What's Selling Here - November 22, 2024

By Charlie Dunne

Patek Philippe Reference 3970ER w/ Extract, Booklet & Modern Box

The Patek Philippe reference 3970 is part of the legendary family of Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronographs. It is the successor to the cherished reference 2499 with its origin beginning in 1986. It would be produced over the course of the following two decades and remains one of the finest timepieces made within the recent chapters of Patek Philippe’s history.

This example features a beautiful 18K rose-gold case and is a rare early second series model featuring beautiful feuille (leaf hands) and the more attractive and vintage font for the date discs above Patek Philippe. Overall, the watch is closer in design to the grail reference 2499 that preceded it than later examples that feature the straight baton hands and a different dial and day and month discs. A second series example in white gold from circa 1992 recently sold at auction for over $407,000 USD, making this price attractive.

The movement is operated through the calibre 27-70 Q (which originates through the Lemania 2310). The pump pushers are incredibly satisfying when engaging the chronograph. This watch dates to 1990 and was sold in October of that year.

The condition of the watch is excellent and extremely crisp. It appears that three out of the four lugs might be unpolished and only the top left lug shows a bit of polishing to the gold hallmark. The gold hallmark on the lower right lug appears to be crisp and untouched.

The watch comes with Extract from the Archives issued in 2019. It comes with the solid case back and does does not come with a sapphire case back, but it is not clear if this watch had a spare sapphire case back accompanying the watch in 1990. The lug width is 19mm and it comes with a Patek Philippe pin buckle in 18k rose gold on a beautiful strap. The watch comes with a vintage reference 3970 booklet and a more recent modern Patek Philippe box. For those looking for an incredible complicated yet elegant timepiece from Patek Philippe, the reference 3970 is one of the greatest choices!

Patek Philippe Reference 5980/1AR-001 Unpolished Full Set

The Patek Philippe Nautilus is one of the most iconic designs from Gérald Charles Genta. This two-tone stainless steel 18K rose gold example is the reference 5980/1AR, a remarkable flyback chronograph with date. The watch is powered by the calibre CH 28‑520 C. The dial is a phenomenal blue. The case is unpolished and measures 40.5mm.

The watch comes full set with box and papers from the original owner.. The date on the Certificate of Origin is from 2021.

Heuer Autavia Tropical Reference 1163 Unpolished

Heuer Autavias are some of coolest vintage watches. This example is one of the nicest Heuers with a tropical brown color and very nice colorful hands and registers. The watch is paired on a Heuer bracelet made by Gay Frères. They feature very large cases which are very enjoyable on the wrist. We believe the case is unpolished. It measures 43mm in diameter (47mm lug-to-lug). It has one of the most attractive bezel inserts on any GMT I’ve ever seen and I would love to own this watch in my personal collection.

This example dates to circa 1970. It was just serviced and is running great. It does not come with box and papers.

Rolex Submariner Smurf Reference 116619LB Unpolished Full Set

This Rolex Submariner reference 116619LB AKA the “Smurf” is an awesome sports watch. The white gold case is unpolished. It is well worn and if the purchaser wants to have it polished, we can help facilitate, but we will leave it to the next owner to decide that!

The watch comes full set with box and papers from the original owner. The watch was sold in 2015. We do not know the service history, but it is running well.

To learn more about the Rolex Submariner, you can read my ‘Reference Points: Understanding The Rolex Submariner’ article and corresponding video.

Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5167A-001 Full Set Unpolished

This Patek Philippe Aquanaut reference 5167A-001 is a spectacular sports watch from the leading name in watchmaking. We believe the case is unpolished. It measures 40mm in diameter.

The watch comes with box and papers and was sold in 2014. We do not know the service history but it is running well.

Rolex Submariner Maxi Mark IV Dial Reference 5513

This Rolex Submariner Maxi Mark V Dial Reference 5513 is a great watch vintage Sub. We believe the case is unpolished. The lume is very attractive. The watch dates to circa 1983 with a serial number 7.58M.

Learn more about the iconic Submariner within Charlie Dunne’s comprehensive article “Collector’s Guide: Understanding The Rolex Submariner Reference 5512’.

