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Lot Essay
The yellow gold reference 3450 offered here for sale is doubtlessly among the best examples of this iconic model to appear in public in many years. Fresh to the market and preserved in pristine condition, it has spent the majority of its life unused and safely locked away.
The superbly full and sharp case proportions witness impressively the look of a reference 3450 when it left the factory, including the nearly immaculate condition of Patek Philippe's original "Water-Resistant Automatic" protective sticker to the case back. The dial has equally never been touched and is in as pristine condition as the case and, of course, the movement.
The appeal of this "sleeping beauty" is furthermore enhanced by the presence of the original certificate and sales tag – a highlight for the aficionado of rare vintage watches.
Reference 3450
Reference 3450, successor of reference 3448, was introduced into the market in 1981, featuring the improved 27'460 QB (Quantième Bissextile) calibre. The model differs from its predecessor by the modified leap year indication, the eccentric small window at 4 o'clock. The first series was made with a simple red disk and Arabic numerals, the second, such as the present watch, with Roman I, II, III and IV leap year indication.
A total of 244 examples of reference 3450 were made, the majority in yellow gold cases, only two in white gold are known to date.
Production of both references 3448 and 3450 was discontinued in 1985 when reference 3940 (see lot 143 in this auction) was launched.
Another example of a ref. 3450 with Roman leap year indicator is illustrated and described in Patek Philippe Museum - Patek Philippe Watches - Volume II, p. 297, Inv. P-239.
The superbly full and sharp case proportions witness impressively the look of a reference 3450 when it left the factory, including the nearly immaculate condition of Patek Philippe's original "Water-Resistant Automatic" protective sticker to the case back. The dial has equally never been touched and is in as pristine condition as the case and, of course, the movement.
The appeal of this "sleeping beauty" is furthermore enhanced by the presence of the original certificate and sales tag – a highlight for the aficionado of rare vintage watches.
Reference 3450
Reference 3450, successor of reference 3448, was introduced into the market in 1981, featuring the improved 27'460 QB (Quantième Bissextile) calibre. The model differs from its predecessor by the modified leap year indication, the eccentric small window at 4 o'clock. The first series was made with a simple red disk and Arabic numerals, the second, such as the present watch, with Roman I, II, III and IV leap year indication.
A total of 244 examples of reference 3450 were made, the majority in yellow gold cases, only two in white gold are known to date.
Production of both references 3448 and 3450 was discontinued in 1985 when reference 3940 (see lot 143 in this auction) was launched.
Another example of a ref. 3450 with Roman leap year indicator is illustrated and described in Patek Philippe Museum - Patek Philippe Watches - Volume II, p. 297, Inv. P-239.