A History of Patek Philippe
Patek Philippe is one of the oldest Swiss watch companies, manufacturing timepieces for over 180 years. In almost 200 years of being in business, Patek Philippe has pioneered modern watchmaking. The brand has stayed privately owned the entire time and has become one of the most prestigious names in luxury watchmaking.
> Historical Overview of Patek Philippe
> Patek Philippe Next Generations
> 5 Little Known Facts About Patek Philippe
Patek Philippe: From 1839 – Present Day
Going back to 1839, Patek Philippe originally started as Patek, Czapek & Cie. Antoine Patek and François Czapek started by creating pocket watches for royalty and high society. Patek met Adrien Philippe in 1844 after Philippe had won a bronze medal award for his keyless winding and hand-setting system at the Industrial Exposition hosted in Paris.
By 1845, Patek and Philippe joined forces to create the brand Patek Philippe but it wasn’t until 1851 that the brand was officially named Patek, Philippe and Cie. They started by making pocketwatches using the keyless winding and hand-setting system that Philippe had developed.
International Expansion
In 1851, in addition to a renaming of the brand, this year brought the first step into expanding. Not only did Patek Philippe showcase their pocket watches at the Great Exhibition in London, but Queen Victoria acquired a pendant watch with diamond roses on blue enamel. Patek Philippe has a long standing history of designing watches for women.
Another notable event that happened in 1851 was Patek’s trip to the United States. He wanted to expand and grow the brand internationally. This trip is where he met Charles Lewis Tiffany in New York and started the partnership with Tiffany & Co. that still remains today. Tiffany & Co. is the only retailer in America whose name appears on a Patek Philippe dial.
Advancements in Technologies
Philippe was always more on the technical side of watchmaking. In 1863, he produced the first pocket watch to feature a tourbillon, which was designed to counteract the pulling of gravity on the movement and help keep accurate time. He also invented a slipping spring mainspring, which relieves tension on the mainspring when it is fully wound, avoiding breakage. Even after both Patek and Philippe passed away, the brand would continue to put a focus on developing new mechanisms and watch parts.
Other patents that Patek Philippe has filed over the years include:
- 1881 – precision regulator
- 1889 – perpetual calendar mechanism
- 1902 – first double chronograph
- 1949 – Gyromax balance
- 1953 – self-winding mechanism caliber 12-600at
- 1959 – time-zone watches
- 1977 – ultra-thin automatic caliber 240
- 1986 – secular perpetual calendar with retrograde date
- 1996 – Annual calendar mechanism
Patek Philippe has filed over 100 different patents for watch dials, cases and clasps, among others.
Next Generation of Patek Philippe
Antoine Patek passed away in 1877, and Adrien Philippe brought his son, Emile Joseph, into the business to train him in the family business. In 1894, Adrien Philippe passed away. Joseph would work hard to maintain the legacy his father and Antoine built. He worked with Henry Graves, Jr, who was a wealthy American banker and a fan of Patek Philippe watches.
Graves commissioned a Supercomplication pocketwatch that took 8 years to design, develop and deliver from 1925-1933. This pocketwatch had 24 functions and two dials, with 920 parts, making it one of the most complicated watches ever made. We know this piece today as the Henry Graves Supercomplication.
Transition into the Stern Family
Graves’ commission helped Patek Philippe maintain operations through the low period after World War I with the economic downturn of the Great Depression and global economic crisis. However, in 1932 the Stern brothers, Jean and Charles Henri, purchased the brand, combining their dial manufacturer with the prestige of Patek Philippe. The Stern dial manufacturer originally supplied dials to Patek Philippe building a trusting bond between the companies before the acquisition.
Since 1932, the Sterns introduced new collections including the Calatrava, Ellipse, Nautilus, Aquanaut and the Twenty~4 and have continued pushing Patek Philippe to the top of watchmaking standards and the next generations have continued to lead the manufacturer. In 1958 Henri Stern took over as president, followed by Philippe Stern in 1993, and most recently Thierry Stern became president in 2009.
Notable Dates In History
With over 180 years of producing watches, there have been some standout years and important dates for Patek Philippe outside of filing patents.
- 1941 – regular production of perpetual calendar watches began
- 1962 – a tourbillon movement achieved the world timekeeping precision record for a mechanical watch at the Geneva Observatory, this record is still unbeaten today
- 1968 – Golden Ellipse collection launch
- 1976 – Nautilus collection launch
- 1985 – ultra thin perpetual calendar reference 3940 launch
- 1993 – Gondolo collection launch
- 1996 – new production facility opened in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva
- 1997 – Aquanaut collection launch
- 1999 – Twenty~4 collection launch
- 2001 – Sky Moon Tourbillon, Reference 5002 was launched, marking the most complicated wristwatch released by the brand
- 2006 – launch of the silicon-based Spiromax balance spring
- 2008 – launch of the silicon-based escapement: Pulsomax
- 2011 – Oscillomax launch combining the Spiromax, Pulsomax and GyromaxSi balance
- 2011 – first ladies minute repeater launched
- 2015 – Calatrava Pilot Travel Time launch
- 2019 – Calatrava Weekly Calendar launch
This list could keep going, especially for a brand with as much innovation and history like Patek Philippe. Having a record of this history is especially important for the brand. In 2001, they opened the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. Philippe Stern combined his love of horology, watchmaking artistry, and tradition into building this museum for people to enjoy. The collection is not limited to just Patek Philippe, there are around 2,500 watches, portrait miniatures and other precious objects on display spanning 500 years of European, Swiss and Genevan watchmaking artistry.
