Patek Philippe - Horological Royalty

Unlike the Maharajas whose time has spectacularly come and gone anti- climactically, blue blood still exists albeit more for symbolism. Vast fortunes have been made by private businessmen and women who historically made their wealth through Royal transactions and endorsements. Many of these fortunes have lasted longer than the monarchies that supported them. The key components of such longevity and resilience are quality and innovation. Every important jewel and Horological house that still exists today has had their coveted runins with royalty, but only a few have really grown and have their reaches, ironically, further than that ever achieved by any kingdom. From this short list only one has the immortal status of the supreme watch brand, Patek Philippe.

Monument to Genius: The Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.The status of Patek Philippe is coveted by both customers and competitors. If there is any watch company that has permanent cross-hairs on it by its natural rivals, Patek is it. However the respect is unanimous because Patek’s achievements have been rightfully earned. To understand the company and their products as well as appreciate the new collections, Calibre presents to you a definitive history lesson on Patek Philippe.

A Patek Philippe time piece is synonymous with perfection, exclusivity and the finest craftsmanship. The family-held watch company has dominated the Swiss watch industry for over 160 years. Patek Philippe was the result of two brilliant, but very different men aligned to create a company that has endured. The chronicle begins with Antoine Norbert de Patek born on June 12, 1812 in Piaski, a small Polish village just outside Lublin, a Polish refugee, exiled nobleman, and former soldier as a Second Lieutenant in the 1st regiment of Augustowska Mounted Cavalry. Patek joined the 1830 Polish rebellion against the Russian domination. He was highly regarded as a brave and intelligent soldier. His talents allowed him to rise quickly within the ranks, eventually winning the highest military order “Virituti Militari”.

After the war ended, Patek, along with tens of thousands of other Poles, was forced to leave the country. Patek’s knowledge of five languages did not go unnoticed by the Polish Commander-in-Chief General Bem, who then sent the young man first to Bamberg, Germany and later to France. On April 10, 1833, Patek’s journey ended, in Switzerland. He had become an officer of the "Holy Battalion", a regiment of Polish émigrés on French soil who set out to aid the Frankfurt insurrection. Upon crossing the Swiss border, the regiment learned that the uprising had collapsed and consequently remained in Switzerland. The regiment formed the "Association of Polish Émigrés in Switzerland", the majority found work with Swiss farmers and a few dozen learned watchmaking.

Patek, however, did neither. His artistic aspirations led him to begin studying with Alexandre Calame who he had met in Paris, the famous Swiss landscape artist, best known for his Alpine scenes. By 1835, possibly concurrently with his study of art, Patek bought his first watch movements, had them cased, and sold the completed watches to Polish clients. Patek’s charm and good manners helped him gain the support of an influential Polish clientele. Through this, he met the Czech-Polish watchmaker Francois Czapek, and the men decided to go into business together. On May 1, 1839, Antoine Norbert de Patek founded the firm of Patek, Czapek & Co., with its headquarters at Quai des Bergues 29.

Antoine Norbert de Patek

Jean A. Philippe

The young firm did well enough especially with Polish royalty, but may have remained a footnote in the annals of horology had it not been for a fortuitous meeting in 1844 between Patek and up-and-coming Gevevois watchmaker, Jean Adrien Philippe. In 1844 Patek and Czapek participated in the Paris Products of Industry Exhibition. Adrien Philippe, who was there, received a gold medal for successfully constructing an extremely flat pocket watch that could be wound up and set by means of the crown instead of with a key. The firm which already produced 42 keyless watches made from complicated Audemars ebauches, was immediately interested by Philippe's new invention. During the partnership with Czapek, as well as the first years of partnership with Philippe, the company did not produce its own movements. Instead they bought unfinished movements from several companies, including Louis Audemars, Vacheron & Constantin, Breguet, Doloche, Dupan et Haim, Piguet et Fils, Le Coultre, among others.

The Sky Moon Tourbillon Ref. 5001: Released in 2001, it was the most complicated wristwatch ever produced by Patek Philippe.Although the inability to produce its own ebauches is by no means a reflection of a company's watchmaking capabilities, it is certainly limiting. Any decent machinist can make an ebauche, however it takes the skills and knowledge of a horologist to finish and adjust a watch. Patek's earliest ebauches date back to 1850, the year that Philippe introduced the machinery necessary to make them. Patek Philippe’s first ebauches are very distinct movements. The earliest ones were almost never signed. They were however stamped "PP" on the dial plate. This stamping lasted for about a decade, after which time it was abandoned in favor of a different way of hallmarking the movement. As of 1872, this all changed. The dial plates were then stamped with a serial number, and the movement was signed on the winding bridge. Until 1872, the movements were almost never signed on the back. In the 1860’s, although the cylinders and key-wind watches were still plentiful, they were gradually being replaced by lever escapement and stem-wound watches. There were some key-wound watches in the 1870’s and a few in the beginning of the 1880’s, but these are generally rare.

