Patek Philippe’s reference 3974 is the epitome of the famed brand’s technical and design prowess of the late 20th century.

Created under the guidance of Philippe Stern, this reference was launched in 1989 to celebrate Patek Philippe’s 150th anniversary. Featuring an in-house self-winding movement with minute repeater, perpetual calendar, 24-hour indication and phases of the moon, it was the world’s most complicated wristwatch when it was launched.

The movement beating in the heart of this masterpiece is Patek Philippe’s caliber 27RQ, a 6.80mm thick movement comprised of 467 components. Another surprising feature is the micro-rotor, which provides an unobtrusive view into the superbly finished movement. Reference 3974 was the first automatic winding minute repeater ever made.

This ultra-complex mechanism is housed in a case whose downturned stepped lugs are reminiscent of another of Patek Philippe’s iconic timepieces: the perpetual calendar chronograph reference 2499. Patek Philippe turned to Jean-Pierre Hagmann, a living legend among case makers, to create a case that would not only be a beautiful frame for the watch but could also act as a superb sound carrier for the repeater’s delicate chimes. Some of these Hagmann-cased masterpieces - such as the present one - actually bear the JHP stamp of the casemaker, a subtle detail which is not present on all examples. The JHP stamp is also present to the inside of the solid caseback, highlighting the pride this legendary craftsman took in his job.

Patek Philippe discontinued this reference in 2000 - making this one of the very last examples produced - and given how complex it was to manufacture, very few examples were made over its 11-year production period. In fact, the present example is only the eighth known in platinum, and the overall production of platinum 3974 is thought to be less than a dozen examples.

Platinum is a metal known to dampen the sound of chimes in a repeating watch, however thanks to Patek Philippe’s technical expertise and Hagmann’s savoir faire, the 3974 in platinum chimes with surprising clarity and volume.

Any platinum 3974 can be considered an absolute grail, sitting at the very top of any Patek Philippe collector’s wish list. The present example, however, sets the bar even higher as it is a special order, fully documented by the Extract; the watch was originally sold with two, very different dials: one with white baton indexes, the other black with Breguet numerals. Given how rarely Patek Philippe grants special requests - especially on timepieces of this importance and exclusivity - one can rest assured that the original owner was one of the most distinguished and affluent clients of the brand.

In fact, according to our understanding, this is the last 3974 example made, any case material. It was delivered to a VIP customer in January 2004, 3 years after the production of the last movements for the reference (2001, the year of production of this movement). Apparently, when the company realised this special order piece, they employed this extremely late production movement, “sacrificing” it to the cause and completely closing the production of the reference.

The presence of all the accessories, including the numbered sale tag, is the final icing on this superlative cake.