The brand has also hosted the Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition across the world showcasing an insider view into the world of Patek Philippe. In 2012, this was hosted in Dubai, 2013 in Munich, 2015 in London, 2017 in New York and most recently 2019 saw the exhibition in Singapore.
5 Little Known Facts About Patek Philippe
1. Henry Graves Supercomplication Is Not Patek Philippe’s Most Complicated Watch
The honor of the most complicated watch was introduced in 1989, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Patek Philippe. This complicated watch is the Patek Philippe Calibre 89 which features 33 complications and was built with 1,728 components. Similar to the Henry Graves pocketwatch, this took five years to research and an additional four years to develop.
2. Patek Philippe Had Electronic Movements Before The Quartz Crisis
In 1954 and 1956, Patek Philippe was issued two patents for photoelectric table clocks. The first all-electronic clock was built two years later and received the ‘Award for Miniaturization’ in the United States. During the quartz crisis, the brand also utilized the Beta 21 movement to compete with the growing demand for quartz watches. This movement was used by a group of Swiss manufacturers including Rolex.
Patek Philippe embraces the quartz movement. While some luxury brands have since transitioned away from the use of quartz, Patek Philippe still produces some models with the highly accurate technology, such as the ladies Nautilus, Aquanaut, Gondolo and Twenty~4.
3. Everything is Produced In-House
Whatever the part within the watch, Patek Philippe produces it in-house rather than utilize external suppliers. This allows for full control and maintaining strict standards. This is also why super complicated watches, like the Calibre 89, take years to develop. In addition, all watches are finished by hand rather than machinery.
4. The First Patek Philippe Minute Repeater Wristwatch Was for a Woman
In 1916, an Art Deco style minute repeater with a platinum case and chain link bracelet was developed for a Mrs. D.O. Wickham. While the brand had previously produced minute repeater pendant watches or pocket watches, this was the first wristwatch. This watch was a 5-minute repeater watch that would chime the hours, quarter hours and then the nearest number of 5 minute intervals. It was a 27.1mm platinum case. A ladies specific minute repeater wouldn’t be released until almost 100 years later in 2011 with the reference 7000R.
5. Tradition & Innovation: Patek Philippe Advanced Research Department
Launched in 2002, Patek Philippe invested in a new department focused explicitly on developing avant-garde technologies and novel materials. The ethos of the manufacturer is ‘Tradition & Innovation’ and this new department fit perfectly.
In 2005 this department introduced a mono-crystalline silicon escape wheel. The silicon was extremely hard, corrosion-resistant, anti-magnetic and lightweight and would eliminate the need for lubrication. It is worth noting that Ulysse Nardin had previously started using silicon in 2001 with the launch of the Freak.
This new development of materials would then lead Patek Philippe into launching other silicon parts and helped fuel the use of the material across brands. The process used for the Spiromax balance spring included Silinvar, a vacuum oxidation process patented from a partnership with the Swatch Group and Rolex. Since then Patek Philippe and other brands have continued to release silicon parts.
6. Bonus: Fewer Than One Million Watches Ever Produced
Patek Philippe is a highly sought-after brand that has scarcity of models and an air of exclusivity. It is estimated that since 1839 fewer than one-million watches have been produced. Patek Philippe says that it takes nine months to make its most basic watches, while more complicated models can take more than two years to complete. Everything is also finished by hand and the artisans employed by Patek Philippe are highly skilled and trained. In 2018, there were 62,000 watches produced.Patek Philippe also has a searchable archive where there is a detailed extract of every watch made since 1839.
Buying Patek Philippe
Over the long history into modern-day, Patek Philippe watches have been important for many collectors. While royalty and celebrities own their watches, many collectors across different industries own a Patek Philippe. For new or young collectors, a Patek Philippe may be a grail watch or a celebratory purchase. While 62,000 watches sounds like a large number, this is across the globe and just a fraction of production that brands like Rolex or Omega release. This is also split across all the 9 model families and over 160 different models. Buying a Patek Philippe through an authorized retailer brand new may take a while due to demand.
On the pre-owned market, watches are much more readily available. Classic time-only models are also available at a more affordable price point, like this Calatrava 3919J or a Calatrava 5119G. Browse the entire The 1916 Company collection to discover the perfect Patek Philippe for you.
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> Pivotal Points in the History of Patek Philippe