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Patek Philippe
Ref. 3940J
An uber rare yellow gold perpetual calendar wristwatch with champagne dial, moon phases, 24-hour and leap year indication
- Estimate
- CHF45,000 - 90,000€47,900 - 95,800$51,900 - 104,000
CHF95,250
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Patek Philippe
- Year
- 1986
- Reference No
- 3940J
- Movement No
- 770'119
- Case No
- 2'824'890
- Material
- 18k yellow gold
- Calibre
- Automatic, cal. 240 Q, 27 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- Leather
- Clasp/Buckle
- 18k yellow gold Patek Philippe pin buckle
- Dimensions
- 36mm Diameter
- Signed
- Case, dial, movement and buckle signed
- Accessories
- Accompanied by Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production in 1986 with gilt dial and subsequent sale on March 24, 1986
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
Launched in 1985 and replacing ref. 3450, the legendary “Padellone”, the ref. 3940 features a rather classic Calatrava-style case with extremely clean proportions and dial layout. Powered by the all-new, ultra-thin caliber 240, Patek Philippe’s first movement to use a micro-rotor. Launched in four metals, yellow gold, pink gold, white gold and platinum, the reference was offered in a total of three series with its production spanning until 2007. The reference was first produced for famed retailer Chronometrie Beyer in Zürich in a limited edition of 25 pieces to celebrate its 225th anniversary, each individually numbered bearing the Beyer signature on the dial.
This beautiful first generation reference 3940 is remarkable due to a number of reasons. It most notably displays a champagne dial, which is confirmed by the Extract from the Archives, furthermore, its distinctive traits confirm it to be one of the earlier iterations: the dial features sunken registers, a non ”cross" leap year subdial, and it is also equipped with a solid caseback, with later examples featuring a transparent display caseback.
The present watch, fresh to the market, is one of only 9 known early examples to be fitted with a champagne dial.
This beautiful first generation reference 3940 is remarkable due to a number of reasons. It most notably displays a champagne dial, which is confirmed by the Extract from the Archives, furthermore, its distinctive traits confirm it to be one of the earlier iterations: the dial features sunken registers, a non ”cross" leap year subdial, and it is also equipped with a solid caseback, with later examples featuring a transparent display caseback.
The present watch, fresh to the market, is one of only 9 known early examples to be fitted with a champagne dial.
Patek Philippe
Swiss | 1839Since its founding in 1839, this famous Geneva-based firm has been surprising its clientele with superbly crafted timepieces fitted with watchmaking's most prestigious complications. Traditional and conservative designs are found across Patek Philippe's watches made throughout their history — the utmost in understated elegance.Well-known for the Graves Supercomplication — a highly complicated pocket watch that was the world’s most complicated watch for 50 years — this family-owned brand has earned a reputation of excellence around the world. Patek's complicated vintage watches hold the highest number of world records for results achieved at auction compared with any other brand. For collectors, key models include the reference 1518, the world's first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph, and its successor, the reference 2499. Other famous models include perpetual calendars such as the ref. 1526, ref. 3448 and 3450, chronographs such as the reference 130, 530 and 1463, as well as reference 1436 and 1563 split seconds chronographs. Patek is also well-known for their classically styled, time-only "Calatrava" dress watches, and the "Nautilus," an iconic luxury sports watch first introduced in 1976 as the reference 3700 that is still in production today.
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