ref. 3974 - special order or regular production ?

1989 – 150 years of Patek Philippe. What does Philippe Stern do ? Casually drops one of, if not the most gorgeous Patek Philippe minute repeaters of all time, no biggie.

Over the past year we’ve seen some very important 3974 pieces come up at auction, a yellow gold black dial, Breguet numerals with a Calatrava cross at 12 o’clock, a Rose gold with ruby indices and Breguet 12, 3974P black dial Breguet numerals – and just now at Philipps another Rose gold with a grey sunburst dial and Breguet numerals.

These pieces are extremely rare, if not unique, but the reference in it of itself is already a unicorn.

Released whilst Philippe Stern was at the helm of the brand, the 3974 perfectly fits within the collection of the time. Just try to picture walking into the Patek Philippe store in 1989 and seeing on display a 3940, a 3970, and a 3974… (keep in mind in 1989 3970 production was in the second series).

Not only is the aesthetic of the 3974 spot on, but the sound of the repeater is magnificently amplified by the work of master casemaker Mr. Jean-Pierre Hagmann. Mr Hagmann went on to design many of Patek Philippe’s most gorgeous cases, the ref. 5016 hamburger case, the ref. 3979 and ref. 3939, inspired by the all-time great ref. 2524 – the first serially produced minute repeater.

Minute repeaters are a tricky complication for watchmakers, not only is the movement a little stubborn to set – but if your case is badly made, your repeater can sound awful (not naming the evident independent xylophone sounding repeater). Many purists say Rose gold repeaters are the best sounding, of course, minute differences between different coloured gold exist, but what is clear and undisputable, is that gold sounds better than platinum. This is why, to me, when buying a repeater, the ultimate (for those wanting a discrete steel look alike) is white gold. 

Here is an estimated case production breakdown of the production quantities on the ref. 3974 according to Tortella & Sons.

So, what is it like to wear this thing? Well, it has a little bit of thickness to it, but it sits extremely comfortably on the wrist. The case shape is much nicer to look at than the flatter 3940, and despite being thinner than the 5016 and 5004, it’s got a bit of that hamburger-esque profile to it which gives it incredible wrist presence.

This example’s subdials have beautifully faded, much like that of the ref. 3940 we all know and love. What’s incredible when wearing this watch is that for the unaccustomed connoisseur, the watch can be misinterpreted for a 3940 by some, before being blown away by the gorgeous chime.

An interesting detail about the 3974 is the rhythm of the chime is much faster paced compared to modern repeaters. To understand this, we have to look at how a Minute Repeater works. Watchmakers look away, I will probably butcher this explanation.

When the slider is activated, the user essentially arms a spring connected to a gear-train, also connected to the centrifuge.

The centrifuge serves as the regulating organ of the repeater – it allows for the release of the energy of the repeater spring in the most linear way possible.

Depending on the watchmakers’ regulation of the spring, gear ratio and centrifuge, the chiming time of the repeater will be shorter or longer. Essentially, the friction from the fast-spinning centrifuge allows for the energy from the spring to be released with no sudden jumps. Therefore, the tighter the centrifuge spring, the faster it will slow the repeater spring down – giving the chime a faster pace.

The hammers are then dictated by a different gear-train and regulated by cams from which the time is “read” and then chimed.

Watchmakers today aim for an 18 second chiming sound, but at the time this wasn’t necessarily controlled so watchmakers would regulate the repeaters to their liking, sometimes 18 seconds, sometimes 12. This explains the varying rhythms of vintage repeaters.

From talking to an ex-Patek Watchmaker who broke this down to me, he clearly recalls how artisanal watchmaking was at the time, each watchmaker regulating his repeater to his liking, walking across the square to Jean Pierre Hagmann’s workshop to discuss the finishing of the slider to make it smoother – this artisanal essence transpires in these early 1990s reference, melding modern and vintage.

The resurgence of important special orders, whether original or dial swaps, allows for strong market appreciaton for this incredible reference. Auction results for special orders allow the market to self-regulate, naturally building desire for the reference in different configurations – and the references’ close siblings – references 3970 and 3940.

Whether you prefer the allure and exclusivity of a piece unique/special order, or the stealth look of a production piece is completely personal. Depending on the reference you’ll probably get a different answer from every collector. What we can all agree on is the incredible appeal the ref. 3974 has, and the aura it carries on the wrist. That hamburger case just really brings wrist presence without feeling too thick - something very difficult to pull off.

Looking forward to the November auctions, see you there !