The White Nautilus - Patek Philippe ref. 3700a

When you start collecting watches and your eye begins to wander to wrists more than other more interesting things to see, you’re easily impressed : “Oh my god, a Daytona ! Did he get it at retail ? Wow, look at that; a 5711 !”

As time goes by and you see more and more pieces, you still get occasionally surprised by something, but very, very rarely do you get that initial wow factor back.

 This is a story of that wow happening again.

When Gerald Genta designed the oh-so-famous-Nautilus, his original sketch clearly depicted the watch with a dark dial, whether you want to call it a petrol blue, blueish grey or black – we can all agree it was dark. Whether in steel, two-tone, yellow gold or white gold – the 3700 for the most part is recognised by collectors for its “black ribbed dial” as Patek calls it.

When I first heard about a white dial variant of the 3700 I didn’t know what to think. Of course I knew the 5711 White dial and 3800 white dial that we’ve talked about before. But a white dial 3700a ? Never seen one, let alone handled one.

We all know the “prototype” Nautilus with a set of dials, one white, one black – sold at Sotheby’s in 2015 and gobbled up into the legendary Sfeir Collection. However, as stated by Sotheby’s the case of the watch is a prototype and the white dial was a later request from the original owner. The watch was therefore born a black dial (which makes sense as indicated by Genta’s sketches). Two other white dial examples are known.  

Now, the debate over whether a dial that was later changed by Patek vs. a watch ordered with a special dial is one that will probably never end. In my opinion, all watches have their place in the market, albeit at a different price point. To take a more recent example into play – a 2499 Black dial with its original black dial is worth more than one with a service dial – yes of course, but a black dial is still special and still has its appropriate price point. Whether or not one chooses to buy that watch is up to the collector, but a black dial 2499, no matter how it came to be via special request, a latter dial swap, or a service dial – is still pretty damn impressive. Same goes for any white dial 3700.

Moving on. It surprises me Patek never went through with the release of a white dial variant to the 3700, the white matte dial gives an extremely modern look to the watch – and with its thin hands and indices it makes for a very refined and luxurious feel. In comparison, a 5711 feels a lot tougher and sportier due to the bigger marker and wider hands, used for better visibility and to give more lume-able surface area.

I was lucky enough to handle this 3700a for the first time in November 2021. I haven’t gotten over it since. The white dial contrasts beautifully with the tinted tritium giving the watch a very clean yet bold aesthetic. I feel the watch is both flashy yet understated, loud but discrete. It epitomises what the Nautilus was intended to be, a chic, casual sports watch, with that little extra something Genta was renowned for.

It's very difficult to put words onto the emotions felt when handling such a watch – and to most people reading this they must think I’m off my meds, but the beauty in collecting is the story, the emotions and the lives affected by inanimate objects.

Not much is known about the various white dial examples of the 3700a. – three are known including the Prototype making this a unicorn amongst unicorns. Funny to think a 5711 made in 170 non-numbered examples is considered rare.