Sometimes The Biggest Decisions Are Made At 3.30am

Living in Australia can sometimes have its challenges. The key ones being distance and the major time differences. To a determined collector however this is a mere distraction. At the end of last year I was in the hunt for a Patek Philippe Perpetual Chronograph. Patek Philippe invented the pairing of the perpetual calendar and chronograph complications. Starting with the reference 1518, followed by the 2499, in turn followed by the 3970, which was replaced by the 5970. The 2499 has an enamel dial and a Valjoux ebauche as its base movement, while the 3970 was the first to house the highly prized Lemania ebauche.

It was a week before Christmas that I woke up in the very early hours of the morning to bid on a very special Patek Philippe Perpetual Chronograph. Finally my lot came up and the frantic bidding started, then after a few moments the final price (which was my top price) lingered on the screen for what seemed like an eternity. Just like that, I was now the proud owner of a 1990 Patek Philippe 3971J. What makes the 3971 unique is that it was made only by special order between 1986-1990, and was equipped with a display back. Soon enough, Patek Philippe decided to only offer this watch as the 3970 and include both a solid case back and a display back. Accordingly, very few 3971s exist.

It took until late January for the watch to arrive from New York. At times I was tempted to just fly over and take personal delivery, however the horrible weather in New York quickly dispelled that notion.

Brinks certainly do a thorough job in packaging.

This watch just has such an elegant and timeless unhurried design. Original 18K yellow gold case measures 36mm diameter by 13mm thick. Sapphire front and display back crystals. Round, pump style chronograph pushers. The gold hallmarks are stamped on the outside of the lugs.


The dial is in perfect harmony and IMHO is more beautiful than the 3rd generation 3970's produced from 1990 onwards.

The movement is perfectly housed in this case.

I am privileged to own this jewel of time.