An eighteen carat yellow gold Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse "Jumbo" automatic model on integrated gold bracelet. This elegant timepiece is an example of Patek quality and elegance at its finest. This very clean and elegant soft oval design is said to originate from the “golden ratio” derived by ancient Greek mathematicians. Introduced into the Patek line in 1968, it still remains a very popular reference today, offered in a number of sizes, dial colors and configurations. This all eighteen carat gold version is a rare iteration of the model.
In the face of the looming quartz crisis, Patek saw its Ellipse collection as a work of art more than a timepiece. Advertisements of the era marketed the Ellipse as a “non-watch,” explaining that “people who merely need to know the time of day will choose a watch, not a Patek Philippe.” This was an interesting and very bold statement by the powerhouse of the Swiss watch industry. Rather than cave to the fleeting demands of the time, these iconic Swiss brands would continue to do what they did best, potentially even raising the bar.
On each side of the "SWISS" at the foot of the dial are a flanking pair of “sigma” letters just below the 6 o’clock marker. This was a sign chosen by members of the l’Association pour la Promotion Industrielle de l’Or (APRIOR). In 1973, a charge led by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry had a clear mission: to highlight the usage of gold parts in order to enhance the perceived intrinsic value of the traditional watch. One must remember the exact context of what was going on in the Swiss watch industry at the time. Mechanical watches were about to become technically obsolete as quartz movements were on the rise – in a world facing a strong economic recession, no less. And what better way to underline the deeper value of the good old mechanical watches than by mentioning their intrinsically valuable components? The ‘sum-of-the-parts’ logic here might sound twisted at first, but it becomes much less so when correlated to the skyrocketing price of gold, which almost quintupled between 1970 and 1974.
The sigma symbols were to indicate that the hands and indexes on a watch were made of solid gold. “A watch signed with the sigma is a durable investment,” emphasized the APRIOR in marketing campaigns. There are exceptions to the 1973 rule, as Rolex watches of this caliber can be found from around 1970; but with regards to this watch, and to other very high end Swiss watches from the period, the addition of the sigma letter means gold.
The dial is a glorious metallic navy blue, characteristic of these larger cased Ellipses. The printing of the “Patek” name and “Swiss” at the foot of the dial are all in white serif font, which pops off the dial. The dial is in perfect, original condition. The hands are very simple with a clean gold pencil design. There was never any luminous material applied to the dial, as is consistent with watches of this elegant design. The watch is powered by one of Patek’s finest automatic movements; the caliber 240.
Helmed by the visionary production chief Gérard Berret and the brilliant watchmaker Max Studer (who would later craft the legendary Caliber 89), Patek Philippe's technical team embarked on a bold reinvention of the self-winding movement. While the brand had already produced superb movements with the Caliber 12-600 in 1953's Reference 2526, the new movement needed to be slimmer than anything before to compete with the svelte quartz watches encroaching the market. This is where the Caliber 240 truly shone, its brilliance a testament to Berret's prior experience designing similar mechanisms at Universal Genève before joining Patek Philippe in 1968. Remarkably, in just six months after the directive from President Philippe Stern, a prototype emerged that seamlessly blended elegance, autonomy and reliability.
Slender and sleek, the milestone caliber 240 owed its svelte profile to a stroke of brilliance – the decision to embed a diminutive, off-center winding rotor directly into the movement itself, rather than employ a sweeping disc as an additional layer. While this elegant innovation resulted in a slimmer design, the micro-rotor's reduced size meant it generated less energy than its predecessor's larger rotors. Berret's team, however, found an ingenious solution, imbuing the micro-rotor with the weighty heft of twenty two carat gold. The dense, precious metal produced a more efficient winding action, activated by the natural motions of the owner's wrist. To further enhance efficiency, the micro-rotor was engineered to turn unidirectionally, eliminating the need for a reversing gear and the associated friction losses – a breakthrough that earned Swiss patent number 595,653! Other improvements were made to finalise this stunning piece of miniature engineering.
Overall, this Patek 3938 "Jumbo" is a very beautiful and quite rare watch. If you are looking for something refined, elegant and striking, it is difficult to think of a better piece. The images do not do justice to the beauty of the blue. In dark light it appears almost navy blue. In direct sunlight it is a metallic aqua. The watch comes on its original integrated Patek made solid gold bracelet that is in perfect condition throughout and measures a large, unaltered, size of just under eight inches in length to the longest extension. The bracelet can be sized, if required.
This special single owner watch comes directly from the family of the original owner having been purchased in Germany. The watch was a cherished possession, and this can be seen in the condition the watch is presented in, both inside and out. The watch is complete with the outer card box, stunning Patek leather Ellipse soft napa lined red leather box and all the paper work. The watch even comes with an original Air Mail box from the Patek factory in Geneva. Along with this box are the original service records from Patek in 1992.
The Golden Ellipse on a bracelet is still in the Patek line up today, which is testament to its longevity in design and popularity. Todays version featured on a bracelet is $65,000 making this stunning vintage model a very competitive option, and one with added charm of not being attainable today in this configuration.
The watch is presented with box and papers. There is a documented service history that accompanies the watch.
