Patek Philippe

Thanks to everyone who responded yesterday to my questions about preferences as between the 3940 and 5140. I'm close to pulling the trigger on the 3940, but there are a couple of tiny -- literally microscopic -- details that have me asking due-diligence-t...  

... those are hallmarks and the watch has been polished to the point where they are no longer clearly discernible. It would bother me as well. The 7 0'clock lug looks a bit thin also, but perhaps just the angle and difficult to assess without seeing the w... 

To me (but I’m no expert so could be wrong) the case is over polished In itself that doesn’t necessarily have to be a big problem albeit you can’t read the brands anymore. However it does lead to 2 concerns I would have: 1) why has it been over polished? ... 

Wait until you can find one that is crisp and clean! You are going to spend tens of thousands on a 3940. They are great watches and there are many of them out there. Don’t be in a hurry. Buy a watch with clear hallmarks and with all the papers and boxes, ... 

I have a 3940 from the 90's and another from the final year of production (2007) both of which were purchased new and have never been polished. Compared to your photo, I can see clearly the 2 Swiss national hallmarks stamped on the case side on the earlie... 

between the case and the microrotor is due to the fact that one is 18k and the other is 22k.

... the difference is between the case back and the rest of the watch, not between the rotor and the rest of the watch. The case back looks ... newer than the watch.

Walk away from this excessively polished 3940. There are too many better examples for the same price. Now If you can get a screaming deal on the watch after exposing the problems to the seller maybe you should consider it. Good luck. Please tell us what y... 

This is what's so great about this forum: ask some hard questions before you go to bed, and wake up to a dozen well-informed and very thoughtful answers. What did people do before the internet? Anyway, I have decided not to buy this watch, mainly because ... 

I will say that patience is a very important virtue in this hobby. You must not let your emotions cloud good judgement. You are wise and will be much better off in the long run. Btw thanks for your post. I learned a few things about early 3940s and hallma... 

around the corrector are from sloppy setting, perhaps with a non Patek tool. Great you looked at all the fine detail. But, maybe this was factored or can be factored into the price. If the watch is mechanically sound, these types of problems are fairly ty... 

Price would have to be irresistible though.

to you and all others who commented. It really is a shame what happened to this watch, and the price doesn’t make up for it. But all’s well that ends well, as I will show in the next couple of days.

I believe my 3940 has no polishing. I’ve attached picture. Mine has no lug hallmarks. ...  

I thought that all cases required 4 hallmarks - in addition to the hallmarks for precious metals you've shown, Swiss law has also required a maker's mark, or "responsibility mark", since 1933. I thought all cases would have a "PPCo" stamp, usually on the ... 

I looked really hard for lug hallmarks but with out removing strap. It was late and dark. I think over the years some of there hallmarks have moved locations. My watch is from 1989 I believe. Got it from Madison Timein NY. Pretty sure on polish.

... so if he said no polish than I certainly respect that. And your case marks do look crisp and consistent with a case that's never seen a polish. It's true that the location of the case hallmarks have varied over the years, but from what I've seen they ... 

Poor quality picture. But by my naked eye, they look good. Fun little treasure hunt ...