Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse: Reference Guide, Specs & Prices | Ultimate Watch
The Golden Ellipse is the quiet flex in the Patek Philippe catalog. No date, no complication, no bezel to speak of, just an oval case built on the golden ratio and a dial that most people have to see in person before they get it. Patek launched it in 1968, and outside the Calatrava it is the longest-running shape the house has ever produced. We buy and sell these every month here at 19 West 47th Street, and the pattern is consistent: the buyer who understands the Ellipse is rarely a first watch buyer. This is a third or fourth Patek, the one you wear when you already own the sports steel and the perpetual and you want something nobody at the table will recognize. The current production reference is the 5738, a 34.5mm by 39.5mm case running the ultra-thin automatic caliber 240. The vintage 3548 and the long-running 3738 carry the rest of the story. If you own one and want to know what it is worth, or you are hunting for a specific dial, bring it to the counter or call us.
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Specifications
History
Buying Guide
Pricing & Market Data
Cultural Significance
Collector's Lore
The Ellipse blue dial is the model's signature and its trap. On the vintage 3548 the blue is not paint; it is solid gold chemically tinted through a patented process, and that same technique produced the gilt yellow dials collectors chase. Because the color lives in the metal, a poorly done refinish is obvious to a trained eye and destroys value, which is why originality is the first thing we check. The double-signed Gubelin 3738/100 is the other piece of lore: Gubelin was the Swiss retailer, and a factory-original co-signed dial turns an already scarce Jumbo into a genuine grail. And the quiet fact most people miss is that the Ellipse is the second-longest-running shape Patek has ever made, behind only the Calatrava, which is why a design most collectors overlook keeps showing up on the wrists of the ones who know the most.
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