3970EG Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph

With all the headlines this week, it seems to me worth taking a moment to contemplate the glory days of the Patek Philippe we all fell in love with. Last time I wrote about a 3970, I began, ‘If an alien was beamed down to Earth, or Mark Zuckerberg asked you (which amounts to the same thing, really), you’d have a hard time explaining why the 2499 is a million and up dollar watch while this 3970 is a ‘mere’ 150-250K-ish watch, broadly speaking.’ Since then, Zuck has started in on FPJ and DB, so this hypothetical may become reality. However, the 3970 is as attractive a proposition as it was a year ago, if not moreso.

Taking over the throne from the 2499 as Patek’s lauded perpetual calendar chrono was never going to be an easy task. Collectors adored the 2499 for its rarity (349 examples), complication, and classic aesthetic. In some sense, it the 3970 was always destined to endure a lull if not outright failure. And a lull it hit, as in 1986 many collectors simply did not care and retailers could not shift them. The 3970 was a marker of Patek’s modern era, a line in the sand for greater production and modern manufacturing techniques. Watch people are, for better or worse, often romantics. Many simply did not want this time to come. Yet, for its then-unpopularity, the 3970 is a landmark reference for Patek in all respects. While not easy to buy, they aren’t rare technically. The best rough estimate we have is 2500-4000 examples. Collectors are starting to realize that having more of something perfect is not a bug, it’s a feature.

The 36mm case (beautifully proportioned, particularly by contrast to the latter 5970’s 40mm) was perfectly judged with stepped lugs and Calatrava cross crown. Moreover, it utilized a Lemania ébauche (2320 specifically) instead of Valjoux for the first time, dressed to the 9s and wearing a Geneva Seal. The Patek Philippe Seal doesn’t even come close. Perhaps most importantly, the tachymetre seen on earlier models was removed, allowing for a far cleaner dial impression. This fourth series is distinguished by its pointed baton hands, pointed markers, and sapphire screwback. Earlier series, feuille-handed, are fewer in number and generally more collected, while latter 3rd and 4th series are probably the strongest value today. The EG in this reference is to mark water-resistance, a screw-back case. It’s an inarguably exceptional watch in almost every metric, even relative value. Well done, Philippe Stern.

This EG was ordered with a sapphire caseback and it is white nice to have both. The watch is claimed to be unpolished and the case certainly appears quite strong, hallmarks as well. Originally retailed in Spain in 2005, it comes with the full set and all the works. It is, if not the most collectible PCC, perhaps the most under recognized. It comes from a well-regarded Spanish retailer.