Nautilus 3700/1 project. Keep the dial, refinish or change to service dial?

[JasonBetts]

Originally Posted by Daytonaman799

Find another steel 3700

From where I come from, only 2 3700 came to the market in the past 5 years hunting. one two tone and this one.


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[JasonBetts]

Originally Posted by okie4455

Seems to me if you like the charm of it, clean up the movement and wear it as it. Do they let you pick and choose what is done to it or is it all or none?

They let me choose but if I don't opt for case change, they'll overhaul the movement but will not guarantee waterproof.


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[JasonBetts]

Originally Posted by jesulaiman

Honestly, other than option B, I don’t see why you bought this particular one. If you like the charm of it, option B is the only way to go.


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You're right. The dial sort of give it 'one of a kind' look. However as I'll use this as a daily, I might be going for a case change too.


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[okie4455]

Keep us posted on what you decide and final pics. This is a very interesting project. The auction story on the similar piece makes it all the more intriguing.

[Geaux Tigers]

Would be a hard pass for me..

[JasonBetts]

So I've decided the following:

Movement overhaul without changing the dial and hands, without repairing the case.

Bracelet repair and polish

Total bill would be around $2500 and I should get the piece back in Jan 2024. So stay tune.

As they don't provide an option to repair and polish the case, I might go laser restoration outside.

Any recommendations on who might be recommended doing such job? I know and tried a couple restorer but they mostly doing vintage Rolex, not Patek.


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[enthusiast]

We are all incredibly curious to see what your Nautilus looks like now.

Are there any pictures?

Are you happy with the result of the restauration?

[codecow]

I’d send it to Geneva and see what they recommend.

[JasonBetts]

Originally Posted by enthusiast

We are all incredibly curious to see what your Nautilus looks like now.

Are there any pictures?

Are you happy with the result of the restauration?

Originally Posted by enthusiast

We are all incredibly curious to see what your Nautilus looks like now.

Are there any pictures?

Are you happy with the result of the restauration?

Just got back the piece 2 months ago from HK.

Just a recap of this 3700/1 journey:

Bought it for usd83k back in 2022, beaten up caseback, damaged dial and short bracelet.

Decided for option B, spent usd2.5k for total movement overhaul plus additional 3 links (5711's as Geneve said they fit perfectly, only slightly thicker).

I asked PP Geneve to clean the remaining blue paint on the dial but they refused due to occupational hazard with the tritium. I also tried to get them to install a new service dial but keep the old one and they didn't allow me to do so unless they keep the old dial.

On a side note, they tried to make me change the case for like usd10k as they can't guarantee waterproof after servicing the movement. I opt not and they made me sign a disclaimer and offered no service warranty. Fair enough.

So PP only overhaul the movement and install 3 new links.

Got back the watch from Geneve and went to HK to try cleaning the dial and laser weld the caseback.

So I went to the best there is in Asia, Classicwatch repair, who gave me 2 options on the dial: reprint or clean the remaining paints surrounding the dial. I chose cleaning.

Fast forward a couple of months, they got back to me and they were unable to clean it without damaging the dial. A bit surprised there as I thought the paints must've been very brittle and should be easy to come off. Obviously not the case.

So they ended up only working on laser weld the caseback and reprofiling the links.

Pictures next


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[JasonBetts]

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[JasonBetts]

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[codecow]

Wow, it looks awesome!

I would have sprung for the case though because I’m paranoid, but it came out great!

[1William]

Very nice. Glad you have it back.

[N0trub]

That is such a lovely piece that serviced beautifully . Thank you for sharing well done!

[Calatrava r]

I would just have the movement serviced. To me this is just a novelty piece at this point and not really something to put a lot of money in. See it has been done; glad the dial was not touched.

[ts3]

Refinished Nautilus cases can look great at first sight but the closer you look... To me the bezel has lost some of its symmetry. There is that 1 corner top right which looks a lot sharper / less rounded than the other 7 corners of the octagon and that sharp corner also sits higher than the corresponding corner on left side.

That said, I hesitated pulling the trigger on a 3700 full set with cork box a decade plus ago because the bezel didn't look 100% symmetrical anymore. The biggest dealer in town snatched it up w/o hesitation and I had lost out.

[JasonBetts]

Originally Posted by codecow

Wow, it looks awesome!

I would have sprung for the case though because I’m paranoid, but it came out great!

I am paranoid too. I’ll ask my local watchmaker to do 3 bar pressure test to see if PP was actually right or just scaring me to get me to buy a new case. I’ll keep you guys posted


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[Apheaven]

Perfect balance of breathing new life into it, while retaining it’s character.

You made it your own. Bravo!


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[byow]

Beautiful timepiece OP!

Thank you for sharing.

[JasonBetts]

Originally Posted by Apheaven

Perfect balance of breathing new life into it, while retaining it’s character.

You made it your own. Bravo!


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Actually yes kind of. I thought the dial is easy to clean but no. So it's kinda one of a kind dial. You can neither make it like that nor clean it


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[77T]

Originally Posted by JasonBetts

Actually yes kind of. I thought the dial is easy to clean but no. So it's kinda one of a kind dial. You can neither make it like that nor clean it


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Thanks for the detailed update and photos.

I tried cleaning a 50 y.o. Omega dial to just remove surface mold (or so I thought). My learnings were that isn't as easy as it sounds even with all the right products provided by my watchmaker.

This was a 1st gen Seamaster so I eventually opted for a refinish of the old plate. It had more sentimental value for my brother and it won't be sold.


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[JasonBetts]

Originally Posted by 77T

Thanks for the detailed update and photos.

I tried cleaning a 50 y.o. Omega dial to just remove surface mold (or so I thought). My learnings were that isn't as easy as it sounds even with all the right products provided by my watchmaker.

This was a 1st gen Seamaster so I eventually opted for a refinish of the old plate. It had more sentimental value for my brother and it won't be sold.


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True. I actually commissioned my local watchmaker too, the best at doing vintage available here. Both using chemicals and physical means. Nothing works, they just stay


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[Mattt]

I remember this thread! Great update, enjoy the watch in good health.

[draken1]

How much did laserwelding cost?

[L_S_SHOE]

Looks awesome. I wonder if there’s a way to stabilize the dial to prevent further degradation, or if it even needs to be stabilized.

I’m also curious what caused all that flaking at the edges. Humid air entering the case around the seal?


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[JasonBetts]

Originally Posted by draken1

How much did laserwelding cost?

Around $1k. Only the caseback needed laser as it's badly dented as someone tried to pry it open with some bigass screwdriver

Other parts of the case just went through recurring back to the original geometry.


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[JasonBetts]

Originally Posted by L_S_SHOE

Looks awesome. I wonder if there’s a way to stabilize the dial to prevent further degradation, or if it even needs to be stabilized.

I’m also curious what caused all that flaking at the edges. Humid air entering the case around the seal?


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Oh trust me the dial is more than stable as 2 my most trusted watchmakers and Michael Young from classic can't take out the remaining paint on the dial.

Actually it's not the edges that flaked, it's the center. The blue edges are the remaining paint residue.

Based on my research, the flaking was a combination of humidity, oxygen / moisture intrusion and paint materials


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