Lot 159

Patek Philippe

Nautilus Jumbo

A legendary vintage Geneva wristwatch with date, original certificate, original sales receipt, operating instructions, original sales brochure, spare bracelet link and Patek Philippe service box. The watch was given a manufacturer service in November 2022

Sold

In the 1970s the Patek Philippe brand advertised their Nautilus with the following words: "Siegfried named his sword Nothung. King Arthur named his Excalibur. The makers at Patek Philippe created a faithful companion for a modern man: a watch made from cold-hardened steel and they called it Nautilus".
The watch has a beautiful, slightly iridescent dial, where the elegant anthracite colour takes on a fine brownish hue. The case is well preserved, and the bracelet is still firm; the watch shows only very few signs of wear - this is a timepiece that has been worn with great care and is in a condition, that is certainly hard to find even with the most passionate collector of Patek Philippe watches.

The sophisticated "porthole" design by Gerald Genta ensures that the Nautilus remains one of the most remarkable and sought-after models of the Patek Philippe range today. The watch was created in 1976 and its rather chunky shape - inspired by the shape of a porthole of a transatlantic liner – certainly stood out from the other, rather more conservative designs of the Patek Philippe brand. The distinctive "Jumbo" case has a wide, flat bezel and an integrated link bracelet. The black ribbing of the dial is repeated on the applied indexes and the baton hands. The Nautilus was not an immediate sales success but its popularity grew rapidly and soon the Nautilus stood for sophistication, vitality and character. The steel model comes across as restrained and matter-of-fact and is the perfect accessory for connoisseurs of fine watches who appreciate sophistication as well as debonair nonchalance.