The PHILLIPS New York Watch Auction: XIII takes place on 6-7 December 2025, at our Park Avenue headquarters. The auction includes more than 140 of the world's finest watches – and though we are loath to boast, we truly think it's one of the best catalogues we've ever put together. We'll be highlighting several of the most interesting lots and stories featured in the sale right here, including the Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Ref. 3940J with doré dial seen below.
– By Logan Baker
In the world of Patek Philippe perpetual calendars, the term doré carries an outsized weight.
Translating literally to “golden,” the doré finish used by Patek Philippe is best described as a soft, rosy champagne that sits somewhere between salmon and pure gold. Its matte surface, subtle grain, and silken glow catch light in a way few other dials do.
The finish made its popular debut with the Perpetual Calendar Ref. 3940 in 1985, a model that marked Patek Philippe’s return to complicated mechanical elegance at a time when quartz still dominated. Patek Philippe's then-managing director, Philippe Stern, envisioned a watch that would define the company’s future – a perpetual calendar that was thin, balanced, and timeless. Within that first production run, a small handful of 3940s and their near-identical sibling, the 3941 with a sapphire exhibition caseback, were fitted with doré dials. Most were cased in yellow gold and produced during the first and early second series.
Collectors today view these doré 3940s with complete reverence. They represent not only one of the earliest expressions of Patek’s post-Quartz-Revolution revival but also one of its most refined. Philippe Stern himself wore a doré-dial 3940, cementing its status within the brand’s modern mythology. The color seems to embody the warmth and restraint of Patek Philippe’s 1980s design language – traditional yet unmistakably modern.
Production numbers remain speculative, but consensus suggests that very few doré dials were made for the early 3940s (exclusively in the first and early second series), including those bearing the Beyer retailer signature. It’s even been suggested that more of the first run of 25 Beyer-signed pieces featured the doré dial than unsigned examples. Either way, the total doré-dial population across all early-series 3940s and 3941s likely numbers fewer than 25 to 30 watches.
Later in the decade, the doré finish appeared again – briefly – on the Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Ref. 3970 and 3971 (with exhibition caseback). These were the natural successors to the legendary 1518 and 2499, and while most examples featured silvered or opaline dials, a tiny fraction were fitted with doré. Research indicates roughly ten known examples across both references, and of those, only two have Certificates of Origin explicitly confirming their dials as original. The others likely received doré replacements during later service.
The doré treatment gives the 3970 and 3971 a distinctive presence. The soft golden tone deepens the warmth of the yellow gold case, creating an almost monochrome harmony of color and light. The matte texture gives the dial a subtle vintage quality, recalling the great mid-century Patek chronographs while remaining unmistakably modern in execution.
The story stretches even further back. In 2011, an extract-confirmed doré first-series dial appeared on a reference 2497 – one of Patek Philippe’s great mid-century perpetual calendar wristwatches. The continuity between that singular 1950s watch and the 1980s models underscores how doré is a recurring theme in Patek’s visual language.
Among collectors, doré dials have become a subtle signal of taste and knowledge. They’re not flashy. They don’t shout. But their warmth, scarcity, and connection to a formative chapter in Patek Philippe's history make them deeply evocative.
You can view the complete Phillips New York Watch Auction: XIII auction catalogue here.