The legend says that, like another iconic sports watch from the 70s, Gerald Genta designed the Nautilus in less than a day. Actually when it took him a night to design the Royal Oak, the inspiration for the Nautilus struck him while he was having dinner at the restaurant of a hotel. Gerald Genta stated that he saw executives from Patek Philippe sitting in a corner of the dining hall while he was sitting alone in the other corner. From his words, it took him 5 minutes, observing people from the distinguished firm eating their dinner, to sketch the watch that would become one of the most sought after designs in history.

The present reference 3700/1 is of the first generation launched by Patek Philippe in 1976 but a closer examination of the case would display its real singularity. Underneath the lugs, one can find the hand-engraved Ricciardi serial number. At the time Ricciardi was known to add their own numbers to the finest products, notably Rolex wristwatches. We cannot remember another Patek Philippe Nautilus carrying the Ricciardi numbers, or as a matter of fact, any Patek Philippe wristwatch with this unique seal of approval from one of South America's most distinguished retailers.