40th Anniversary Patek Nautilus, Full Set

One of the first Patek Nautilus ref3800, made in 1982 with the black date-disc and the characteristic Calatrava-cross cut in the rotor on the early cal335SC automatic-movement -- rare and as Vacheron puts it: One of Not Many. The steel/gold version is without doubt the most beautiful and speaking-80s model of this icon of the... 80s, yes. While the dark dial would make the watch quite nervous, becoming not bico but tricolor, the golden variant we can offer here is without doubt the most sought-after: bicolor at its best. The condition of this important beauty is quite good: not in unworn condition but without stretch or warp on the bracelet, beautiful aged lume on hands and indexes, gold aged to butter-yellow and crisp lines on case and bracelet -- matured for 40 years; characteristic, not old.

Background: Available from 1982 onwards the ref3800JA (steel/gold, bicolor) was priced more than DEM15'000 (Deutsche Mark) and thus twice the price of the entry-level steel-model without the golden-accents. According to this price-tag it is easy to imagine that much less of the steel-gold Nautilus were produced than of the steel-version.