Looking good is more important than being practical:
Patek Philippe Calatrava Reference 3919

The perfect design for a time-only watch
A simple time-only elegant wristwatch is, for my taste, the most beautiful watch you can wear as your daily watch. At the same time, it is obviously incredibly difficult to find such a watch, because, for my experience, it is not easy to design it. I have been looking for such a watch for a very long time and for many years I simply could not find a watch that could fulfil my ideal of a time-only watch. The watches I had to choose from were either too large or too thick, had a date window, had too many inscriptions on the dial, were not made of precious metal, had a strap or bracelet that was too wide, had a (stupid) sapphire caseback or the design of the numerals or hands was inharmonious. I am very happy, that Patek Philippe made the perfect watch I was always thinking about, and this watch is the Reference 3919. It is not waterproof, it is not robust, it has no date indication, it is not automatic, but it is of outstanding beauty, this watch is the epitome of style. It is also the pure definition of a dress watch: gold, small, thin, time only, handwound, leather strap.

Perfect in every aspect
Patek Philippe uses the Caliber 215PS for this elegant watch. It beats with 28.800 A/h, has 18 jewels, and the watch needs a new wind-up after about 42 hours. The movement indicates the hours, minutes, and (small) seconds. The watch looks excellent both with a black or with a brown or a dark red leather strap from Patek Philippe – I cannot recommend to use a leather strap from another provider. Why? I believe that this watch should be perfect and all original in every detail. The shiny white porcelain enamel dial shows nothing more than twelve Roman numerals, 60 small markers for the small seconds indication plus the words Patek Philippe Geneva Swiss. More is not necessary in any case. The winding crown is very small and that goes perfectly with this watch. However, if you want to wind it up or set the time, you realise how tiny this crown is. Unfortunately, this is not very practical – but this crown fits the style of the watch perfectly. Looking good is more important here than being practical.

The beautiful case is almost unnoticeable
The case of the small Reference 3919 has an indescribably beautiful shape and a fantastic design – and this is primarily due to the bezel of the watch in the Clous-de-Paris design. It is not easy to keep this bezel immaculate, because the bezel is extremely sensitive in the yellow gold material and, on top of that, the bezel is a very exposed component of this watch. The tips of the hobnail pattern do not always remain as sharp as on the first day. The case is as thin as a coin and immediately after strapping the watch on, you can no longer feel it on your wrist.

Yes or No?
If you flip through the following criteria, you might find the answer to the “Is-the-Reference-3919-Petite-Seconde-the-right-watch-for-me-Question”:
1 you admire watches made in Geneva by Patek Philippe
2 you like a perfect time-only watch without any gimmicks
3 you like an entry level watch from Patek Philippe
4 you like a clear white dial with no surplus information
5 you can wear 34 mm diameter watches
6 you like a watch with a handwound movement
7 you have a robust watch to use for sports or outdoor activities
8 you like the old-fashioned yellow gold case material
9 you are elegant enough for such a watch
10 you admire watch movements with the Poincon de Geneve (later Patek Philippe seal)

Pros:

– small overall size

– perfect time only elegant watch design

– beautiful small size and thin movement

Cons:

– not complicated enough

– service cost might be high

– absolutely not waterproof

Quality
95

Style
100

Value
60

Wearability
100