PATEK PHILIPPE MANUAL SKELETON ELLIPSE REF. 3880J

Look closely at the details of this movement and you will see the fine art of engraving at its fullest. Only a handful of these watches could be made by Patek Philipe annually during the entire production run from 1980 through the late 1990s. Today, less than 30 examples of the ref. 3880 are known to exist. Each example is slightly different and note that every bit of the movement that can be made of gold is made of gold. The Calatrava cross over the mainspring is particularly stunning and subtle variations of this handmade masterpiece can be appreciated under high magnification as much as on the wrist. For the Ellipse collector obsessed with rare handicrafts, look no further.

To learn more about Patek Philippe’s skeleton watches and the artists who created them, please see this Collectability article.