Patek Philippe Ref. 3448 - A Mini Collector’s Guide

In Patek Philippe collecting there are two types of collectors - the modern collectors (most often owns every single Nautilus and Aquanaut variety) - and the die hard vintage guys (can be spotted wearing anything from a ref. 130 chronograph, a 2499 or a vintage nautilus). Most watches fall into one category or the other and of course there are exceptions to this (especially with late 90s early 2000s pieces that obviously fall between the two), but the watch that stands out the most as a true mix is the ref. 3448 Perpetual Calendar, aka the Padellone.

Introduced in 1962, the 3448 was the first serially produced automatic perpetual calendar produced. With the purest most beautiful layout of any perpetual calendar, the 3448 sets itself apart from modern perpetual calendars due to the absence of a leap year indicator, present on the very last models and on the following ref. 3450. The absence of the leap year indicator makes for a very clean dial layout - the day and month apertures at 12 o’clock and the date and moon phase indicator at 6 o’clock - nothing more, nothing less. Pure class. The 3448 was produced until 1985.

What is most impressive with the 3448 is the case size - coming in at 37,5mm in diameter, the 3448 is exceptionally modern for its time. In the same instance as the watches it shared displays with at the time like the 2499, 3700 which were also large for the time. This larger than average size is part of what made the 2499 and 3700 such important and reverred watches to this day and is what will in my opinion win over the heart of many modern collectors looking to get started in the world of vintage. This combined with he fact the watch is powered by one of the finest automatic movements ever made is also a great bonus as many modern collectors are bothered by mechanical movements.

In terms of wearability, this size also makes for an extremely modern looking and feeling watch - it really feels like something Patek could’ve made today.

So now that your interest has been sparked by the ref. 3488 - which one should you collect ?

In terms of case metals, the 3448 was produced in 3 metals initially, yellow (approx. 500 pieces), white gold (approx. 100-150 pieces) and the extremely rare rose gold (2 known). Later on, some collectors asked Patek to recase some watches into Platinum cases which was done on special request (two known, converted from yellow gold cases by JPH).

The obvious grail is the rose gold - but it last sold for north of 2M CHF in 2011 - the next step would be a nice White Gold, and these can go anywhere from 400k CHF to 1M+ CHF depending on the series.

Let’s take a look at the different series of 3448 :

Case Series :

The 1st Series 3448 case was made from 1962 to 1974/1975 - small PP crown until 1965 - domed glass, lugs directly attached to case, no reverse step, thinner bezel.

The 2nd Series 3448 case was made from 1974/1975 onwards - Calatrava crown, flatter sapphire glass, thicker bezel.

Dial Series :

The 1st Series dials were produced from 1962 - 1970 and featured and engraved enamel signature and date track. The outer track has “hash” indices all around.

The 2nd Series dials were produced in 1971 and featured printed dials with a pearled outer track. The date track is flipped at the half way point from 9 to 23 for legibility.

The 3rd Series dials were produced from 1971 to 1972 and featured a printed dial with pearled outer track. The date track is not flipped at the half way point, 9 to 23 are read upside down. Swiss signature at 6 o’clock.

The 4th and final series dials were produced from 1972 onwards and featured a hash outer track, flipped date track and sigma-swiss-sigma signature at 6 o’clock.

All in all, I would personally aim for a 1st series but these are increasingly difficult to find, especially in unmolested condition - my next bet would be a 3rd series with the unflipped numbers as I find it fun and quirky. Due to a higher production quantity than most vintage perpetual calendars, I would recommend finding a differentiating trait like Double signatures or a different language date wheel for a more collectible watch.

Disclaimer : All this information is approximated and cannot be deemed an exact science - dates, exact quantities are estimated from archives, auction results etc. The information has been simplified and whilst some may separate the 3448 production into many more sub-sections, this is the way I see it. Transitional versions also exist with engraved enamel signature and printed date track.