Bring a Loupe: An Historically Important Rolex Deep Sea, A Doré Dial Patek QP, And A 19th Century Eccentric Breguet

Surfacing for sale via a smaller, estate-focused auction house in Detroit, Michigan, this ref. 3940 features that all-important champagne dial tone. “Doré” dials, as they are known on original Patek certificates of the time, are a rarer dial option than the more standard silvered or “white” dials that are typically seen on these yellow gold Patek QPs. As 3940s go, the earlier the production, the better, and it just so happens that these champagne-flavored dials are concentrated in first and second-series examples, only adding to their collectibility. While the dials are typically found in the most collectible production runs and on those earliest Beyer-retailed examples, the flat-out truth is that the doré tone suits the 3940J best. I am typically not a fan of gold-tone dials, but this reference is a notable exception.