Patek Philippe is an independent manufacturer and one of the most important brands in the Swiss watch industry. Let's explore the charm of this watch maison that has continued to lead the industry for 175 years, combining tradition and innovation in luxury watchmaking.
What is Patek Philippe?
Patek Philippe is renowned as a top-class watchmaking house, but unless you are a watch enthusiast or collector, you may not have many opportunities to appreciate its true value.
It is not uncommon for the company's past models to fetch hundreds of millions of yen at auction, and they are certainly worth that much. To get closer to the essence of Patek Philippe, let's first take a look at the history of the maison.
One of the great three watch manufacturers in the world
Founded in 1839, Patek Philippe is one of the world's three largest watch manufacturers, along with Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet.
All of these watches are made by hand by skilled craftsmen through every conceivable process, meeting the world's highest quality assurance standards.
The brand is also well known for producing the highest quality complications.
The Caliber 89, released in 1989, is the pinnacle of grand complications, consisting of 1728 parts and 33 complicated mechanisms.
When Patek Philippe watches are put up for auction, they often fetch prices in the tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yen.
Its creation began with the encounter between an exiled officer and a watchmaker.
In 1839, the Polish exiled officer Antoine Norbert de Patek and the watchmaker François Czapek founded the company Patek Czapek.
Patek Czapek produced 200 pocket watches a year, but Czapek left the company six years after its founding. Meanwhile, French watchmaker Jean-Adrien Philippe was producing 150 pocket watches a year.
Philippe also invented the mechanism for winding and setting the time using a crown in 1842. He met Patek at the Paris Exhibition and the two hit it off.
After Czapek left the company in 1845, Philippe became a partner of Patek Philippe, and in 1851 founded the company with the motto of "making the world's finest watches." He changed the company name to Patek Philippe.
Partnership with Tiffany
Over its 175-year history, Patek Philippe has often supplied watches to jewelry houses, with its relationship with Tiffany & Co., which was founded in the United States in 1837, being particularly special.
Tiffany, which has had a relationship with Patek Philippe since 1851, is the only jewelry house permitted to use the same name with Patek Philippe. In 2001, the limited edition "T150 Tiffany 5150" was released to commemorate the 150th anniversary of their partnership.
When talking about Patek Philippe's complicated watches, one person who cannot be left out is the American banker Henry Graves Jr. In 1933, he ordered "the most sophisticated and complicated watch" through Tiffany, which led to the creation of the ultra-complicated pocket watch, the "Graves Watch."
The Graves watch has fetched new highs every time it appears at auction, and in 2014 it was sold for over 24 billion yen.
Patek Philippe's Features
Patek Philippe buys back any of its watches that are put up for auction, no matter how old the models are.
This is intended not only to maintain Patek Philippe's status, but also to guarantee watch owners a reliable and fair value for their investment.
The completed timepieces can be passed down through generations while maintaining their functionality and performance as timepieces, which is an important aspect of the company's watches.
The 10 values
Patek Philippe has established itself as one of the world's top watchmaking houses, but it never stops evolving in its quest to "create the world's best watches."
This is why the company has been producing excellent timepieces since its founding, and this overwhelming superiority is embodied in the ``10 values'' that Patek Philippe upholds.
These are "independence," "tradition," "innovation," "quality and exquisite workmanship," "rarity," "added value," "beauty," "service," "commitment," and "succession." These 10 values have been Patek Philippe's mission since its founding, and the company is committed to continuing to uphold them into the future.
Patek Philippe watches, created based on these values, can be said to have a classic and elegant aesthetic sensibility that is not influenced by passing trends.
Patek Philippe's timeless design will become a model and standard for the future. This is the "beauty" of Patek Philippe.
Alternatively, they have unparalleled "added value" as a reliable asset that can be passed down through generations and as something that connects memories.
Complete Manufacture
Patek Philippe is an independent manufacture committed to the traditions of Genevan fine watchmaking.
Many of the brands in the Swiss watch industry are under the umbrella of conglomerates such as LVMH, the Swatch Group, and Richemont, a strategy that allowed them to weather the Great Depression, the Quartz Crisis, and the Lehman Shock of the 20th century.
Despite this, Patek Philippe has remained independent and is now the only independent, family-run manufacture in Geneva.
When you hear "family-run," you might think it means a small business, but that's a mistake.
Patek Philippe has created over 100 patented technologies from its tradition and never stops innovating as a pioneer in watchmaking technology.
There are over 200 models made with exceptional craftsmanship, each of which is a highly rare watch, with only a dozen to a few hundred units produced.
Pursuing precision through handcrafting
All Patek Philippe watches were once awarded the "Hall of Geneva" as a mark of the finest Swiss watchmaking.
This is an honor that watchmakers can receive by meeting extremely strict quality standards, but Patek Philippe goes even further by setting the "Patek Philippe Seal" as a quality standard that it applies to every component of its products.
Patek Philippe guarantees "quality and exquisite workmanship" through hundreds, if not thousands, of manual processes, from production to finishing, all of which are carried out by skilled craftsmen.
It is not difficult to imagine that the person who owns this watch will develop a special attachment to it. To ensure that this precious asset can be passed on with peace of mind, the Patek Philippe Seal has established certification standards for post-purchase service as well.
