REF. 3970E, MOVEMENT NO. 876'009, CASE NO. 2'900'856, CIRCA 1992

The present reference 3970 is preserved in very good overall condition and furthermore accompanied by its full set of accessories.

Introduced in 1986, reference 3970 marked a new generation of perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatches for Patek Philippe, succeeding the highly successful 2499, which had been manufactured in four series between 1951 and 1985. The biggest shift was the replacement of the Valjoux movement that had propelled its predecessors for the previous fifty years with a new Lemania-based ébauche. There were only about 100 pieces made in the first series of reference 3970, which started with movement number 875'000 and had a solid snap-on back. A solid screw-down back, with reference 3970E, was introduced in the second series.

Launched in 1989, the third series, such as the present example, was released and came with a solid screw-down back as well as an extra sapphire crystal display back. It is believed that approximately 1'350 pieces were made across all four metals. The reference was replaced by the 5970 in 2004, marking the end of production.

Reference 3970 and 3971, which were discontinued twenty years ago, have since become modern classics and are considered to be indispensable pieces for the discerning collector of complicated Patek Philippe wristwatches.