Patek Philippe
Launched in 1976 , Philippe Stern ’ s Nautilus 3700 / 1 joined the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak in confirming a new echelon of sport elegance timepieces in steel . Like its 1970 ’ s competitive contemporary , the Nautilus design looks as perfect and current today as it did 40 years ago .
Nautilus
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Philippe Stern ’ s 1977 Design Stands The Test Of Time
It ’ s the mid 1970s and the upstart and ultra-accurate quartz watch had already taken over the market . But , it was just starting to lose its initial cachet as prices began to plummet . Mass produced in the millions , quartz watches put Japanese manufacturers in an all-out race to the bottom to see who could make the greatest number of the least expensive watches . As this massive wave of goods engulfed the market , most Swiss brands stood reeling at the staggering losses in sales and market share .
Few Swiss luxury brands were able to ride the wave and survive intact , but it is during this very tumultuous period that Patek Philippe searched for a way forward without abandoning its own roots . As a standard-bearer for fine Swiss watches the company had a history that it felt should be honored . It was clear the brand also had to evolve . Putting this task to CEO-in-waiting Philippe Stern , Patek Philippe ’ s challenge was for Stern to envision a watch that would reflect the current generation ’ s evolving sense of style through the rose prism of a luxury brand . By no means an easy proposition in an environment saturated with ‘ affordable ’ quartz options , Patek Philippe nonetheless added a new dimension to what luxury might look like .
Like Audemars Piguet with the famous Genta-designed Royal
Oak , Philippe Stern had to put aside the dogma of the day that a luxury watch must be crafted in 18-karat gold and made as thin and elegant as possible .
Being a sportsman and a regatta sailor , he used his own lifestyle as inspiration to design a timepiece imbued with a casual elegance : the Patek Philippe Nautilus . Launched in 1976 with the slogan : “ One of the world ’ s most expensive watches is made of steel ,” its water resistance was proofed to 120 meters – which was also an unusual achievement at the time . The Nautilus ’ porthole design and unusually robust construction placed the watch in the nascent design school that combined luxury and sport in a look that could be worn as easily with jeans or a suit .
The success of what was originally considered to be a journeyman ’ s ’ project quickly became a masterpiece and paved the way for Stern to take the helm as CEO of Patek Philippe only a year later . Since its inception the Nautilus collection has diversified ; the first ladies ’ edition came out in 1980 , and as the return of the mechanical watch industry gained traction the Nautilus case has incorporated a variety complications to the platform . Handsome in all steel , the Nautilus can take on a more luxuriant look and adapts well to both two-tone and solid gold .
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Wristwatch | 2016