Since its launch in 1968, the Patek Philippe Ellipse has become one of their most iconic watches, and here is a very elegant Patek Philippe Ellipse reference 3838 in 18 carat white gold.
The blue dial on this watch looks sensational day or night and framed in the border of white gold, makes it the perfect watch to wear to the boardroom as well as the evening dinner where it will always look and feel perfect on the wrist. The dial is what is called a "sigma dial" which is designated by looking at the bottom of the dial, and on each side of the word "Swiss", is the Greek letter sigma (Ó). What this subtle yet important mark designates, is that the hands and index markers are in solid gold. See below for a more details explanation of the sigma dial.
With the case measuring 35.4mm by 30mm across plus the Patek Philippe crown, it is fitted on a genuine Patek Philippe band and buckle.
Inside is the 6 jewelled quartz Patek Philippe calibre E27 that was serviced by Patek Philippe a few years ago, and of course keeps perfect time.
The Patek Philippe Ellipse has become such an iconic watch that will continue to look so elegant into the future.
Stock# W1251cc
Maker: Patek Philippe Ellipse reference 3838
Circa: 1982
$Sold.
Out of stock
18 carat Patek Philippe Ellipse reference 3838 with the sigma dial
Patek Philippe launched the Patek Philippe Ellipse in 1968 and quickly became famous for its unique and stylish case shape.
A brief history on Patek Philippe:
Polish watchmaker Antoni Patek started making pocket watches in 1839 in Geneva, along with his fellow Czech-born Polish partner Franciszek Czapek. They separated in 1844, and in 1845 Patek joined with the French watchmaker Adrien Philippe, inventor of the keyless winding mechanism. Patek Philippe & Co was founded in 1851 and since then Patek Philippe have become famous for high grade movements such as the perpetual calendar, split-seconds hand, chronograph, and minute repeater in watches.
Making watches for such people as Pope Pius IX, Queen Victoria, Victor Emanuel III of Italy, Christian IX of Denmark, and Albert Einstein. Patek Philippe also made the worlds most expensive timepiece “ The Henry Graves Super complication. Made in 1933 for the prominent banker Henry Graves, Jr. The ultra-complicated pocket watch has 24 functions and was the result of Graves friendly horological competition with James Ward Packard. After Grave's death, the watch was auctioned at Sotheby's in December 1999 for US$11 million to Sheikh Saud Bin Mohammed Bin Ali Al-Thani of the Qatari royal family, at that time the most expensive timepiece ever sold. Most recently, the watch sold at Sotheby's Geneva Auction on November 11, 2014 for a record breaking US$24 million.
A brief history on the sigma dials:
The history behind sigma dials is a very interesting one which has now made watches with these dials highly sought after. The sigma dial is discreetly marked with the Greek letter sigma (Ó) on each end of the T SWISS T or SWISS at the bottom of the dial. From 1970, watch companies who were members of the lâAssociation pour la Promotion Industrielle de lâOr (APRIOR), such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, IWC, Omega and Vacheron & Constantin to name a few, produced dials with the sigma letter to notify that the hands and index markers are made in gold. This was used at a time when the Japanese "quartz revolution" started coming in, and sigma dials were produced for one main reason to notify when gold parts were used on a watch, including the dial to subsequently add to both the financial and intrinsic value of a watch. An important and quite interesting point to note, is that the sigma dials can be found on watches that are made all in stainless steel ie case, band and bezel, but with a sigma dial, not the index markers and hands.
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