Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Moonphase Chronograph, 2000s

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

Patek Philippe has sat high atop the horological mountain for going on two centuries, having earned near-universal acclaim for their proficiencies in designing, engineering, and manufacturing some of the most exquisite timepieces the world has ever seen. But while Patek is world-renowned for its superb in-house movements, it should be noted that up until fairly recently, even its complicated chronographs used sourced Swiss movements from the likes of Lemania, and before that, Valjoux. Naturally, these were superbly finished versions of base ébauches , but this is old-school watchmaking in a nutshell — a maison such as Patek would source the parts from the very best manufacturers as a starting point, and improve, modify and finish from there. In the 1980s and 1990s, the best chronograph bases in the industry came from Lemania. Widely considered amongst collectors as one of the maison’s greatest designs, the Reference 3970 — such the one we have here — is a 36mm perpetual calendar chronograph dating to the 2000s. Preceded chronologically by the Ref. 2499 and succeeded by the Ref. 5970, it’s powered by the Calibre CH 27-70 Q manually-wound movement — Patek’s modified version of the Lemania Calibre 2310. Hand-finished and beautiful, this movement formed the basis for not only the 3970, but also the Calibre .321 used in the earliest Omega Speedmatsers. What is this notable movement powering? Namely, a mechanism with an incredible amount of information, conveyed in an elegant form that only a maison such as Patek Philippe could design: On its gloss-black dial you'll find applied diamond indices; dual day and month displays beneath the 12 o’clock index; a combined 30-minute totalizer and leap year indicator at 3 o’clock; a combined date wheel and moon phase indicator at 6 o’clock; and a combined running seconds and 12-hour totalizer at 9 o’clock — oh, and it also tells the time! This particular example, a Reference 3970JP, features a tidy platinum case equipped with round chronograph pushers, a signed crown, an exhibition caseback and its characteristic sculpted lugs — o oh la la. Despite being housed in a rare precious metal and featuring diamond indices set on the dial, this piece is incredibly stealthy on its signed black alligator leather strap and matching platinum deployant buckle. Indeed, only collectors with a deep scholarship of the maison's horological prowess will understand how truly special this piece is. Beautifully sized and featuring one of the most notable chronograph movements in history, we’ll be damned if this 3970 isn’t one of the most exquisite complicated watches from Patek that we’ve ever had the pleasure to offer. We're certain you'll agree!