Patek Philippe Nautilus is one to watch

A rare and collectable Patek Phillippe watch leads the Chiswick Auctions’ specialist sale of watches on June 14.

The Nautilus reference: 800 in stainless steel with a white gold and diamond set Sigma dial is expected to sell for £45,000 – £55,000.

‘Sigma’ dials were first used from the early 1970s, the term referring to dials with indexes and hands made of solid gold. They are easily recognised by the use of Greek letters around the word Swiss – an indication that the watchmaker belonged to L’Association pour la promotion Industrielle de l’Or. Only APROI members were allowed to mark their products in this way.

The reference 3800 has a diameter of 38mm. It was launched in the early 1980s, as a scaled-down version of the famous Nautilus 3700 – the ‘Jumbo’ – featuring an integrated watertight ‘porthole’ case by Swiss watch designer and artist Gérald Genta (1931- 2011).

Most version of the Nautilus were made in solid gold or platinum for this watch made in stainless steel with a diamond set Sigma is a rarity and one of only around 15 that have appeared at auction. The watch, dating from 1994, comes with paperwork, including a recent service document from Patek Philippe London, plus extra bracelet links.