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Patek Philippe
When one speaks with watch collectors, dealers, and enthusiasts from all
walks of life, one brand is consistently singled out as being "the Rolls-Royce
of watches". Like that esteemed auto manufacturer, it is a name that has become
synonymous with perfection, exclusivity and the finest craftsmanship. The
company is Patek Philippe, and its history offers a compelling insight into how
this unique, 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 joining
forces to create a company that has endured almost unchanged to this day. The
saga began when Antoine Norbert de Patek, a Polish refugee and former soldier,
immigrated to Geneva to study painting with A. Calame, the famous landscape
painter whom he had met in Paris. Although Patek pursued a career as an artist
for a short time, it was not the vocation for which he was destined. Instead, he
began overseeing the assembly of high-quality movements into fine cases. 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.
The young firm did well enough, 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 Genevois watchmaker, Jean Adrien Philippe. Philippe, who had
emigrated from France, succeeded in constructing an extremely flat pocket watch
that could be wound up and set by means of the crown, instead of with a key. His
partnership with Czapek all but over, Patek offered the ambitious young
watchmaker a job 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 steadily improved.
To recognize his partner's efforts, Patek again re-organized the firm in 1851,
this time as Patek Philippe & Co.
Patek and Philippe forged a unique partnership that spoke to their individual
talents. Patek was a talented salesman as well as a fearless traveller. 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 travellers 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. 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 outlived Patek
by 17 years and died in 1894.
Following the co-founders' death, three long-time 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 jeweller's specifications and even produced an
entire line of Art Deco influenced watches especially for the Brazilian
jeweller, 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.
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 1950s, 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.
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 (and easily damaged) 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!
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 70s and 80s. 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 micro-rotor 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.
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 honour a grand tradition which dates back to
1845…and a partnership whose spirit lives on forever in the marvellous products
of Patek Philippe.
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