I frequently mention that Patek Philippe is my number one watchmaking brand. And I’d like to share the reasons for that. Matter-of-factly, it’s not only about fabulous design and impressive technical profile. Many watch brands have them as well. But, Patek Philippe is beyond that. It has an amazing history behind it and spectacular achievements.
Recently, I’ve written similar posts about Omega and Rolex. I truly believe that behind the love for a certain timepiece, there is respect and appreciation for the brand that builds it. So, it’s high time to discover what’s the value of Patek Philippe, apart from only prodigious watches.
Ask me about the synonym of Patek Philippe and I’ll say “state-of-the-art”. Its watch heritage is all about exceptional attention to detail and fable creativity. Not in vain watch collectors are ready to pay fortunes and wait for years to get a Patek Philippe timepiece. So, here are the reasons why the heritage of this iconic watchmaking brand is so valuable.
Queen Victoria: the number one fan of Patek Philippe
You all know that Patek Philippe’s history dates back centuries. This brand was the contemporary of Queen Victoria when she had been ruling England long before Queen Elizabeth II took over the throne. It all began with a royal demand to create a timepiece for her majesty and her husband, Prince Albert. The watchmaking house amazed the royal house with its key-wound Patek Philippe timepiece presented at the Great Exhibition of London. From then on, the queen was a loyal admirer of the big brand, proudly wearing at least 2 Patek Philippe timepieces.
Only for the exclusive clientele
The company knew from the very beginning the secrets of marketing, even if this term was then by far as popular as it is now. The founders decided from the beginning who was going to be the customer base of the brand. They have always been focusing on an exclusive, and high-status “target audience”. Even after more than a century, the brand remains faithful to this concept and the brand’s customer base remains “private”. In this context, names like Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, Princess Louise of Denmark, and Hussein Kamel are only a few of the iconic personalities wearing Patek Philippe watches. In the modern world, many celebrities choose to honor this watchmaking house. So, you can currently see Patek watches on Ed Sheehan, Ellen DeGeneres, Jason Statham, Conor McGregor, and Brad Pitt’s wrists.
The invention is always a priority
It’s not enough to only design watches in the Horology realm to become a remarkable brand. It also implies creativity in inventing something new that would be able to turn the watch industry 360 degrees. That’s exactly what happened with Patek Philippe in 1989 when it built one of the most complicated mechanical timepieces ever. The effort came to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the iconic watchmaking house. Then, the brand introduced a time-keeping marvel with 39 complications. Just imagine a watch with 39 functions in it, all of them with the highest complexity possible. To name a few of the spectacular complications, the watch includes Easter date, sidereal time, time of sunrise, and time equation. Just try to imagine the huge effort invested in such a timepiece to make it show all those indicators flawlessly.
The silicon escapement wheel: it’s Patek’s handiwork
The brand never stops evolving and advancing. In this context, one of its latest inventions was the silicon escapement wheel that the brand first integrated into its 5250 Annual Calendar timepiece. Patek Philippe developed this ”mechanism” in 2005 and it didn’t take long until other watchmaking brands took it over.
Family Heritage
One of the aspects I like the most about the Patek Philippe brand is what the “family” term means to it. This company never belonged to corporations or holding groups like Richemont and Swatch. It has always been on its own and the “individuality” approach was the best way to follow. So, Patek Philippe set the foundation of the company in 1851. It was on May 1st, by the way. In 1932, the Stern family took over the company. 70 years later, in 2000, Philipe Stern and Thierry Stern were ruling the company (father and son). In 2010, Thierry remained the only leader of Patek Philippe and is still leading the company currently. The beauty of this story is that the company never stopped functioning, no matter the circumstances. Currently, the brand refers to the last family-owned private watchmaking house in Geneva.
“Patek Philippe” is not the name of the founder
As a matter of fact, plenty of watch lovers confusingly believe that the brand name is actually the name of the very first founder. The truth is that it’s a common misconception. Here is how the brand name actually came up. First of all, there were two founders: Antoni Patek and Franciszek Czapek. So, the very first company that appeared in 1839 was actually known as Patek, Czapek & Cie. 5 years later, the two founders decided to follow their own ways, separating from each other.
After some time, Patek unified the efforts with Adrien Philippe, who was a French watchmaker. So, the Patek Philippe company officially appeared in 1851. In fact, the name of the brand refers to the two founders that constantly nurtured and led the company to what we know today.
