When in doubt, blame your friends! It was several years ago at one of our regular NorCal Gang lunches that I tried on a friend’s replica watch that began, just a bit, to erode my skepticism about the Nautilus. It was his copy Patek Philippe Reference 3700/1G Nautilus, a three-hand watch made in stealthy white gold. Once I had it on my wrist, its combination of slimness and significant weight, along with the slinky bracelet made it very tough to take off at the end of the meal. I won’t say that I was hooked, but I was definitely intrigued.
Fast forward to 2016 when I had the chance to buy, at retail, the perfect replica Patek Philippe Reference 5976 40th Anniversary Nautilus in white gold. When I tried it on, it was just immense – so big, even for my wide wrist, that I quickly decided it simply wasn’t for me. Of course, that decision turned out to be a stinker financially: just take a peek at online asking prices for that reference if you don’t believe me.
In the silver lining department, though, perhaps it built my credibility with the cheap fake Patek Philippe Salon staff as someone who wasn’t in this hobby as a financial pursuit.
My time to ask came in 2018 when Swiss copy Patek Philippe Reference 5740 was introduced, featuring a vivid blue dial and Caliber 240 Q-based perpetual calendar. It had the wearability virtues of my pal’s Reference 3700 with a complication I particularly favor, and I immediately asked for one, starting a four-year wait during which my occasional gentle nudges were met by polite head shakes until the call came just prior to our group’s trip to Geneva in late March of this year.
In my pal Terry’s taxonomy, this is definitely a foundational replica watches for sale in my assortment: a piece that comes from a significant maker, is emblematic of that firm’s work, and can serve as a cornerstone of any substantial collection.
Within my small set of Patek Philippe fake watches online, it joins two other perpetual calendars, the vintage Reference 1526 in pink gold and Reference 3940P with blue dial, extending a clear theme. At the same time, it helps to round out the assortment as the first sport line reference among my Swiss movement replica Patek Philippes.