Patek Philippe replica has continually produced perpetual calendar and perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatches since 1941. No other brand would produce a serially produced perpetual calendar wristwatch until 1955, when Audemars Piguet introduced the groundbreaking ref. 5516 (the first perpetual calendar wristwatch to indicate the leap year), and it wouldn’t be until 1985 when another brand would produce a perpetual calendar chronograph in series – IWC with the Da Vinci Chronograph.
The Patek Philippe Grand Complications reference 3940 fake with white dial ushered in all-new movements. Introduced in 1985, the 3940 stood out for its ultra-thin caliber 240 base movement with micro-rotor – the world’s thinnest automatic movement when it was introduced at just 2.4 mm thick. A major aesthetic departure from Patek Philippe’s prior perpetual calendar models, which used apertures at 12 o’clock for the day and month indicators – references 1526, 3448, and 3450 – three sub-dials indicated the day, month, date, and moon-phase, along with 24-hour and leap-year indications.
With a beautifully proportioned 36mm case featuring a concave bezel, the model evolved subtly until it was discontinued in 2007 with production numbers in the several thousands. Today, scholars agree that, like the fantastic Quantième Perpetuel launched by Audemars Piguet in 1978, the reference 3940 was a key model for Patek Philippe copy with brown leather strap that helped ensure its success through the 1980s and 1990s. It’s worth mentioning that AP’s Quantième Perpetuel was the world’s thinnest perpetual calendar wristwatch when introduced. Patek Philippe would take that title back with the 3940 – see how competitive the Swiss are?
First series examples of the Swiss copy Patek Philippe 3940 with flat, sunken subsidiary dials, rare champagne dial variants, and early platinum examples with glossy, lacquered dials are especially interesting – and still are priced quite reasonably on the secondary market.