Nautilus is Patek Philippe's hottest product line and a model of luxury sports watches.
From 1976 to the present day, the nautilus designed by Mr. Jero Zunda has been praised by collectors. So today to talk about its history, starting with the first watch, model 3700.
background
Before exploring the history of Patek Philippe Nautilus, we must first understand the background and understand the market this watch enters, because we are talking about a game changer .
In the 1950s and 1960s, in the 20 years before the arrival of Nautilus, the luxury watch market was in an amazing stage of innovation . Many of today ’s iconic watches were created at that time-Submariner, Speedmaster, Daytona etc.
The watches created during this time are more precise, reliable, efficient, and waterproof than ever before, and they are all mechanical watches.
Watches of the 1960s can be divided into two categories: luxury formal watches and civilian sports watches . The materials of luxury formal watches are mainly precious metals, and some complex functions may also be superimposed; the materials of sports watches are mostly stainless steel.
If you take a closer look at the sports watches of the 1950s and 1960s, you will find that most of them are actually specifically manufactured, like diving watches, chronographs or pilot watches. Therefore, they do not belong to the category of luxury watches and cannot be an external symbol of fashion or wealth.
Two rivals: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus
However, in the late 1960s (specifically, in 1969), Seiko launched its first commercial quartz watch, Seiko Astron , which was a "big impact" for the entire industry.
In the next 10 years, mechanical watches have become almost obsolete. Quartz watches are cheaper, more accurate, more fashionable, and more popular with customers. As a result, the sales of mechanical watches have fallen sharply.
In order to survive, the brand must manufacture different, brand new watches with genuine high-end products to prove that the price of luxury watches is reasonable. As represented by the Royal Oak launched in 1972 : It is a high-end manufacturer that usually makes thin and complex formal watches. For the first time, a sports watch made of stainless steel is launched at a price comparable to precious metal formal watches.
The original intention of designing the Royal Oak was to make it both luxurious and sturdy and practical, and the concept of a luxury sports watch was born. This bold and avant-garde approach did not suffer from the market's indifference, but attracted the attention of countless people. It also gave birth to the appearance of the Patek Philippe Nautilus at the Basel Watch Fair in 1976.
One person's concept: Gerald Zunda
"Watches, to me, are the opposite of freedom! I am an artist, a painter, and I hate time because it is a constraint. This annoys me."
Nonetheless, Jero Zunda is one of the greatest watch designers. The biggest creation sometimes comes from contradictions.
Gerald Zunda (1931-2011)
Mr. Zunda is mainly known for royal oak or nautilus, but the watch design it creates is by no means the only one. We can cite an example without mentioning all the details of his career: IWC 1832 engineer, Omega constellation Series, etc.
The Royal Oak made the master famous in one battle . In 1972, Mr. Zunda suggested to Audemars Piguet to make a revolutionary watch with stainless steel. It used a bold and angular design, which was more than most classic gold watches. To be expensive, and equipped with advanced movement. The concept of integrally formed luxury sports watches and bracelet cases was born.
Later, he designed a watch for Audemars Piguet's main competitor, Patek Philippe, which was the Nautilus launched in 1976.
The original drawing of Mr. Zunda ’s Nautilus, which has no Patek Philippe logo yet
When he was having dinner in a hotel restaurant, Nautilus suddenly appeared: the lock structure on the porthole of a transoceanic cruise ship . Mr. Zunda said he saw Patek Philippe ’s executives sitting in one corner of the restaurant, while he was sitting alone in the other corner.
In his words, it took him 5 minutes to describe the watch. Regardless of whether it was romantic or not, the design process at that time was definitely shorter and purer than it is now.
The first Nautilus in 1976: 3700-1A
Just like the Royal Oak to Audemars Piguet, Nautilus is a real novelty to Patek Philippe, and its appearance completely destroyed the production of other PP.
Previously, Patek Philippe mainly produced precious metal watches. Even if steel watches exist, they are almost all prototypes or special orders. Such watches are extremely rare and will get incredible prices in the current auction. Moreover, there is no real sports watch in Patek Philippe's product line.
Patek Philippe's advertising copy: One of the most expensive watches in the world is made of stainless steel. Maybe you will not believe that steel watches will be so expensive, but in 1976, this is a reality.
Facts have proved that this is a smart move, it later became a model. This is why we must look at the Nautilus 3700 in detail.
1. Case design
The shape and construction of the 3700 is very special. Although the Royal Oak is a pure octagon, the Nautilus is slightly different. The entire shape is inspired by the "porthole", showing two "ears", reminiscent of being seen on the window of the ship Hinges. Here, the octagon is still visible, but the shape is smooth and smaller than the angle of Audemars Piguet.
Nautilus' patented case consists of a sturdy monolithic module and is inserted into the movement through the dial. In addition, there is a module consisting of a bezel, a mirror and "ears": there is a gasket between the case and the bezel, and this design also makes the waterproof depth up to 120 meters.
What about the size of the watch? In fact, considering the year it was launched and other Patek Philippe products, this is a huge watch: the diameter of the case is 42mm, but the watch is very thin, only 7.6mm thick. If sport is the main goal of this watch, then elegance is also preserved.
2. Dial
The dial of the 3700 is undoubtedly an important part of the charm of the watch. Like most of Mr. Zunda ’s works, it uses textures and lights to create a charming dial.
This is an official photo from Patek Philippe
The horizontal splint texture is a symbol of Nautilus. In addition, the design of the 3700's hands and scales is very simple, all made of white gold, equipped with tritium, and visible in the dark. The display is fairly simple, with only the time and date.
3. Movement
Like Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin, the 3700 uses Cal.920 movement manufactured by Jaeger-LeCoultre. Once this ultra-thin movement is placed in the Nautilus, it will be named 28-255 C movement by Patek Philippe. The thickness is 3.05mm, an additional 0.6mm due to the calendar function, and 2.45mm without the calendar, it is still one of the thinnest automatic mechanical movements .
This movement includes 36 jewels, a diameter of 28mm, a vibration frequency of 19800vph, and is equipped with Patek Philippe's own variable inertia Gyromax balance wheel, with a full chain power reserve of 40 hours. The decoration is beautiful, with polished bevels and round Geneva stripes, but no Geneva mark.
4. Strap
There are actually two versions of the Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700, mainly due to the different width of the strap . The first version 3700/01 has a wide and straight strap with fewer links; the next version 3700/11 has a narrower strap.
The production time of 3700 is from 1976 to 1990, the number of models is as follows:
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