Patek Philippe. A very fine and rare 18K gold automatic minute repeating perpetual calendar wristwatch with moon phases

With Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch in 1990 and its subsequent sale on 8 November 1990. Furthermore delivered with "Patek Philippe International Customer Service" tag and the copy of the invoice dated 14 March 2001 for a complete overhaul.

Reference 3974 was produced in 1989 to celebrate Patek Philippe's 150th anniversary, the movement of the first model was numbered 1'906'000. The ingenious calibre R 27 Q impresses not only by its remarkable number of 467 parts but also by Patek Philippe's masterly performance of combining a micro-rotor, minute repeating and perpetual calendar mechanisms in a proportionally small 12 1/2''' movement.

Reference 3974 has become a modern classic epitomizing the strengths and wonderful acoustics of Patek Philippe minute repeaters. It was manufactured in very small numbers only. This sought after reference ceased production in 2002 and is regarded as one of the most desirable minute repeaters of modern production.

The impressive case of highest quality was made by the famous casemaker Jean-Pierre Hagmann of Geneva, his hallmark JPH stamped underneath the left lower lug.

Originally trained as a jeweller, Jean-Pierre Hagmann set up his own company in 1984, specializing in the manufacture of custom-made high quality watch cases. He worked for several of the world's most famous watch manufactures, notably Patek Philippe, to whom he supplied amongst others cases for references 3974, 3979 and 5029, all models of the firm's "Grand Complication" series.

Reference 3974 is illustrated in Patek Philippe Wristwatches by Martin Huber & Alan Banbery, second edition, p. 325.