“If you look at the Nautilus, it’s a very, very soft bracelet, a soft case. It is discreet, a discreet, sport-elegant watch. What is not discreet is the amount of people willing to own one. That’s a different matter.”
As problems go, this is about as high-class as it gets: Thierry Stern, president of Patek Philippe, finds himself in the position of making the world’s most desirable sports watch. The Nautilus is the integrated case and bracelet watch designed by Gérald Genta and introduced by Thierry’s father Philippe in 1976. For most of its life, it has fulfilled its function as the watch for the Patek Philippe customer who did not want to wear his grande complication perpetual calendar, chronograph or his minute repeater while swimming.
