Patek Philippe

Patek Philippe




Patek Philippe & Co. is a luxury Swiss watch manufacturer founded in 1851, located in Geneva and the Vallée de Joux. It designs and manufactures timepieces and movements, including some of the most complicated mechanical watches. It is considered by many experts and aficionados to be one of the most prestigious watch manufacturers.^[7] The company maintains over 400 retail locations globally and over a dozen distribution centers across Europe, Asia and North America.

History

Along with his fellow Czech-born Polish partner Franciszek Czapek, Polish watchmaker Antoni Patek formed Patek, Czapek & Cie in 1839 in Geneva and started making pocket watches.^[10] They separated in 1844, and in 1845 Patek joined with the Frenchwatchmaker Adrien Philippe, inventor of the keyless winding mechanism. Patek Philippe & Co was founded in 1851. Patek Philippe popularized the perpetual calendar, split-seconds hand, chronograph, and minute repeater in watches.

In 1935, the manufacturer was brought to American markets by New York-based Henri Stern Watch Agency,^[11] where it was sold as a sister brand alongside Universal Genève. Alan Banbery, who previously designed Universal's "Compax" movements and worked as a horologist for London's Garrard & Co, would take on the position of director of sales in 1965 and later authored official reference books on vintage Patek Philippe pocketwatches and chronographs.

In 1976, the Swiss watchmaker introduced the Nautilus collection after deciding that it was time to also produce an exclusive sport watch with finishes of the highest quality. "The new model had a key role for Patek's overall marketing strategy as it had to refresh the brand image while perpetuating tradition. The target was represented by dynamic business managers of the new generations".^[12]

Like other Swiss manufacturers, the company produces mostly mechanical movements of the automatic and manual wind variety, but has produced quartz watches in the past and currently does. The company even produced a prototype for a mechanical digital wristwatch, Ref. 3414 in 1954. Patek were notable for being one of 20 Swiss watch companies to develop the first Swiss production watch the beta 21 used by other manufacturers in watches such as the Omega Electroquartz watches.

Patek Philippe manufactures its own watch components.^[6] It was also the first Brand that used the Chronifer M-15 X steel, a new material specially designed for the watch making industry by L. Klein SA.

Patek Philippe timepieces have recorded high prices in auctions worldwide. A small part of the demand for auction pieces is driven by Patek Philippe themselves, as they are purchasing in the auction market to add to the collection of the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.

In 2010, the company produced 40,000 watches.^[16] According to Thierry Stern, in 2012, they produced 50,000.

The company has been owned by the Stern family since 1932, and, as of the late 2000s, led by Philippe Stern and his son Thierry Stern, who took over the reins from his father in 2010.