I’ll go out on a limb to say that it’s a great time to buy a vintage Nautilus or Royal Oak. And when I say vintage, I mean true vintage, specifically the UK perfect replica Patek Philippe ref. 3700/1 and ref. 5402 respectively. These watches saw a somewhat dramatic increase in value over the last three to five years but have since retracted. With that pullback, so many collectors are just staying away from these great watches completely. At some level, the price decrease has prevented a lot of new interest from flowing in. That all said, it is nearly inarguable that these two Gérald Genta designs changed watches forever.
Introduced in 1976, the “Jumbo” Nautilus ref. 3700/1 epitomized the “luxury sports watch” and was famously advertised with the tagline: “One of the world’s costliest best fake watches are made of steel.” The first Nautilus and this marketing did a lot to change the perceptions of watch buyers. No longer did a luxury watch have to be complicated and in precious metal. While onstage at our UBS House of Craft, Jean-Claude Biver told a great story about how Genta downplayed the similarities between the Royal Oak and the Nautilus by proclaiming the Nautilus was as if you put a Royal Oak underwater for years and years, a story I will never forget.
In really solid condition with box and papers, this particular UK Swiss copy Patek Philippe 3700/1 watches are co-signed by Gübelin at six o’clock on the dial, making it all the more special. If you subscribe to my theory that a vintage Nautilus is a great buy right now, you might as well pony up for one that is truly special and made rare by a retailer stamp. Gübelin is among my favorite high quality replica Patek Philippe stamps; it’s one of the most prestigious jewelers and watch retailers in the world. Plus, I’ve always loved the tiny detail of the umlaut over the “U,” tiny but really cool.
If the cheap super clone Patek Philippe Nautilus watches are not your thing, I love this 1930s Audemars Piguet listed by Menta yesterday as well. It has to be ridiculously rare.