Brands

Table clock of the jewelry company Patek Philippe S.A.

Patek Philippe Nautilus Moon Phase Ref.
Patek Philippe Nautilus Moon Phase Ref.

Patek Philippe S.A. is a Swiss company producing luxury watches. Founded in 1839 by Pole immigrant Anthony Patek and Francois Chapek. The watch of this brand is one of the most expensive serial watches in the world.

On May 1, 1839, Polish emigrants Antoni Patek and Franciszek Czapek signed a contract in Geneva to form the watch company Patek, Czapek Cie.

Patek Philippe Yellow White Gold Diamond Set Cocktail Watch.
Patek Philippe Yellow White Gold Diamond Set Cocktail Watch.
Patek Philippe World Time Full Set.
Patek Philippe World Time Full Set.

Anthony Norbert Patek, born in 1811 in a village near Lublin, entered the First Polish Cavalry Rifle Regiment at the age of 16, supported the Polish uprising of 1830-1831, was awarded the Golden Cross of the Order of Military Valor, and after the suppression of the uprising was forced to leave the Russian Empire Franciszek Czapek, a Pole of Czech origin, also participated in the uprising he was a soldier of the National Guard in Warsaw.

Polish emigrants made up a fairly close community in Switzerland at that time, so Patek and Czapek, who founded the watch company Patek, Czapek Cie, intended primarily to sell watches to their former compatriots. Patek was responsible for the entrepreneurial side of the new enterprise, and Capek, in fact, was the main watchmaker.

Patek Philippe Gondolo Watch in 18 Karat Yellow Gold.
Patek Philippe Gondolo Watch in 18 Karat Yellow Gold.
Vintage Patek Philippe 18k Rose Gold Watch.
Vintage Patek Philippe 18k Rose Gold Watch.

The idea was to acquire watch movements and cases, carefully decorate them, bringing them to the level of a work of art. The cases were engraved, decorated with enamel miniatures and jewels. The theme was dictated by the preferences of the original circle of customers: early watches are decorated with images of Józef Poniatowski, the Polish prince and general, the national hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko, the great astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, the poet Adam Mickiewicz, the legendary kings Mieszko I and his son Bolesław I the Brave.

Patek Philippe 5711 All Diamond Watch 18 Karat in Stock.
Patek Philippe 5711 All Diamond Watch 18 Karat in Stock.

The partnership between Patek and Čapek lasted six years. Participating in 1844 at the Industrial Exhibition in Paris, Antoine Patek met the French watchmaker and inventor Jean-Adrien Philippe. They have an innovative keyless winding system. Patek, Czapek Cie have already worked with similar movements that were purchased from Louis Audemars, but Jean-Adrien Philippe had his own version of this design at that exhibition he received a gold medal for an ultra-thin pocket watch with a keyless winding he developed.

Patek Philippe Wristwatch.
Patek Philippe Wristwatch.

On May 1, 1845, Antoine Patek, in partnership with Jean-Adrien Philippe and Vincent Gostkowsky, founded Patek Cie, where Philippe took the position of technical director. On January 1, 1851, Patek Cie became Patek Philippe Co. In the same year, Queen Victoria at the World Exhibition in London was presented with a pendant watch equipped with a proprietary keyless winding system.

Since 1848, watches have been signed already in the “international” version Patek Co in the sales of Antoine Patek, serious clients outside the émigré circle, for example, the New York jewelry firm Tiffany Co., played an increasingly important role. She established a relationship with Patek in 1851 and became an official agent of Patek Philippe in 1854. The first watch was delivered to Tiffany in February 1850, a quarter repeater (now in the Patek Philippe Museum).

Patek Philippe Solar Desk Clock for Holscher.
Solar Desk Clock for Holscher.
Patek Philippe Limoges Commemorative Decorative Dish Vide Poche 2004.
Limoges Commemorative Decorative Dish Vide Poche 2004.

In the early 1870s, Charles Tiffany decided to expand his offer of pocket watches and started building a rather large and well-equipped five-story watch factory in the center of Geneva, on Place Cornavin. The factory worked from 1874 to 1878, during this period it produced approximately 12,000 pocket watches. In 1878 it was sold to Patek Philippe.

Patek still maintains a special relationship with Tiffany. A common practice in the second half of the 19th century, when a watch manufacturer put the name of a retailer on the dial, often omitting its logo, is now unthinkable at Patek with one exception Tiffany. For the 150th anniversary of cooperation in 2001, a limited series of watches Ref. 5150 with annual calendar.

Patek Philippe Gilded Demi Lune Solar Desk Clock.
Gilded Demi Lune Solar Desk Clock.

Henri, the son of Charles Stern, took over the company in 1958 he was to lead Patek Philippe not only through the favorable 1960s for the Swiss watch industry, but also through the crisis 1970s. It was during this period, in 1976, that the famous Nautilus sports watch was released with an unusually designed hinged case and an integrated bracelet.

Henri Stern ended the 1980s with an unprecedented achievement: for the 150th anniversary of the firm, the most complex pocket watch in the world, the Caliber 89, was designed and manufactured. family business in the hands of the son Thierry, who now heads Patek.

Patek Philippe Cartel Clock.
Cartel Clock.
Patek Philippe Solar Dome Clock.
Solar Dome Clock.

The Stern family cares not only about the prosperity of Patek, but also about the preservation of the rich historical heritage of the brand: in November 2001, the four-story Patek Philippe Museum was opened in Geneva.

The museum presents more than 2,000 watches, enamels and mechanical musical devices, four hundred ancient instruments and machine tools. The archive of the factory is also stored there books with information about all watches manufactured by Patek Philippe, including dates of production and sale. The vast library of 4,000 books on watchmaking contains the rarest editions of Christian Huygens’ works from the late 17th century.

Unique Patek Philippe 3844 with Amazing Worldmap Dial.
Unique with Amazing Worldmap Dial.

The second floor of the museum is entirely given over to the collection of Patek Philippe watches, from the already mentioned “Princess Zubova” watches and watches with enamel portraits of the Russian Tsar Alexander II and his morganatic wife Ekaterina Dolgorukova to the super-complex Caliber 89. Here are the most notable premieres of recent years. The private Patek Philippe Museum has become one of the attractions of Geneva, since it is open to the public. So, when you are in Geneva, don’t forget to reserve two or three hours for a visit to this “louvre” of fine watchmaking.

Patek Philippe Nautilus 18k Rose Gold All Baguette Diamond Watch In Stock.
Nautilus 18k Rose Gold All Baguette Diamond Watch In Stock.
Vintage Patek Philippe Cocktail Watch Diamond Set Yellow Gold.
Vintage Cocktail Watch Diamond Set Yellow Gold.
Patek Philippe 18K Yellow Gold Pocket Watch with Pencil Chain.
Patek Philippe 18K Yellow Gold Pocket Watch with Pencil Chain.