Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar

What you’re looking at is arguably one of the most beautiful perpetual calendar watches ever made, full stop. And perhaps one of the most important, too.  The reference 3940 was born in 1985, at a time when the watch world was in the midst of the Quartz Crisis and most brands were churning out inexpensive, battery-powered watches — and struggling to stay afloat. Alas, Patek Philippe was never one to follow the crowd, and released both the ref. 3940 perpetual calendar and the ref. 3970 perpetual calendar chronograph with in-house, micro-rotor-equipped automatic movements — a gauntlet drop if ever there was one.  Made in several series and different metals, the watch we have here is a 3940P. Housed in a 36mm platinum case, it features a sapphire crystal, signed crown, a polished bezel, and one hell of a dial: Silver with white gold dauphine hands, it has a combination month/leap year indicator at 3 o’clock; a moon phase/date wheel at 6 o’clock; and a day/24-hour indicator at 9 o’clock.