PATEK PHILIPPE
Patek Philippe is a prestigious luxury watch manufactured based in Switzerland. It is one of the oldest watch companies in the world with an uninterrupted watchmaking history since its founding.
For over 175 years without interruption, Patek Philippe has been perpetuating the tradition of Genevan watchmaking. As the last family-owned independent watch manufacturer in Geneva, it enjoys total creative freedom to entirely design, produce and assemble what experts agree to be the finest timepieces in the world – following the vision of its founders Antoine Norbert de Patek (1839) and Jean Adrien Philippe (1845).
Thanks to its exceptional know-how, Patek Philippe maintains a tradition of innovation hailed by an impressive repertoire of more than 100 patents.
Independence, tradition, innovation, quality and craftsmanship, rarity, value, aesthetics, service, emotion, and legacy are the ten fundamental values of the Genevan watchmaker.
Patek Philippe has always aimed for perfection by creating timepieces of unrivalled quality and reliability, the uniqueness and exclusiveness of which makes them rare and precious pieces, a unique legacy to be handed down from one generation to the next. To achieve this, the company invests in innovation with new materials and leading-edge technologies, while continuing to preserve the tradition of ancestral watchmaking know-how, and maintains the industry’s strictest quality control standards.
In the hands of the Stern family since 1932, the company is managed today by a board of directors composed of Honorary President Philippe Stern, President Thierry Stern, and CEO Claude Peny.
Patek Philippe Company Today
Patek Philippe SA comprises the following units: the main workshops at Plan-les-Ouates (Geneva), with its administrative headquarters, research activities into new technologies, development of new mechanisms, the creation division, the movement component manufacturing workshops, and all the watchmaking activities from design to delivery, including after-sales service and restoration; the case and bracelet workshops in Perly (Geneva); the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, and the exclusive Patek Philippe Salons in Geneva, Paris, and London.
Patek Philippe also owns eight partner companies outside the Canton of Geneva: Calame (watch cases), Poli-Art (polishing), SHG (gemsetting), and Patek Philippe SA La Chaux-de-Fonds in La Chaux-de-Fonds; Cadrans Fluckiger (dials) in Saint-Imier; Allaine (movement casing) in Alle; and Betakron (finishing, decorating, steel components) in the Jura; as well as Patek Philippe La Vallée SA (watchmaking, haute horlogerie, and repairs) in Le Brassus.
Patek Philippe now offers a regular collection of some 150 different references, produced in small series ranging from about ten pieces to several hundred.
Patek Philippe also offers a rich collection of one-of-a-kind pieces and limited editions (dome clocks, table clocks, pocket watches and wristwatches) celebrating the most refined of the rare handcrafts, such as miniature painting on enamel, Grand Feu cloisonné enamel, hand engraving and wood marquetry.
The Patek Philippe Museum
The Patek Philippe Museum was opened to the public in Geneva in November 2001. Philippe Stern’s legendary passion for exceptional timepieces allowed him to gather an extraordinary and unique collection of nearly 2000 watches, musical automata, and miniature enamels from the 16th century to today, alongside an extensive library of over 8000 works entirely dedicated to horology.
Patek Philippe Watch Collections
Flagship Collections
Calatrava: Classic round wristwatch. The highly successful classic design was created in 1932.
Nautilus: More than 40 years of success for this famous water-resistant porthole-style case launched in 1976.
Aquanaut: For 20 years since it was created in 1997, this sporty watch of modern design has projected an aura of casual elegance. Launched in 2004, the Aquanaut Luce has evolved to become an icon of the feminine sports chic style.
Ellipse d’Or: This elliptical design launched in 1968 is based on the antique Golden Section or divine proportion.
Gondolo: Since 1993, these rectangular or tonneau-shaped watches have been inspired by the Art Deco era.
Twenty~4®: Launched in 1999, the first diamond-set ladies’ wristwatch in steel became a role model for timeless feminine elegance.
Superior watchmaking artistry
Grand Complications
Perpetual calendar (with moon phases); perpetual calendar with fly-back retrograde date; astronomical calendar; instantaneous perpetual calendar with apertures, minute repeater and tourbillon; small and grand strikes; minute repeater; date repeater; alarm with time strike; split-seconds chronograph; chronograph with perpetual calendar; split-seconds chronograph with perpetual calendar; automatic chronograph with Annual Calendar; tourbillon with 10-day power reserve; triple and grand complications; sidereal time; running equation of time; sky chart.
