kit example from Wind Vintage. This is the reference 3700/11A (the ‘A’ stands for acier, or steel in French), dating to the mid-80s, and boasts all the charm of that original reference. The 40 mm “Jumbo” case measures 42 mm from ear to ear, and features a crisp, brushed bezel framing the not-quite-circlular dial that is a masterclass in subtlety.
Last week Eric Wind told us that he, “is still bullish with the first series,” meaning that he expects the very original references will continue to pull ahead of later references as time progresses. This could explain the pricing here, which, frankly, is down considerably from where we might have guessed it to have been just two years ago.
We love the original reference for its lack of a seconds hand, creating a broad, serene landscape of the horizontal texture rendered in a deep navy blue, with a soft sunray finish. Age shows itself in unique ways in this reference, and here we’re treated to a near original looking dial, which is something of a rarity. This example is being listed with its original Certificate of Origin and a Patek Philippe oval box.
-
Patek Philippe Nautilus 3800/1A | $59,500
Image Credit: The Keystone The original reference 3700 took a little getting used to for audiences of the 1970s, and in response, Patek released a smaller reference 3800, which measured 37.5 mm. The 3800 made use of a seconds hand on the dial, and this reference felt a bit more approachable as a result, helping the Nautilus collection find its footing with a broader audience. The 3800 may not enjoy the notoriety of its Jumbo stablemate today, but it played an important role in the eventual success of the Nautilus.
This example from the Keystone is in remarkably clean condition, and gets a white date disc with black numerals signaling a later production (earlier examples of the 3800 used a black date disc with white numerals). Another interesting detail about this dial is the lack of an accent over the second ‘E’ of ‘GENEVA’ and the overall thicker application of the branding at 12 o’clock. We love the hidden details in these references, and this example is a treat to discover. And that beige tritium lume is as vibey as it gets.
-
Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700J | Price Upon Request
Image Credit: The Keystone Rounding the 3700s in this curation we have a special 3700J in yellow gold (or jaune in French, hence the ‘J’) with a beautiful tropical dial. Only around 1,500 examples of the 3700 would be produced, making them that much more special. We’ve talked about tropical dials, and this one in particular features a relatively even aging across the center of the dial that is highly desirable for some collectors who embrace the effects of entropy as a naturally-occuring art. Here, the patina matches beautifully with the gold case and bracelet.
This 3700J is being offered with an archive extract from Patek Philippe (which asserts authenticity), and with most of its links, making it all the more practical for those who enjoy wearing their investment grade timepieces. The lines of the case and bracelet are well preserved here, showing just the right amount of age to compliment the situation happening on the dial.
-
Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700 ‘Gübelin Dial’ | $108,550
Image Credit: Tropical Watch The Nautilus reference 3700 was in production for 14 years, and saw few variations produced within that span. If you haven’t caught on, those variations can be quite subtle. One not so subtle variation are the so-called ‘double signed’ dials, which feature their usual Patek Philippe branding, as well as the mark of their retailer. In this case, we have one signed ‘Gübelin’, a European retailer that’s been a long time partner of Patek. Not all retailers were given this mark, and these examples can be seen as quite desirable to collectors, because they are rare.
This particular reference 3700 dates to 1977, just a year after the watch’s introduction, and has plenty of age creeping into the dial to show for it. The browning that can happen on these dials can take on a pleasing appearance, and these dials are referred to as being ‘tropical’ in nature. This example has some brown spotting around the hour markers, while much of the original blue is preserved. This 3700 is listed by the aptly named Tropical Watch, and is accompanied by an extract from the Patek Philippe archives in order to assert authenticity.
-
Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 | $99,740
Image Credit: Chrono24 Finally, we can’t have a list featuring the Nautilus without the reference responsible for putting it back in the modern spotlight: the 5711. Those four numbers have become a near household name these days thanks to the watch symbolizing the stratospheric rise of second market pricing heading into 2020. The 5711 was introduced in 2006 in celebration of the Nautilus’ 30th anniversary. It represented a modernization of the collection, with small changes throughout (including the addition of a seconds hand) while maintaining a clear throughline to the original.
The example hails from 2007, and is listed in very good condition. The faded blue dial and slightly wider horizontal bar texture looks as new, while the case and bracelet show minimal signs of wear. This is an all around exceptional experience on the wrist, and should offer buyers generations of enjoyment.
Please note that we are not affiliated with the sellers of the watches we recommend. We may point out aspects of a listing that we feel are positive, but only you can vet a seller. We can recommend viewing our video “How to Collect It: Vintage Watches” to glean some best practices, however.
