In 1989, Patek Philippe celebrated their important 150th anniversary by releasing a series of limited edition commemorative watches. Among them there was ref. 3974, a self-winding minute repeating perpetual calendar wristwatch intended to showcase the full extent of the company’s technical proficiency applied to wrist pieces. Elegant and playful at the same time, the reference featured a 2499-inspired three-piece 36mm case. Early examples - such as the present piece - were made by the legendary casemaker Jean-Pierre Hagmann, who stamped his hallmark beneath the bottom right lug. Later examples featured cases made by Atelier Reunis. Originally trained as a jeweller but more than renowned in producing watch cases - notably minute repeater cases for Patek Philippe - works of Mr. Hagmann are considered the ultimate tier when it comes to case quality and his name is today considered legendary, to the point that it is said - without substantiation - that repeating watches cased in JPH cases have a more pure sound.
Powering the complicated ref. 3974 is Patek Philippe’s self-winding cal. 27RQ with an impressively thin thickness of just 6.8mm notwithstanding its total of 467 components, each movement certified with the Geneva seal. Production started with movement number 1’906’000, which has a permanent place in the Patek Philippe Museum, which means that the present lot bearing the number 1’906’076 is a very early example. Indeed, the Extract states the production year as 1992, early enough, as mentioned above, to bear a JHP case.
Produced from 1989 to 2002, it is believed that approximately 120 examples of the reference were produced across all metals including yellow gold, pink gold, white gold and platinum. While most examples were cased in yellow gold, no more than 20 examples in pink gold are thought to have been made, and so far only 6 are known from the market. It is easy to understand how, given such scarcity, a pink gold 3974 is always to be considered a serendipical occurrence for the collector. The present example pushes however the boundary much further as it features a unique anthracite dial with Breguet numerals, in addition to being the earliest pink gold example known. All other known examples feature silvered dials, as illustrated in the below summary:
1’906’076 - Anthracite dial with Breguet numerals - the present watch
1’906’078 - Silvered Gold dial with baton indexes - Last seen: June 25th 2010
1’906’086 - Silvered Gold dial with baton indexes - Last seen: March 15th 2006
1’906’087 - Silvered Gold dial with baton indexes - Last seen: June 5, 2021
1’906’091 - Silvered Gold dial with baton indexes - Last seen: March 28th 2007
There is no doubt that the watch was born in this condition as, beyond the presence of the Extract, the piece has also appeared at auction in 2003 complete with its original Certificate and accessories, where it was purchased by the current owner. Unfortunately, all the accessories have been lost during the delivery of the watch back in 2003.
Being without a doubt the most unusual, rare and collectible pink gold example of the model to ever appear at auction, the present so-far unique Patek Philippe ref. 3974 is a stellar example that would be one of the “crown jewels” of any of the world’s most important Patek Philippe collections.
