patek philippe 3970 1st series or 2499 5th series ?

In every category there is a grail, the nec plus ultra, in vintage Ferrari it’s the GTO series, in sneakers it’s the Jordan – in vintage Patek it’s the Perpetual Calendar Chronograph. 

The very first perpetual calendar chronograph made in series was the ref. 1518 by Patek Philippe. Introduced in 1941 in the midst of the second world war (yes, the swiss have always had rather odd priorities), the Perpetual Calendar Chronograph has become the quintessential Patek Philippe complication to own for many a Patek Collector. Whether that today’s 5270 – is then up to personal choice, taste and unfortunately, budget. 

We often hear today collectors hailing on about the “glory days of Patek”, how things just aren’t how they used to – and for our generation we’ve become so accustomed to hearing these things we sometimes confuse it for the buzzing or a fruit fly or the irritating high pitched sound of a mosquito as you’re trying to fall asleep. But they’re right. 

Yes, they’re right, for once they’re right – but not because we’ve ruined it, no this is something we cannot have changed despite our desire to and its purely because of industrialization, and globalisation. 

 Yeah, I know, you’re not here for a lecture but trust me this is going somewhere. 

So back to the 1518 and 2499 – what made them so incredibly special? Well as we mentioned, the 1518 was the first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph but serially produced at the time was not comparable to what serially produced means in today’s standards. 

To kick things off, here’s just a tiny breakdown of estimated production numbers for ref. 1518 to 5970. 

If we turn that into the number of pieces produced yearly that’s roughly 21 watches made yearly for the ref. 1518, 11 watches yearly for ref. 2499 and let’s not even look into the others as we might start getting a little upset with how “rare” these watches are. 

Now, let’s start off by saying that these numbers are approximative and with lead times, delivery and the war, production scattered much differently than a strict 21 watches per year. One must also keep in mind that during the 2499 years, Patek also significantly expanded their collection leaving less manpower to work on their Perpetual Calendar Chronograph. 

So what makes these sacred references and Patek so special ? The quality. Yep, it’s that simple, Patek has always focused on quality and it still shows today. When handling a watch of that era it still feels luxurious if in good condition you could expect to buy it in store today, the movement is still running and keeps “accurate” time, the dials aren’t destroyed.. we could keep going.. 

But let’s focus on one of the most important aspects in which Patek’s ref. 1518 and 2499 triumph over other references – the dial. 

The (original) dials on references 1518 and 2499 were made using a technique called engraved enamel (some also refer to this as raised enamel, but I’ll explain that later). The way in which these dials were made involves engraving a dial with all the details we see including the minute track, tachymeter, Patek Philippe signature, sub-counters, calendar… All of this was engraved into the dial. Then, enamel was applied into the engraving and the dial was cooked for the enamel to set. Enamel however is much much harder than the brass dial, so when the dial would then be polished for finishing, the enamel would stick out from the rest of the dial earning it the “raised enamel” nickname. 

Tip: due to this, the accent of the E of Genève often falls off as when a dial is polished - the “root” of the accent hasn’t got anything to hold onto anymore and can fall out, this can be a good way to check the condition of enrgaved enamel dialed watches. 

So how is this better than modern dials? Well, modern dials are just stamped with an ink boob (officially called a printing pad but where’s the fun in that?) – allowing manufacturers to churn out dozens of dials daily. In the long run, the engraved enamel dials also last much longer as the enamel can never fade, get smudged or be painted over for restoration purpose (without it being visible). 

Another example of how these watches were better produced back then is the cases – handmade. Well, that settles it. I don’t think I need to explain why that’s more charming than a CNC machine do I?

So, let’s maybe finally get to the point, shall we? 

The ref. 3970 was made in 4 different series, but we’ll only be focusing on the very first series which was made from 1986 onwards in 100 pieces - only of which roughly 80 were made with a solid snap back, and 20 with a sapphire snap back made under the reference 3971 (these numbers are often debated, some say 100 of each reference were made, the aforementioned is what I’ve researched and believe).

The first major change to the Perpetuel Calendar Chronograph series when transitioning from the 1518 and 2499 to the 3970 and 5970 is the change of movement – the first movement was a Valjoux ebauche caliber whilst the latter are powered by a Lemania ebauche. What is an ebauche? We’ll go further into the details of that another time but it’s essentially a movement blank that is then finished and reworked by the brand to meet its internal requirements.

The other change we mentioned earlier is the change from engraved enamel dials to printed dials, this actually began with the 4th series of the 2499 but was finally irreversibly switched with the 3970. 

What remained is the snap-on case-back, the handmade ethos of the case, and through the two-tone dial, an ode and respect to the past. 

But what does the first series 3970 truly represent? And why was I blabbing on about the industrial revolution and globalisation ? 

The 3970 represents the transition from the old to the new Patek, from hand-made, to machine made – mixing a hand-made case with a wonderful vintage two tone dial with printed markings. A real mix of eras. Another important detail for many is the fact this is the last Perpetual Calendar Chronograph designed by Philippe Stern before Thierry Stern’s 5970.

So why does this speak to a 20 something year old? Well to me the watch marks the transition from the great to the now, it borrows cues from the past whilst still improving on some design aspects like symmetry and dial layout and remains ultra-wearable today despite some being bothered by its size. The snap back also allows for a much thinner wear on the wrist, and charmingly hides the mechanical marvel underneath – preserved for the watchmaker’s eyes only.

All of this combined with the extremely limited production numbers, and the fact that many dials were changed in service makes these watches an extremely rare breed. It’s something as John Mayer would say you need to “look closer” to understand, but when you bump into someone who knows what you’re wearing that’s when you know you’ve found a real Patek nerd.