Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Moonphase Chronograph

Patek Philippe has sat high atop the horological mountain for going on two centuries, having earned near-universal acclaim for their proficiencies in designing, engineering, and manufacturing some of the most exquisite timepieces the world has ever seen. But while Patek is world-renowned for its superb in-house movements, it should be noted that up until fairly recently, even its complicated chronographs used source Swiss movements from the likes of Lemania, and before that, Valjoux. Naturally, these were superbly finished versions of base ebauchés, but this is old-school watchmaking in a nutshell — a maison such as Patek would source the parts from the very best manufacturers as a starting point, and improve, modify and finish from there. In the 1980s and 1990s, the best chronograph bases in the industry came from Lemania. Widely considered amongst collectors as one of the maison’s last great designs, the Reference 3970 such the one we have here is a 36mm perpetual calendar chronograph produced between 1986 and 2004, preceded by the Ref. 2499 and succeeded by the Ref. 5970. It’s powered by the Calibre CH 27-70 Q manually-wound movement — Patek’s modified version of the Lemania Calibre 2310. Hand-finished and beautiful, it formed the basis for not only the 3970 - but also the Calibre .321 used in the earliest Omega Speedmatsers.  What is this notable movement powering? Namely, a mechanism with an incredible amount of information, conveyed in an elegant form that only a maison such as Patek Philippe could design. On its beautiful silvered dial you'll find applied yellow gold pointed indices, dual day and month displays beneath the 12 o’clock index, a combined 30-minute totalizer and leap year indicator at 3 o’clock; a combined date wheel and moon phase indicator at 6 o’clock; and a combined running seconds and 12-hour totalizer at 9 o’clock — oh, it also tells the time! This piece, a Reference 3970J/002, features a tidy 18k yellow gold case equipped with round chronograph pushers, a signed crown, a solid case back and comes without the model's characteristic sculpted lugs. A rarely-seen variant, this example exchanges a leather strap for an integrated rice-bead style bracelet with a signed hook and lock clasp, all finished in 18k yellow golf. Beautifully sized with a gorgeous dial and featuring one of the most notable chronograph movements in history, we’ll be damned if this third-series 3970 isn’t one of the most exquisite complicated watches from Patek we’ve ever had the pleasure to offer. *Due to the design of this bracelet, sizing alterations may require custom work. Lead time after measurements are established is 4-6 weeks.*