Falling is a natural process of growing stronger
Back in 1939, the global economic crisis affected not only worldwide industries but the watchmaking industry as well. People were exclusively buying goods to survive. No one afforded to pay for luxury timepieces and the financial collapse of Patek Philippe was more than expected.
In the same context, the company faced severe challenges a bit earlier as well, in 1929. The stock crash made plenty of businesses struggle severely, as customers wouldn’t be able to meet their payment obligations. In such circumstances, Patek Philippe’s owners saw themselves forced to sell the company. They have been hunting for buyers to get rid of all the financial collapse the company was facing.
“When you feel like having been buried, you have actually been planted”
This quote like no other describes what happened next to the big brand. Being almost “swallowed” by the crisis issues, “Cadrans Stern Freres” was the one that saved the company from total collapse. In fact, “Cadrans Stern Freres” was a small company of the Stern brothers that was making top-quality dials. Previously, Patek Philippe had been collaborating with it to make its watches. The brothers agreed on supporting the brand and one year later the company completely went under their management and ownership. Thus, this hand of help represented the chance for Patek Philippe to keep existing. More than that, the brothers were proud to lead a traditional watchmaking company and were more than happy to keep the tradition alive. Their passion was so hot that the brand is still existing and is one of the most remarkable watchmaking houses of all.
The Woman- as a source of inspiration
Watchmaking brands take inspiration from the most unexpected sources. Some seek inspiration in cars, and naval ships, while others look for it in geometry and nature. Patek Philippe got inspired by a woman when it created the first minute-repeater watch.
It’s about a certain MRS. D.O. Wickham, for whom Patek Philippe designed a fabulous Art-Deco five-minute-repeater timepiece, with a platinum case and a phenomenal chainlink bracelet. Creativity has no limits, indeed.
Attention to detail makes Patek spend about a year on a watch
Not once have we heard that Patek Philippe is one of the most “pedantic” brands in terms of detail attention. But, what does it actually mean? This means that the experts working for the brand spend about 9 months making a watch. And I’m talking about the most common, simple, minimalist watch possible here. Now, imagine how much it takes to build a complex timepiece! In general terms, the team can spend up to two years creating a complex timepiece. This term though, is estimative, as the brand keeps all the internal information in the NDA secret.
“Too little” attention to detail?!
If the previous chapter about detail attention doesn’t sound convincing to you, it’s time for you to know that all repeaters released by the company undergo a testing process. Nothing surprising, right? It’s not surprising until you find out that the person testing the repeaters is no one else than the brand president! Yes, you heard it right, Thierry Stern is the “testing expert” of all Patek Philippe repeaters.
This is probably the highest form of meticulosity when the CEO of the company finds time and dedication to inspect the watches by himself. I don’t know about you, but I find it impressive. This speaks about the fact that attention to detail is within each worker’s DNA at the Patek Philippe factory. The desire to obtain perfection in every watch is probably one of the key points of the brand’s culture.
Watches that are NOT for everyone
One of the most iconic pieces in Patek Philippe’s portfolio is the Grandmaster Chime 6300G. The brand introduced this remarkable line in 2016 featuring 20 complications in each piece.
Not every lover of these watches can have it. And I’m not necessarily referring to the long waiting lists for PATEK PHILIPPE watches. I rather refer to the selection system of the brand. As it turns out, all those who want one of these watches have to apply first. Further on, the Stern family undergoes a rigorous selection of all candidates. The Grandmaster watch is offered to exclusive personalities. And it’s not about celebrities, necessarily. It’s more about watch collectors that the Stern family finds to truly appreciate the value of the legendary watch.
The owners of the iconic brand want to make sure that the watch will reach true connoisseurs of horology that will genuinely cherish the time-keeping treasure. So, it’s not enough to only have money for a Patek Philippe watch, it also requires the recognition of watchmaking as a pure form of art.
The bottom line
These are among the most fabulous aspects of the Patek Philippe remarkable brand. And believe me, the list can go on and on. I think it’s needless to mention that every single detail of Patek watches is finished by hand. Or that all the compounds of Patek timepieces are fully manufactured in-house. That goes without even saying. And the words “tradition and history” have a special meaning when talking about this unarguably most iconic watch company. Have you discovered anything new about it? Or what else makes this brand remarkable? Feel free to share your thoughts!