Trends and waves: Patek Philippe ref. 96
One of the recent (past year or so) trends in the vintage watch collecting world has been a steep rise in the popularity of the Patek Philippe ref. 96. This iconic reference has always had a loyal following, but previously I’ve seen many collectors dismiss it out right due to the small size. Without a doubt, the reference 96 is one of the most important watches ever made. The design language and silhouette - the long lugs with beautiful curvature and flat bezel - is almost synonymous with the word “wristwatch” and it served as the template for so many important watches that came afterwards.
I personally always found it strange that - for a long time - it was very easy to find a relatively nice 96 for around 10,000 USD (yellow gold, probably lightly polished case, but possibly quite a nice dial). The fact that the ref. 96 was in production for such a long time as a popular model and the smaller case diameter probably contributed to this market.
Recent trend of collectors gravitating towards smaller and more elegant watches (most notably the Cartier craze) likely contributed to the rise in reference 96’s mainstream popularity. I personally am very pleased with this trend, but also worried that I will be competing with more collectors for the pieces that previously slipped under the radar.
As the 96 was produced in such large numbers, there are many variants and special dials. I personally owned a few, with the best example being a Freccero retailed, pink-on-pink example in pristine condition. The nicest one I ever saw would be John Nagayama (@johnbehalf)’s steel “roulette” dial example, retailed also by Freccero. This particular one was especially incredible in person, as the large amount of text (and therefore the large amount of hard raised enamel) would be very playful against the light - I was truly taken aback by the dimensionality of the dial. I have seen many other rare examples, such as those with various sector dials and those with Breguet numerals, but none was as impressive as this roulette example.
A spectacular pink-on-pink ref. 96, retailed by Freccero, that was previously in my collection.
Mr. Nagayama (@johnbehalf)’s steel 96 with an incredible “roulette” dial, retailed by Freccero. Without a doubt this was the most special example I have ever seen.
I am not sure how sustained the popularity of the 96 will be, but I am certain there will always be avid collectors of the reference who search out the best and rarest examples. My good friend Zepo (@leftpain2) has a special collection of this reference. A few are pictured below with his best example yet to be revealed. As long as there are collectors like Zepo out there, the top examples will always be incredibly desirable, and I can only imagine those will continue to increase in value.
A very special collection of ref. 96 belonging to Mr. Yang (@leftpain2). Each metal is represented in this photo - from the left: steel, retailed by Bauer; platinum, Knudsen award; yellow gold, retailed by Tiffany & Co.; pink gold with black dial, retailed by Eberhard Milan.