Patek’s partnership with Czapek all but over, Patek offered the ambitious young watchmaker Philippe, who had emigrated from France, a partnership in exchange for a share in the company as Technical Director of the firm, and dissolved Patek, Czapek & Co. in 1845. The new company, Patek & Co., was formed that same year, and thanks to Adrien Philippe's ingenuity and hard work, business progressively improved. Adrien later became the inventor of their famous stem-winding and hand setting mechanism, a modern and reliable concept. To recognize his partner's efforts, Patek again re-organized the firm in 1851, this time as Patek Philippe & Co.

The Annual Calendar Ref. 5250: The advanced research special edition that first presented their silicon escape wheel.On May 1, 1845, an agreement was signed between Antoine Patek, Adrien Philippe, and Vincent Gostkowski. According to clause 3 of the agreement, Patek was responsible for the general direction of the firm and for its marketing, Gostkowski for the accounting and correspondence, and Philippe was in charge of watchmaking. Although both Gostkowski and Philippe each received one third of the company's profits, only Patek had the right to make executive company decisions. Subsequently this changed, with more rights being granted first to Gostkowski and later to Philippe. At an even later date, the rights earlier extended to Gostkowski were rescinded. It took another five years before Philippe’s name appeared on the company’s watches.

Vincent Gostkowski, who afforded financial backing to the firm for over thirty years, was responsible for the managing of the company. It seems there was no love lost between himself and Adrien Philippe, so with a heavy heart and inspite of the success of the firm, Patek let go of Gostkowski. Patek would still pay him dividends until his demise.

Patek and Philippe forged a unique partnership that spoke to their individual talents. Patek was a talented salesman as well as a fearless traveler. Although at the time, crossing the ocean was a dangerous undertaking at best, Patek traveled around the world to promote the brand and market his firm's watches. He documented these journeys in his personal diaries, and related the many hardships he and other travelers faced. Adrien Philippe, on the other hand, was content to remain in Geneva and focus his efforts on overseeing the technical direction of the firm, as well as its day-to-day production.

Philippe’s writings also played an important role in the life of the company. Philippe published a comprehensive work on keyless mechanisms. He also became an expert correspondent on watch mass production for the Journal de Genève, which in turn led to his being invited as a juror at various World Exhibitions. In any event, the partnership worked so well that by the time of his death, in 1877, Patek had been granted the title of Count by Pope Pius IX. Adrien Philippe would outlive Patek by 17 years and died in 1894.

The World Record Calibre 89: With 33 complications, it was sold at auction for over 5 million US Dollars in 2004.Following the co-founder's death, three longtime company employees - including Edouard Kohn, who would later go on to buy Ekregen - became partners in the firm. In 1901, Patek Philippe was reorganized as a stock corporation under the name "Ancienne Manufacture d'Horlogerie Patek Philippe & Cie, SA". It was also re-capitalized with 1.6 million Swiss francs, a huge sum of money in those days.

Although Patek Philippe did not manufacture the bulk of its own ebauches until 1910, the watches it did create remained of the highest quality. One can find ultra-complicated watches from this era that are simply remarkable in their designs and advanced features. Needless to say, the company's headquarters received frequent visits from wealthy businessmen and royalty of the era. As a result, the company built a lavish showroom where they could entertain their most important guests while discreetly conducting business.

It is also interesting to note that during this period, Patek Philippe custom-manufactured watches to a jeweler's specifications and even produced an entire line of Art Deco influenced watches especially for the Brazilian jeweler, Gondolo & Labourian. Today, "Gondolo" watches sold by that firm are considered quite desirable and rare.

Unfortunately, the company's fortunes suffered as a result of the Great Depression. The market for expensive watches evaporated overnight, sales plummeted and a financially stable "white knight" had to be found to rescue the company from the depths of despair. David LeCoultre, the movement manufacturer from the Vallee de Joux, placed a bid - but for reasons unknown, his offer was rejected. Patek Philippe was finally sold to Charles and Jean Stern, who owned "Fabrique de Cadrans Stern Freres", the company that exclusively supplied dials to Patek Philippe.

The Star Calibre 2000: Released in 2000, it was one of the most complicated pocket watches of all time.A new general manager, Jean Pfister, was hired. Pfister's first move was to re-tool the factory so that Patek Philippe could once again fabricate its own ebauches. For the first time in years, Patek Philippe was able to control every aspect of its production and thanks to such best-selling models as the Calatrava (introduced in 1932), sales picked up and the company's financial health gradually improved.

This period marks a time of great innovation and the creation of many spectacular watches. Watches with World Time indication, as well as sophisticated perpetual calendar watches such as the Reference 1526, were introduced into the marketplace and quickly re-established Patek Philippe as the industry leader. Another advantage Patek had over its competition was the fact that it was a family-run business. As such, major business decisions did not have to meet with approval from a board of directors.

