Watch Paparazzi

Entrepreneur Virgil Abloh spotted wearing Patek Philippe

Virgil Abloh was photographed wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus Reference 3700 in 18k yellow gold, one of the rarest and most historically significant configurations of a watch that already needs no introduction. The image captures Abloh at ease, the watch sitting flush on his wrist in a way that suggested familiarity rather than display — a telling detail for a man who understood the difference between wearing an object and being worn by it.

The Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700 debuted in 1976 as a direct response to the explosive success of Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak, itself a Genta creation. Gerald Genta, who reportedly sketched the Nautilus design on a napkin overnight, drew inspiration from the porthole of an ocean liner — hence the rounded octagonal bezel with its signature horizontal grooves and integrated bracelet. The Reference 3700 in 18k yellow gold represents a particularly significant evolution of that original vision: while the stainless steel 3700/1A is the founding reference, the yellow gold variant elevated the design into haute horlogerie territory. Powered by the Calibre 28-255 C, a thin automatic movement with a rotor visible through the exhibition caseback, the watch delivers date functionality via an aperture at 3 o'clock on its distinctive black ribbed dial, with yellow gold applied hour markers that glow with restrained warmth.

For serious collectors, the Nautilus 3700 in yellow gold occupies a near-mythological status. Production ran from the late 1970s through approximately 1990, and the total number of examples made in gold remains modest. Finding one in well-preserved condition with matching bracelet and original dial integrity is genuinely difficult. This reference predates the modern Nautilus 5711 by decades and carries none of the mass-market associations that newer references have accumulated — it is, unambiguously, a collector's piece.

Abloh's relationship with luxury objects was never superficial. As the founder of Off-White and a creative director who consistently interrogated the meaning of authenticity and provenance, his choice of a first-generation gold Nautilus speaks to a deep understanding of horological lineage. He wasn't chasing a hype reference — he was wearing horological history.

On today's grey market, the Patek Philippe Nautilus Reference 3700 in 18k yellow gold commands approximately $325,000, reflecting both its extreme scarcity and the broader collector premium attached to vintage integrated-bracelet sports watches from this era. No retail price exists — this is strictly secondary market territory.