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Patek Philippe
Ref. 3700/11
Nautilus
A highly rare and attractive two-tone yellow gold and stainless steel wristwatch with black matte ribbed dial, date and bracelet
Full-Cataloguing
- Rare two-tone 18K yellow gold and steel configuration
- Patek Philippe in-house atelier made watch case
- Early typography dial
The present example of the ref. 3700/11 is perhaps one of the rarest iterations of the reference, encased in two-tone 18K yellow gold and stainless steel, an approximation of 300 units were produced, while there were an estimated number of 1500 pieces made in stainless steel. It is worth mentioning that, from the Extract from the Archives, it is stated that the movement was manufactured in 1976 while the subsequent date of sale was in January 1989. After the acquisition of Ateliers Réunis in 1980, Patek Philippe has been manufacturing cases in-house. Since the ref. 3700/11 was produced from around 1980/81 until 1990, and by observing the inner caseback with the reference stamped, the movement was produced in 1976, then encased in the stainless steel and yellow gold case in a later time in the 1980s before being sold at retail in 1989.
Featuring a Stern Frères handmade black matte ribbed tritium-lumed dial, the applied yellow gold indexes create a subtle contrast to the dial, and echo perfectly with the gold bezel. The soothing colour of the dial was achieved by painting layers of black and blue alternatively, resulting in the “grey depth of ocean” colour. The dial belongs to an early production batch by inspecting the typography of the logo, particularly the accent grave of È in GENÈVE where the stress is close attached. At the 6 o’clock position, the “σ SWISS σ” marking is rounder and without dots around. It is a truly remarkable and iconic piece both in rarity and the significance in horological history.
Patek Philippe
Swiss | 1839Since its founding in 1839, this famous Geneva-based firm has been surprising its clientele with superbly crafted timepieces fitted with watchmaking's most prestigious complications. Traditional and conservative designs are found across Patek Philippe's watches made throughout their history — the utmost in understated elegance.
Well-known for the Graves Supercomplication — a highly complicated pocket watch that was the world’s most complicated watch for 50 years — this family-owned brand has earned a reputation of excellence around the world. Patek's complicated vintage watches hold the highest number of world records for results achieved at auction compared with any other brand. For collectors, key models include the reference 1518, the world's first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph, and its successor, the reference 2499. Other famous models include perpetual calendars such as the ref. 1526, ref. 3448 and 3450, chronographs such as the reference 130, 530 and 1463, as well as reference 1436 and 1563 split seconds chronographs. Patek is also well-known for their classically styled, time-only "Calatrava" dress watches, and the "Nautilus," an iconic luxury sports watch first introduced in 1976 as the reference 3700 that is still in production today.