The ref. 3940 is without any doubt the best you can get in simplicity combined with an ultra high-end complication.

In the year 1985, Patek Philippe released a duo of watches with perpetual calendar complications in 36 mm cases. The ref. 3940 housed this unique complication in a beautiful dressy case. The watch was notably worn by Thierry Stern, patriarch of the Stern family that owns Patek Philippe.

This 3940J is housed in a yellow gold case with a matching yellow gold screw down case back. The champagne dial sports 18k yellow-gold pointed baton indexes and elegant 18k yellow-gold dauphine hands. Two apertures at the 12 o’clock position reveal the day and month mechanism.

The complications are displayed on three recessed sub-dials. The sub-dial at the 9 o’clock position indicates the day of the week as well as a 24-hour hand, while the sub-dial at 3 incorporates the month and a leap year indicator. Finally on the lower sub-dial we find a charming moon phase indicator, which is surrounded by a date complication. This specific watch is executed as a very rare, early second series. This early second series is recognizable by the absence of the cross hair in the sub-dial at 3 o’clock and only a handful of those executions reach the market every year.

The watch comes on a deep dark blue, alligator leather, Patek Philippe strap together with a yellow gold buckle, an Extract from the Patek Philippe Archives and recent service papers.