90th Auction

2014/11/15

Lot 647

Patek Philippe Genève, Movement No. 876375, Ref. 3970E, Cal. CH 27-70 Q, 36 mm, circa 1993
A gentleman's very fine, extremely rare, astronomical Geneva wristwatch with chronograph, perpetual calendar, leap year indicator, moon phase and rare dial variant - sold on 03/22/1993 - with Patek Philippe extract from the archives
Case: platinum, glazed screw back, Patek Philippe platinum buckle. Dial: opaline-white, applied white gold indexes, auxiliary seconds, 30 min. and 12h counter, moon phase, indicators for day, date, month and leap year, white gold leaf hands. Movm.: 2/3 plate movement, rhodium-plated, "fausses côtes" decoration, 8 adj., 24 jewels, very finely ground and bevelled chronograph steel parts, ratchet wheel, Geneva quality hallmark, Gyromax balance, shock protection for balance.
Ref. 3970/3971
The ref. 3970/3971 (1986-2005) was introduced on the occasion of Patek Philippe's 150th anniversary and was intended to replace the successful model ref. 2499. It had been produced from 1951 to 1985; thanks to the explosive popularity of collecting vintage Patek Philippe wristwatches during the early 1980s, the collectors had discovered the extreme rarity and lasting value of these watches. Patek Philippe also recognized the need for a more modern design of its most prominent model - the design had only undergone minor revisions over a period of 30 years. Patek Philippe had always had a discerning and loyal clientele, but had never been a high profile brand. When affluent individuals began purchasing modern Patek Philippe wristwatches to wear and enjoy, this changed dramatically. In a successful market of the late 1980s, the ref. 3970 turned into a "best seller" for Patek Philippe. Still only very few collectors realized the true rarity of certain variations for this watch, in particular, the endless possibilities for collecting ref. 3970 by dial variation or different styled indexes and/ or hands.

Sold

estimated
85.00095.000 €
Price realized
93.000 €