Released in 1976 as Patek Philippe's response to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, an avant-garde luxury stainless steel sports watch borne from AP's necessity to survive the Quartz Crisis, the Nautilus was Patek Philippe's attempt to go head to head with AP's increasingly popular sports watch. Designed by Gerald Genta, the same man that had created the Royal Oak, the Nautilus was inspired by a porthole and thus features a rounded-over octagonal bezel and hinge-like protrusions on either side of its case. Featuring its signature horizontally embossed dial and iconic integrated bracelet, the Nautilus has become the most sought-after watch in the market today as collectors clamor over examples thanks to its iconic design, extreme exclusivity, and impeccable craftsmanship.

Long established as one of the most iconic watches of all time, it is often forgotten that the Patek Philippe Nautilus did not receive a positive reaction upon its release on account of its large 42mm case. Knowing the size was turning away most potential customers, Patek Philippe decided to debut a quartz-powered ladies variant with a 28mm case - the ref. 4700 that we have here. Released four years after the original Nautilus in 1980, the ref. 4700 allowed Patek's female customers to try the Nautilus out, see it in the wild, and grow accustomed to its somewhat alien design at the time. Upon its success of the ref. 4700, Patek launched the Nautilus in a mid-sized variant for men, the ref. 3800 in 1981 and the Nautilus thankfully began to pick up sales across its entire collection as collectors began to appreciate the Nautilus' design in the way they had started to appreciate the Royal Oak's a few years prior, thus marking the beginning of the Nautilus’ meteoric rise from the bottom of Patek’s offering to its current position as their most sought-after and collectible watch, with the ref. 4700J merging its unique history with the Nautilus’ heritage and design into one tremendous timepiece.