Importantes Montres de Collection

Geneva, Nov 13, 2011

LOT 345

PATEK PHILIPPE, REF. 3971, PERPETUAL CALENDAR CHRONOGRAPH 18K PINK GOLD Patek Philippe, Genève, No. 875485, case No. 2870014, Ref. 3971. Sold on January 13th, 1994. Very fine and rare, astronomic, 18K pink gold wristwatch with round button chronograph, registers, perpetual calendar, moon phases and an 18K pink gold Patek Philippe buckle. Accompanied by the Original Certificate, original Patek Philippe box and setting pin.

CHF 125,000 - 165,000

USD 135,000 - 180,000 / EUR 100,000 - 135,000

Sold: CHF 146,500

C. Two-body, solid, polished, concave bezel, fl uted lugs, transparent screw-down case back, sapphire crystals D. Matte silver with applied yellow gold baton indexes, outer 1/5th seconds track with 5-minute/seconds Arabic markers, subsidiary dials for the seconds, the 24 hours, the 30-minute register, the leap year and the days of the month, apertures for the days of the week, the months and the moon phases. Yellow gold feuille hands. M. Cal. 27-70 Q, stamped with the Seal of Geneva quality mark, rhodium-plated, fausses cotes decoration, 24 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, Gyromax balance adjusted for heat, cold, isochronism and 8 positions, shock absorber, selfcompensating free-sprung Breguet balance spring. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 36 mm. Thickness 12 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 2

Very good
Movement: 2*

Very good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 2-01

Very good

HANDS Original

Notes

Ref. 3970 / 3971 (1986-2005) The 3970 was introduced for Patek Philippe?s 150th anniversary, to replace the successful model Ref. 2499, which had been produced from 1951 to 1985. Thanks to the explosive popularity of collecting vintage Patek Philippe wristwatches during the early 1980's, collectors had discovered the extreme rarity and enduring value associated with these timepieces. In a rare breach of Patek?s legendary secrecy, it was discovered that fewer than 400 Ref. 2499 timepieces, including the fi nal evolution, the Ref. 2499/100, had been manufactured during the model?s entire production. Patek Philippe also sensed the need for a more modern design of its fl agship model, which had only undergone minor design revisions over a 30 year period. When Patek Philippe fi rst launched this new series of watches in 1986, Ref. 3970 was the model bearing a snap-on case back, while Ref. 3971 was equipped with a sapphire back. Very soon, the reference number of this model was standardized to Ref. 3970 and was offered with both types of case back. Therefore, Ref. 3971 was only produced for a short time, and pink gold examples of the reference are extremely rare, this watch being only the fi fth pink gold 3971 to be offered at auction in the past fi fteen years.