The exceptionally rare reference 3800 Nautilus executions with factory diamond settings are among of the most mouth-watering pieces ever made by Patek Philippe Patek Philippe introduced the 3800 as the midsize brother of the original 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. The ref. 3800/003J is an uncommon sub-reference of the 3800 due to the exquisite diamond set bezel and dial. Moreover, this particular execution of the 3800/003J features a rare dial variant executed in cream-colored lacquer, which nicely complements the warm tone of the 18k yellow gold case and bracelet. The traditional baton markers on the dial are traded for factory-set brilliant cut diamonds, while two printed Greek sigmas (“σ swiss σ”) at the six o’clock position indicate that the hands and the chatons holding the diamonds are made of 18k gold. This stunning Nautilus dates back to 1996 and comes as a full set with the original box and papers.
- reference3800/3J
- modelNautilus
