Important Modern and Vintage Timepieces

New York, Sep 14, 2011

LOT 109

PATEK PHILIPPE - REF. 3971 - PERPETUAL CALENDAR CHRONOGRAPH Patek Philippe, Genève, No. 875020, case No. 2824150, Ref. 3971. Made in 1989. Very fine and rare, astronomic, 18K yellow gold wristwatch with round button chronograph, registers, perpetual calendar, moon phases and an 18K yellow gold Patek Philippe buckle. Accompanied by the Original Certificate and Extract from the Archives.

USD 80,000 - 100,000

CHF 62,000 - 75,000 / EUR 55,000 - 70,000

Sold: USD 116,500

C. Two-body, solid, polished, concave bezel, fl uted lugs, snap-on transparent 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, self-compensating free-sprung Breguet balance spring. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 36 mm. Thickness 12 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 1*

As new

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 1-01

As new

HANDS Original

Notes

Ref. 3970/ 3971 (1986-2005) 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 pieces of Ref. 2499 timepieces, including the last 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. Antiquorum?s 1989 thematic auction ?The Art of Patek Philippe?, signaled the start of the company?s growing popularity among watch enthusiasts. Although Patek Philippe had always cultivated a discerning, loyal clientele, it was never a high profi le brand. That changed dramatically as affl uent individuals began purchasing modern Patek Philippe wristwatches to wear and enjoy. Consequently, thanks to the successful market of the late 1980s, the Ref. 3970 became a ?best seller? for Patek Philippe. Amazingly enough, only a handful of collectors recognized the true scarcity 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.