To learn more about the Rolex Submariner, dive into my ‘Reference Points: Understanding The Rolex Submariner’ video and corresponding article.

The watch does not come with box and papers. It was recently serviced and has a True Dome D 19 crystal installed. It recently passed a water resistance test and passed 3 bar.

Movado M95 Chronograph Reference 95-214-568 in 18K Gold Unpolished

I’m thrilled to offer this exceptional vintage Movado M95 chronograph. The watch is in fantastic condition, and the case remains unpolished. It is FB (Taubert/Borgel) case and these are incredibly well made chronograph cases.. The 18k yellow gold case measures 35mm in diameter (42mm lug-to-lug). It features a beautiful vertically brushed dial. For those with a penchant for sophisticated chronographs, this is an incredible timepiece.

This watch does not include a box and papers. We do not know the service history, but it is running very well.

Rolex Root Beer GMT-Master II Reference 16713 Unpolished w/ Box

This Rolex GMT-Master II Reference 16713 is a very beautiful sports watch. The dial is really incredible on this example and is superb on the wrist with this bezel insert. The watch dates to circa 2001-2002 with a Y serial. We believe the case is unpolished.

It does come with a box. It does not come with papers. We do not know the service history, but it is running well.

Universal Genève Polerouter Date Reference 104503 in 18K YG Unpolished w/ Box

This is a very nice Universal Genève Polerouter Reference 104503. We believe the case is unpolished. It measures 35mm in diameter. The dial is in outstanding condition and very attractive.

We do not know the service history, but it is running well. It comes with an incredibly cool Universal box that is epic ephemera. It does not come with papers.

In the event you are not aware, a tremendous book on the Universal Genève Polerouter was recently published and we encourage you to buy a copy. We love the book, and it was done for serious watch enthusiasts/collectors.

Rolex Precision Fancy Lugs Reference 4516 in 18K YG Unpolished

This Rolex Precision is an amazing dress watch form the late 1940s. The case serial dates the watch to circa 1947. We believe the 18k yellow gold case is unpolished. It features a super rare “thimble” crown seen on very few Rolex watches which is a super cool detail. The case was made by Gabus Frères, Usine Safir S.A with the hallmark 141.

We do not know the service history, but it is running well. It does not come with box and papers.

Patek Philippe Steel Pocket Watch Reference 625

This Patek Philippe reference 625 is a super cool and rare pocket watch in steel. The dial features painted Breguet numerals and heat treated blue Breguet hands. The case is massive. We believe the case is unpolished.

We do not know the service history, but it is running well. It does not come with box and papers.

Rolex Sea-Dweller Reference 16600 Full Set

This Sea-Dweller reference 16600 is a super cool sports watch. The watch measures 40mm in diameter (48mm lug-to-lug). The case has been polished. The watch dates to circa 1991 with a N serial. The hands have been relumed.

The watch comes with box and papers. We do not know the service history, but it is running well.

Rolex "Four-Line Zenith” Daytona Reference 16520

This is an outstanding example of a Rolex "Four-Line Zenith” Daytona reference 16520 with a serial dating it to circa 1988 - one of the earliest automatic Daytonas ever made. The “Zenith Daytonas” have appreciated significantly the last few years as people respect the modified Zenith El Primero movements that Rolex used for their first automatic Daytonas starting in 1988. The case has been lightly polished, but it is in very strong condition.

Four-Line Daytonas are extremely rare and simply say “Superlative Chronometer” on the dial and not “Officially Certified” as found on the predecessor and successor versions of the reference 16520. It is surmised that Rolex was finding the amount of text on the dial a bit tedious for the predecessor “porcelain dial” versions of the automatic Daytona. The white dial on this example is mint and beautiful.

This watch has good provenance and was found from the original owner. This watch also features the rare and original 200 bezel. On many of these early examples, the bezel has been swapped for a later 400 bezel during a service.

This watch includes a framed Rolex advertisement featuring the identical “Four-Line Daytona” found by our friend Nick of Ad Patina. It is neat to see this rare “Four-Line” variation in a vintage Rolex ad.

This watch does not include the original box and papers, has an automatic movement (Caliber 4030 made by Zenith), and is 40mm in diameter.

This is a rare opportunity to purchase a very special early automatic Daytona.