Circa 1978 Patek Philippe “World’s Costliest Watches Is Made Of Steel” Nautilus 3700

This classic, well-known advertisement for the Nautilus stands out because of its larger size. It also happens to have some amazing copy about swords and slaying dragons… 

Imagine you’re pursuing articles, flipping through ads… Would you pause on this grandiose piece of marketing? Of course, today, that dial, that case silhouette, slinky bracelet - we when lay eyes on it - stop us dead in our tracks. But, as it goes with most coveted watches of today, when a model was introduced - it didn’t garner the fawning, waitlist (or premiums). That’s a reason why ads like this are truly-special.

Sure they are beautiful - works of art as much as the watch’s design -  but they do more than stimulate aesthetic sensibilities… They force us to consider where it all began… Something we should not lose sight of amidst the craziness surrounding the Nautilus today. 

Framed with shade of dark grey matting to compliment tones of paper. Black, solid wood frame.

About our collaboration with Ad Patina

We're thrilled to be collaborating with our longtime friends at Ad Patina to bring you a selection of the most-popular and rare vintage watch advertisements curated specifically for Analog/Shift!

Scouring the world for forgotten marketing treasures, Ad Patina's raison de être very much mimics our own - to hunt down these wonderful bits of history, preserve and restore them as needed, and share them with an enthusiastic community.

These documents of horological history have entered the watch collecting conversation as the ultimate accompanying accessory, and have found themselves framed in homes and offices around the world. Every one of these wonderful pieces is a genuine, vintage advertisement that has been professionally mounted and framed with UV resistant glass to ensure years of enjoyment to come - no reprints or reproductions here!

Much like a traditional piece of art - a painting or photograph - an original watch advertisement can be appreciated for its design as well as for its power to evoke nostalgia.

Something we vintage watch enthusiasts know all about!