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Funny enough I bought my first Patek in the 47th St diamond district ages ago ...
A small 3998P Calatrava and no regrets. My dealer there was pleasant to deal with, had great reviews, and had a friend come over who worked at Henri Stern to open it up and also had the crystal replaced for me there. Actually wearing exactly that watch today while I am typing. But the diamond district does seem to have a bad reputation. No issues when I had it serviced later for additional comfort that everything checks out.
As to the 3796... I thought about getting a 5096J also as I found the 5196 quite large but I don't think I would want to go smaller than 33/34mm.
3796S - thoughts?
By: junbugbear : January 23rd, 2026-16:06
I recently came upon this - a PP 3796S in yellow gold. My understanding is that these are exceedingly rare (Sapphire back for the Japanese market). I've only seen mentions of this in G white gold but this one was in Yellow. The seller was asking 20K which...
If the price
By: EinPA : January 23rd, 2026-17:31
Is in line with other references (ie he doesnāt know) just buy it and then find out. If he catches wind heās not selling it to you. That seems fair game. If you are just arbing him on information thatās not something you should expect. Especially if you a...
You need an expert.
By: Jay (Eire) : January 23rd, 2026-18:52
I have been looking at the 3796 a lot lately, all versions of it. Like you, in the digging / research that Iāve done I have only seen references to the White Gold Japanese LE. But I was not necessarily looking for that, it just so happened it comes up a l...
By: junbugbear : January 23rd, 2026-21:51
I'm leaning toward passing on it. Based on everyone's feedback, it seems like this is a legit example but I'm not super keen on the condition and it's certainly not a bargain at 20K given the condition.
By: junbugbear : January 23rd, 2026-21:57
Thank you so much for sharing these examples from Japan. I'm leaning toward passing on this find and looking for something in better condition. I'll be out there in July (I go once a year). I've done my walks around Ginza and Nakano Broadway but there are...
I think this is the way.
By: Jay (Eire) : January 24th, 2026-02:25
Japanās a decent market for this kind of watch, classic Patek in small case size. And as you likely know youāll see them everywhere. I do those same rounds regularly, although until the upcoming trip Iād not been looking for āboys sizeā Calatravas ! š ...