Unpolished 1977 Patek Philippe Nautilus "Jumbo" (Ref. 3700/1) W/ Cork Box & Extracts From Archive

Along with the creation of Apple Computers and the Concorde Transatlantic Airplane, 1976 brought us one of the most iconic watch designs recognized to date, and by none other than the legendary Gerald Genta. This icon of design was the Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 3700, often referred to as the “Jumbo” due to its large size for the era, 42mm. It was only 4 years earlier when Gerald Genta created the also very iconic Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref. 5402 which was our first introduction to the porthole design that went on to inspire many other noteworthy watches. Like the Royal Oak’s slow beginnings, the Nautilus also took time to gain traction due to its unconventional stainless steel case for a luxury watch and expensive price point which led to very low initial production numbers. The porthole design not only inspired the watch's appearance, but the name Nautilus was in reference to Captain Nemo’s submarine in the novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea”. Genta designed the Nautilus in 1974 on a napkin while observing a group of Patek executives out for dinner during the Basel Trade Fair, he has been noted saying the sketch only took him 5 minutes to complete. The quick sketch must have been impressive because from that day forth the Patek Philippe Nautilus icon was born.

The Patek Philippe Nautilus "Jumbo" is rare not only because it is the original offering of the Nautilus but based on total production numbers. The 3700 was in production from 1976 to 1990 and the estimated production numbers by material are:

3700-01A (steel with large bracelet): about 3500
3700-11A (steel with narrow bracelet): about 1300
3700-1AJ (steel and gold with large bracelet): about 600
3700-11AJ (steel and gold with narrow bracelet): about 300
3700-1J and 3700-11J (yellow gold): about 1500 (diamond versions included)
3700-1G and 3700-11G (white gold): about 65
3700-1P (platinum): 1

The ref. 3700 Nautilus shares a few design cues from its older brother the Royal Oak, albeit the Nautilus is the more refined of the two, but namely the integrated bracelet and geometric bezel designs. The two watches also share the same movement based on the Jaegar-LeCoultre cal. 920 (cal. 28-255C in the Nautilus). This movement was the perfect operating base for the Nautilus and Royal Oak as it allowed the watches to be extremely thin while maintaining a self-winding mechanism.