The Patek Philippe ref. 3940 was first released in 1985. Realised in different variants ranging from yellow, pink and white gold to platinum, this reference was predominantly encased in yellow gold and had enjoyed a long and triumphant production run which only ceased in 2007.

The present ref. 3940J from circa 1985 bears a movement numbered 770’057 that belongs to the “First Series” production. With the first 25 pieces made for Zurich based retailer Beyer considered a limited edition “pre-Series”, the first “standard production” iteration of this model begins with movement 770’025, making this movement the 33rd examples made.

The most apparent feature of a First Series 3940 is the dial featuring sub-registers with vertical “walls”, a detail later substituted by a gentle slope. It is little known, however, that there are 3 versions of the First Series dial, two made internally by Stern, and one made externally by Singer.
Stern dial A: the middle line of the Es in the signature is shorter than the top and bottom line; two-tone 24-hour counter.
Stern dial B: The middle line of the Es is about the same length as the other 2, monotone 24-hour counter.
Singer dial: the walls of the subsidiary counters present a rounded junction with subcounter surface (rather than the perfectly 90 degrees merging found on Stern dials), the swiss designation reads σ . SWISS . σ (Stern dials have no dots).

Fresh to the market and offered in remarkable condition, this is one of the scarcest and most collectible iterations of one of the most celebrated automatic perpetual calendar wristwatches in recent history.