COVER STORY: PATEK PHILIPPE NAUTILUS, A LASTING COUP DE FOUDRE

The 1970s was a period of immense change. It was the decade of the oil shock, punk rock, runaway inflation, and a humiliating defeat for America in Vietnam. This was an era of disruption, but it was also a decade that marked some outstanding achievements. Take 1976. It was the year that the supersonic Concorde entered regular service; the year that Toronto’s CN Tower became the world’s tallest building; and the year that Patek Philippe launched its steel sports watch, the Nautilus, water resistant to a depth of 120 metres. Mankind was travelling faster and building higher than ever before; and for the first time since the company was conceived in 1839, Patek Philippe customers could take their watch diving. Concorde would remain in service until 2003, after which we had to return to subsonic crossings of the Atlantic. The CN Tower would retain its title as the world’s tallest tower until 2010. But the Patek Philippe Nautilus is still very much in service and on the wrist.