Patek Philippe

Chromatic Fugue
1850

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3940 dial question

My favorite of my watches is this 3940P, which I bought from a very reputable dealer a couple of years ago, with box and papers dated 2006:



Here’s my question. In certain hardly noticeable respects, this dial is different from others I’ve seen from the same vintage and is similar to those of earlier vintages. For example, the “J” in “JAN” has a serif at the top, whereas a 2005 version I recently saw does not. Also, the sigma at the bottom of the dial is below the line of applied dots, whereas on the 2005 version it is aligned with them. I came across an article from A Collected Man that provides an extraordinarily detailed account of all the tweaks to this reference over the years, and it identified these features of my 2006 watch as characteristics of the “second series,” superseded by the third. Here’s the quote:

“THIRD SERIES (1995 — 2007)
At first glance there is very little to differentiate the second and third series, but the main detail that we have been able to spot is the positioning of the Swiss sigma at the bottom of the dial. Now it falls in line with the outer minute track. The sub-dials were also updated to a more modern sans serif font type, which can most easily be noticed by comparing the numbers ‘5’ or the letter ‘J’. Additionally, the hallmarks were no longer stamped on the side of the case, but instead can be found on the back of all four lugs.”

So how should I think about the fact that my very late model (2006) 3940P has a dial reminiscent of dials produced years earlier? How likely is it that Patek used two different dials for 3940P’s during this later period? Do I need to worry about the authenticity of this watch or the dial? I’m not one who usually loses sleep over such things, but it was a major purchase, so I’m obviously curious. Thanks for any insights and wisdom!

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