The present example of foundational ref. 3712 can be considered without a doubt one of the most appealing and impressively well-preserved specimens to ever appear at auction. Not only it is accompanied by all its documents and original box, but it furthermore presents an absolutely unpolished and hardly worn case, showcasing impressive proportions, strong satin finish and sharp edges.
When analysing Patek Philippe products, it becomes apparent that the company usually presents less evolutions to its watch designs, both in terms of update frequency and of intensity as well, than other brands. Once a model is presented, its design tends to remain the same for its entire production. Sometimes small changes are applied (such as in the case of the three series of reference 5270) but in general terms Patek Philippe designs are more “monolithic” than other companies. This is why reference 3712 can be considered an absolute outlier and unarguably the modern Patek Philippe reference with the shortest and strangest production run of them all, which explains its enormous collectability.
Patek Philippe introduced reference 3712/1A in 2005, and it remained in production for approximately one year – some estimate as few as eight months - before being succeeded by ref. 5712 in 2006. The model was at the time of its launch the first truly complicated Nautilus, the date and moonphases notable upgrades from the power reserve complication of earlier ref. 3710. The letters following the official name of the self-winding caliber 240 – PS IRM C LU – stand for "petites secondes" (small seconds), "indication de réserve de marche" (power reserve), "calendrier" (date), and "lune" (moon). When presented to the public, the highly asymmetric disposition of these functions on the dial raised more than an eyebrow, but the design - adopted nearly identical by ref. 5712 as well - has proven to be most successful.
At first glance, ref. 3712 appears quite similar to ref. 5712, but there are many noteworthy differences when the watches' details are examined. Most notably, the 3712 has a slightly smaller case measuring 42 mm in diameter as it is constructed using only two pieces compared with the more rounded, three piece, 42.5mm case of the 5712.
The dial of the reference 3712 features wider grooves, or channels, and different hour markers than its successor. The most apparent difference is however that the date ring is smaller in reference 3712 allowing for the presence of a tiny 7 o’clock marker, absent in ref. 5712.
The dial is the setting for another quirk of this reference: not only its less-than-a-year production run is simply baffling, but it furthermore features an evolution during this short time, with two recognised series.
- First series models, such as the present one, present three red dots in the power reserve indicator
- Second series examples feature 4 dots, same as reference 5712.
Such an unusual production history denotes how Patek Philippe was at the time making its first forays into the realm of complicated sport watches, and thus was incrementally adjusting the design of the piece.
