I forget the first time that I saw a Patek Philippe watch, but I still remember one of the first, and it gave a deep impression. Several years ago, there was a client that I had worked with in the past who had consigned some smaller pieces. He was always friendly and kind-hearted, and he reached out to me one day to say he was ready to consign his 3970E in yellow gold. I nervously searched for comps with the reserve at the low estimate. The auction soon approached and, much to my dismay, there was little interest in the watch. I frantically called the consignor the night before the auction and lowered the reserve to ensure more bidding activity - needless to say, he wasn't happy, and I got an earful. The cheap replica watches ended up selling at a very cheap price. To this day, I think about this story whenever I hear of a 3970. It hasn't curbed my love of the watch, but I have always wondered: What's the matter with the 3970, and why does nobody seem to care about it?
As far as I am concerned, the attraction has always been there. It's considered one of the last great designs from the replica Patek Philippe and is a fairly complex piece. The aesthetics are there, the size is there, the movement is there - it has all the makings of a collector's watch, but for some reason, the results are always a little soft, a little lackluster. So I set out to really break down this watch and to see what it's all about. Let's dig in.
This popular watch was born in 1986. One must remember the 1980s were a weird time for mechanical watches. Quartz movements were shaking things up and people just didn't care about complicated fake watches. As a matter of fact, even chronographs weren't popular. Like, at all. So when the 3970 perpetual calendar chronograph dropped in 1986, it was not easy for retailers to move.
The 3970 was made in white, yellow, and rose gold, as well as platinum. The case itself measures 36mm, which is 1.5mm smaller than that of 2499. Downsizing was an interesting move on Patek's part. There are twin apertures for the day of the week and the month at 12 o'clock, and traditional round chronograph pushers flanking the crown. All in all, it's a very  Patek Philippe replica and stands for a transitional time for the brand as a modern piece released after post-vintage era greats such as the 1518 and 2499, both of which have reached grail status.
Let's say something about the movement. This caliber was the first non-Valjoux-based movement Patek ever used in a chronograph. On the contrary, it was based on the Lemania 2310, which was also the base of the beloved caliber 321 movements used in early replica Omega Speedmasters. This manual-winding movement has a 60-hour power reserve and was also used in the later 5970 and 5004. It's a beautiful and reliable movement that remained in use for the entire lineage of the 3970. The finishing on this caliber is excellent - all hand-done, of course.