In 1934, Henri Stern, son of Charles Stern, was sent to New York, where he assumed responsibility for the American distribution of the company's products. The Henri Stern Agency was established in New York City for this purpose and remains in business to this day. During the 1950's, the watchmakers at Patek Philippe developed a number of amazing watches. Hand-painted enamel dials, World Time watches, minute repeaters, split-second chronographs and other spectacular timekeepers were to prove extremely popular with wealthy clients of the firm. At the same time, even regular production watches were of spectacular quality.

The Henry Graves Supercomplication: Commissioned in 1925 of 15,000 USD, it was sold in a 1999 Sotheby's auction for over 11 million US Dollars.Among the most collectible of these are the automatic Patek Philippe watches with Calibres 12-600 or 27-460, such as the Ref. 2526 which features a genuine porcelain enamel dial. Due to the incredible beauty of this wristwatch, as well as its unique dial, this particular model is in high demand by collectors and commands high prices at auction. Indeed, it is not uncommon for certain Patek Philippe watches, such as minute repeaters, to have increased 10,000% in value over their original retail prices! One collector paid $11,002,500.00 for a rare Patek Philippe pocket watch, thereby earning it a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records.

In 1958, Henri Stern was recalled to Switzerland, to replace Jean Pfister as President and Managing Director of the parent company. Henri Stern's contribution to the success of Patek Philippe was to allow the company to grow, without compromising its founding principles. Under his watchful eye, the company introduced such models as the Nautilus, and bravely weathered the industry's economic crisis of the 70's and 80's. The After Sales Service Department was greatly improved and further advances were made in the development of new movements. One such breakthrough was the 240 Caliber, a self-winding movement featuring a microrotor that allowed Patek's designers to produce flat automatic wristwatches.

In 1990, Henri Stern stepped down as President of Patek Philippe to enjoy a well-deserved retirement. Since then, his son Philippe Stern, who began working at Patek Philippe in 1977, has been responsible for overseeing the company's business activities. Philippe Stern has proven himself to be a highly capable, responsible executive, introducing successful models such as the 24 ladies watch, the Ref. 5035, the Gondolo series, in honor of the watches created for Gondolo & Labourian, and many others. In addition, Patek Philippe consolidated its many workshops throughout Geneva, moving into a new state-of-the-art headquarters in 1996.

The Spiromax Balance Spring: Released in 2006, it drastically improved isochronism.One thing that has not changed, nor will it for that matter, is the issue of Patek Philippe's ownership. Philippe Stern promises that Patek Philippe will continue as a family-owned company, despite enormous financial incentives for him and other family members to "sell out" to a conglomerate. To that end, Stern is training his son Thierry to someday succeed him as president of Patek Philippe. Thus, when Thierry takes over the company, he will be the fourth generation of the Stern family entrusted with guiding the destiny of this unique House. In doing so, he will honor a grand tradition which dates back to 1845…and a partnership whose spirit lives on forever in the marvelous products of Patek Philippe.

The two of most complicated watches of all time were made by Patek Philippe. The first, made for Henry Graves Jr. New York, was completed at the beginning of the century, and the second, the Caliber 89, the world's most complicated watch, completed in 1989 to mark the firm's 150th anniversary. Caliber 89 yields 33 complications, including the date of Easter, a thermometer, time of sunrise, equation of time, sidereal time, and many other indicators. The Calibre 89 is also able to add a day to February for leap years while leaving out the extra day for every 100 year interval.

The famous spiral that greets visitors at the Patek Philippe factory.Other specialists such as goldsmiths, chain smiths, enamellers, jewelers, and engravers complete the firm's manufacturing capabilities. Although Patek Philippe is rightly famous as the leading manufacturer of mechanical horology, the firm is also the forefront of the industry as producers of industrial and electronic timekeepers, with its highly accurate master-clocks installed in power stations, hospitals, airports, and other public buildings and factories. The firm clientele has included many of the famous figures across history, including royalty such as Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, as well as distinguished scientists, artists, authors and musicians, including Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Charlotte Bronte and Tchaikovsky.

A big break for Patek Philippe which elevated them to legendary status, was filling the void left after the death of A.L Breguet. Patek's clients included approximately one hundred kings and queens, 54 and at the end of Patek’s life with the satisfaction of knowing he had become the leader in horology, the best among the best.

Today, clearly most of the firm's production consists of wristwatches, but Patek Philippe retains the ability to produce pocket watches, and clocks to order, from highly complicated movements to those decorated with enameled miniature paintings and engravings. The company continues to patent new inventions and improvements in horology and plays an important role in maintaining the quality , prestige and reputation of the Swiss watchmaking. In the 150 year history of the company, they have produced approximately 600,000 timepieces in total.

Philippe and Thiery Stern