Complications
Chronograph; Annual Calendar; dual time zones; multiple time zones (World Time); power-reserve indication; 10-day power reserve; regulator dial.
Artistic timepieces
Skeleton wristwatches; pocket watches and wristwatches with enameled or engraved cases; Dôme table clocks with cloisonné enamel; Dôme table clocks with engraved Baccarat crystal; wristwatches with marquetry dials.
Fine jeweled timepieces
Luxurious watches and table clocks, pocket-watch holders and unique presentation pieces. Jewelry and accessories enhanced with diamonds or other precious stones.
Exceptional timepieces
Calibre 89
For over 25 years, it was the most complicated portable timepiece in the world (33 complications and 1728 parts). The Calibre 89 was created in 1989 to celebrate the manufacture’s 150th anniversary. This true watchmaking masterpiece took nine years to develop and produce.
Star Caliber 2000
Launched to welcome the new millennium, the Star Caliber 2000 pocket watch combines the most fascinating complications (21 complications, 1118 parts, 8 years of R&D and production, 6 new patents).
Sky Moon Tourbillon
Presented in 2001, Sky Moon Tourbillon is the second-most complicated wristwatch in the current Patek Philippe collection. The double-face timepiece is endowed with the rarest complications (12 complications and 686 parts). Among other indications, it displays mean solar time and has a perpetual retrograde calendar on the front side. Sidereal time and astronomical functions are shown on the case back side.
Grandmaster Chime
Launched as the Reference 5175 in 2014 to commemorate the manufacture’s 175th anniversary and since then added to the regular collection as the Reference 6300, it is the most complicated wristwatch in the current Patek Philippe collection. This double-faced watch features 20 complications.
The Patek Philippe Seal
In 2009, Patek Philippe launched its proprietary quality label for mechanical watches.
The aim of the Patek Philippe Seal was to establish a new standard of quality for mechanical watches, while clearly describing what constitutes the essence and distinctiveness of Patek Philippe quality. The Seal was conceived by the Stern family as an all-embracing quality label that would continue to evolve, a dynamic reflection of the innovations and technical advances brought into play by the manufacture.
With that objective in mind Patek Philippe set down in the Patek Philippe Seal two significant evolutions in 2024.
(1) Strengthened criteria governing rate accuracy
The rate accuracy of Patek Philippe watches is checked at several stages in the manufacturing process, initially with uncased movements and then with finished watches.
Since 2009, the final rate-accuracy measurement, performed on a kinetic simulator, must comply with the following precision standards: within the range of -3 and +2 seconds per 24 hours for calibers with diameters of 20 mm or more; within the range of -5 and +4 seconds per 24 hours for calibers with diameters of less than 20 mm, and within the range of -1 and +2 seconds per 24 hours for watches with a tourbillon (with, in addition for this last group, the greatest deviation between the average rate of the watch in all six measuring positions and the rate in each position must not exceed 4 seconds per 24 hours).
Henceforth, all watches equipped with a Spiromax® balance spring in Silinvar® or a traditional Breguet balance spring must therefore comply with a tight tolerance range of -1 and +2 seconds per 24 hours –an advance made possible by the perfectly concentric development of the Spiromax® balance spring and the progress in precision timing achieved by Patek Philippe.
The watches with a tourbillon, which must comply with this same tight tolerance range, are delivered with an individually issued rating certificate and remain subject to the same stipulations as regards rate accuracy in six measuring positions.
(2) Unified criteria for water-resistance
To ensure the homogeneity and clarity of the information provided to clients, Patek Philippe has decided to introduce a new unified standard of water-resistance set at 30 meters for all watches certified as water-resistant –having been tested in air and underwater by immersion at an overpressure of 3 bars (corresponding to a depth of 30 m).
This measure makes it possible to guarantee the same performance level across all the models concerned and to provide perfectly comprehensible information as to the day-to-day activities in which clients can engage while wearing their watch.
An international 5-year warranty for new watches
During the Watches and Wonders Salon in 2024, Patek Philippe announced an evolution with regard to the international warranty. For all new Patek Philippe watches sold as from May 1 2024, the duration of this warranty increases from two years to five years, counting from the date of purchase.
In addition to this new advantage for the customer, it is important to remember that the Directives of the Patek Philippe Seal already contain a pledge by the International Customer Service network to service, repair or restore every watch produced by the manufacture since its foundation in 1839.
