Patek Philippe Nautilus 3800 'Green Diamond Beyer'

Museum Piece
Forget about the ‘Jumbo’ Nautilus.

Specifications

Forget about the ‘Jumbo’ Nautilus. The mid-size 3800 Nautilus is perfection and the factory diamond setting on this rare 3800/3 is just the icing on the cake!

Patek Philippe introduced the ref. 3800 as the midsize brother of the original ref. 3700 Nautilus, clocking in at a diameter of 37.5 mm. The 3800 wasn’t just a shrunken Nautilus, but introduced some important improvements vis-à-vis its big brother. For instance, the 3800 was the first Nautilus to feature an in-house automatic movement: the caliber 335 SC. Unlike the ‘Jumbo’ Nautilus, the 3800 also came with a central seconds hand (as indicated by the “SC”, which stands for seconde centrale). While this might seem like a minute (pun intended) detail, the sweeping seconds adds loads of dynamism to the original Nautilus’ rather static dial.

Not that it really matters, though, as this dial is chock full of desirable details. Not only does it feature factory-set diamond indices instead of the traditional baton markers, but also features a discrete “Beyer” signature at the 6 o’clock position, indicating that the watch was sold at the legendary Zürich-based retailer. But the true eye catcher here is the amazing color. The original blue paint found on the embossed dial has slowly changed to an exceptional dark green tone with a matching hue on the date disc. Another cool detail is the uncommon black date disc with contrasting white text. Meanwhile, two printed Greek sigmas (“σ swiss σ”) at the six o’clock position indicate that the indices and hands are made of 18K white gold.

The iconic Gerald Genta designed case and integrated bracelet on this mid-size Nautilus are executed in stainless steel. The watch is in exceptional condition, having just returned from a full service at our trusted Patek Philippe service center.

The watch dates back to 1983 and comes with service papers and an extract of the Patek Philippe archives + an e-mail from Beyer confirming this watch.

Patek PhilippePatek Philippe’s mechanical masterpieces are usually made from precious metals but its sporty steel Nautilus and Aquanaut lines have been popular as well since their introduction in the 1970s and 1990s, respectively.NautilusAfter the roaring success of Audemars Piguet’s Gerald Genta-designed Royal Oak, Patek decided that it also needed its own luxury steel sports watch.As the story goes, Gerald Genta drew the initial design of the Nautilus while observing a group of Patek executives having dinner during the Baselworld watch fair. When the Nautilus was introduced in 1976 it was advertised as a watch that worked equally well with a wet suit as with a dinner suit. Not quite incidentally, it was also the most expensive steel sports watch available in the market.Ever since the very first Nautilus, the Patek and Nautilus names have become inseparable. Over the years, many variations, with different materials, dial colors and layouts, and complications, have been added to the Nautilus lineup. However, Genta’s original design elements have remained in all these executions: a rounded octagonal bezel inspired by the portholes of a ship with ‘ears’ on the sides of the case that look like the hinges of a porthole.