We hear it loud and often these days: the story of the Nautilus. And yes, invented and presented as the Jumbo-Nautilus in 1976 and then in 1981 the next step with a Medium-Nautilus ref3800. And in between these five years? Nothing. For sure, right!?

Well, the watch that barely someone speaks about when he recites the Nautilus-story, but that is one of the most interesting and remarkable in the later Patek-history, is the Ellipse-Nautilus (Ellipsilus or Nautilus-Ellipse aka Nautillipse), the ref3770. Just like the original Jumbo-Nautilus ref3700 it was designed by Gerald Genta -- he designed no further or other Pateks than these two, interestingly --, its monocoque-case was made by the same artisans that made the boitier for the Jumbo ref3700, while the bracelet of both, the ref3700 and the ref3770 was also made by the same supplier: Gay Freres. Same for the dial: Stern-made. The unspoken Ellipse-Nautilus ref3770 is by design a Nautilus as well (see: "What is a Nautilus?", *klikk here) but even more it is the first and up to today the most significant deviation & evolution of the original and it is the only Nautilus that integrates the 2nd-most important Patek-essential design, the Ellipse -- but no one even mentions... The story of the Nautilus goes ref3700 in 1976 and then nothing until the ref3800 arrived in 1981 and in between nothing happened. Now, a bit strange in an industry that analyses the variation of the maker-stamp in the bracelet-clasp in-extensis and the variations of the datedisc of the ref3800 in verbose-mode, right?

But there is another aspect that makes this watch overlooked and imo remarkable: The Jumbo-Nautilus arrived in 1976 and the Ellipse-Nautilus in 1980 -- the reason why was noted here: *klikk -- and exactly in between, in 1978 something else happened that today marks a horological milestone and a brand-defining product of Patek Philippe: the Jumbo-Ellipse ref3738 was presented. Sure, on first sight it shares the shape with all the other traditional PP Ellipses but there are two aspects that makes this watch stand out; unique in the Ellipse-line. First its size, that gave it its name Jumbo (31*36mm) and these are the exact dimensions of the Ellipse that was nautilused by Genta: the shape of the case & dial of the ref3738 (and the quartz-version ref3838) is the same like the ref3770 exclusive the Nautilus-ears and the waterproof case-construction. And even more: the ref3738 is the only vintage Ellipse with a monocoque-case. Oh! *klikk

This makes the Jumbo-Ellipse not only technically a superior product but also a unicorn in the Patek-Portfolio. And it creates a consistent picture of a series of monocoque-cases at Patek Philippe: first the ref3700 (Jumbo-Nautilus, 1976) then the ref3738 (Jumbo-Ellipse, 1978) and finally the ref3770 (Ellipse-Nautilus, 1980) combining both Patek-essential designs.

Fastforward to 2024: besides minor iterations nothing new and remarkable happened since the Nautilus-principle was invented and patented in 1976 and then applied to the round Ellipse in 1980 (Nautillipse), but now (2024) the Nautilus-case system is applied to an edgy variant: the Cubic-Nautilus, the Cubitus.

Lets see if Patek would come up with a more-round / more-ellipsoid variant again in future, to "round-up" the Nautilus-portfolio from edgy via classic to round / ellipse -- until then it will remain a "fascinating and rare anomaly in Patek Philippe’s storied history" or even "a quirky and very rare quartz wristwatch", as the prominent watch-auction-house Phillips called it, not lacking a subtle underlying sense of ignorance: *klikk.

In my words it would be called a Patek++: a Patek Philippe that is more Patek than any other, so far.