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Patek Philippe NAUTILUS 3800 Collector's Guide The story of the original Nautilus 3700 has been told a hundred times, from a hundred different perspectives. The launch of Patek Philippe’s first steel sports watch changed the trajectory of the company and, to some extent, the entire industry. While the admirability and collectibility of the model is now solidified, the story of what happened next is less compelling. A few years later, in response to the original model's slow start,

Patek Philippe launches the mid-sized Reference 3800. The diameter has been reduced from 42mm to 37.5mm in an effort to bring the Nautilus' design to a wider audience. More palatable sizes and a wider range of configurations make it an attractive option.

In recent years, as the Nautilus has become increasingly attractive to collectors, the collective knowledge about the original model has gained an impressive depth. Thanks largely to the efforts of collectors like Mstanga, who has written an in-depth guide to the 3700 based on more than a decade of research, most of the original's details have been broken down. Meanwhile, its medium-sized relative is often overlooked by collectors because of its smaller proportions and less significance than the original. For a long time, few people actually had the opportunity, or the willingness, to try on what has long been considered a mid-sized watch for women.

Fortunately, things have changed. Recently, partly due to the growing appeal of all Nautilus products, the 3800 has begun to gain traction again. From a historical perspective, some people are interested in this reference because it was the first time the original design was reinterpreted with an automatic movement. Other watches are also beginning to shift proportions, with collectors generally moving toward smaller sizes or realizing that they can be worn similarly to long-admired vintage watches such as the Daytona.

Despite renewed interest, much of the information in the reference literature remains fragmented. Therefore, we felt it necessary to write a collector's guide to the Nautilus 3800 based on our own experience working with these pieces, studying published examples, and drawing on the knowledge of collectors and experts.

Starting in the early 1980s, the Nautilus line was built on three basic pillars: the original 3700, the mid-range 3800, and the quartz-powered 4700. The latter is the first evolution of Nautilus, launched a year ago. 3800. Measuring 27mm in diameter, it is powered by a quartz movement and is aimed purely at women. At the same time, the 3800 aimed to bring Nautilus designs by Gerald Genta to a wider audience, who at the time preferred more modestly sized pieces.

Available in a wider range of metals and dial configurations than the other two models, it has been a mainstay of the Nautilus range for many years. John Nagayama, a veteran watch dealer from Japan who has had the opportunity to handle some of the rarest 3800 watches, speculates that “they hope to sell this reference product as a sports and leisure watch to the younger generation.”
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At the turn of the millennium, after a nearly two-decade run, the reference was discontinued. It is understood that the steel version did not appear in the catalog until 2006, while the gold version appeared as late as 2007, in parallel with the follow-up model 5800. Since 2008 it has completely disappeared from the official catalogue. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t find a later sold watch, as not all watches from authorized dealers sell out immediately.

What is certain is that the end of the reference marks the end of the first reinterpretation of the original Nautilus design. Originally commercialized as a more attractive and expensive alternative to the Nautilus 3700, the mid-range 3800 has appeared in various interesting configurations over the years. In recent years, this connoisseurship has grown as collectors have increasingly discovered it.