Patek Philippe

Patek Philippe. The mere mention provokes a plethora of passionate responses, all of them with an almost hero-worship like quality – and rightly so. Patek Philippe has justly earned its worldwide acclaim by persistently and proficiently placing precision, performance, and perfection at the forefront of all its endeavors – thus setting a precedence of a proliferation of timepieces which are unparalleled in their beauty and ingenuity. Unique in their design and outstanding in their craftsmanship, a Patek Philippe watch portrays more than just the time – it tells the tale of a company founded on the premise of constant dedication to high quality, enduring value, and to the pursuit and production of the finest in horological advancements. 159 years since its inception, Patek Philippe has more than proved itself on all accounts.

The company’s name and origins date back to 1845 when Antoni Patek, a Polish émigré to Geneva, Switzerland, met up with Adrien Phillipe, a young French watchmaker displaying a penchant for technical complications as evident in his invention of the keyless winding mechanism. Already established in the watchmaking industry since 1839, Patek, who had just recently dissolved his partnership with Franciszek Czapek, offered Phillipe a job as technical director. With Phillipe, full of new ideas and innovations, at the helm of production, the business took off. In acknowledgement, Patek reorganized the firm and in 1851 the company Patek Phillipe & Co. was born.

In the ensuing years, the company has manufactured watches with superior movements and masterful complications which have garnered rave reviews throughout the world. As such, Patek Phillipe has gained the attention and elicited quite a demand from an elite clientele; supplying watches to the rich and royal, famed and affluent, kings, queens, dukes, and sultans; most notable among them Queen Victoria, who owned several Patek Phillipe timepieces.

The Great Depression was a catalyst for change for the burgeoning watch firm. As a result the company was acquired by Charles and Jean Stern who, while faithfully adhering to the founding philosophy, have since revitalized and reinforced the Patek Phillipe brand. Watches of that era display brilliant complexity and ingenuity: world time, dual time, split second chronographs, perpetual calendars with moonphases, retrograde dates and leap year indications.

Over the span of it’s more than century and ½ in the industry of watchmaking, Patek Phillipe has introduced vast collections renowned for their quality and beauty. Amongst them are the Gondola, the ever popular Calatrava, and its exquisite line of ladies watches, the Twenty-4. The Officer, Aquanaut, and Neptune models also contribute to the esteem and popularity of this prominent watch brand. Patek Phillipe produces its own components and although mainly manufacturing mechanical movements, it has produced several models featuring quartz movements.

Many Patek Phillipe models are extremely rare and are highly sought after by ardent watch collectors who seek the everlasting quality, individuality, and steep tradition which these watches represent. As such, Patek Phillipe watches are often sold for record breaking prices at auctions; e.g. ‘The Supercomplication’, several enamel dial watches and various others. Another unique and ultra complicated watch created by Patek Phillipe is the Calibre 89. Created in 1989 to honor their 150th anniversary, this watch features 39 complications some of which indicate the time of sunrise, equation of time , an additional day in February during leap years and sidereal time.

As Patek Phillipe proudly proclaims in an advertisement of theirs “You never actually own a Patek Phillipe. You merely take care of it for the next generation.” And being a family owned company passed down from father to son for three generations now, they should know!