The History of Patek Philippe

Way back in May of 1839 a super talented Polish man, Antoni Patek partnered with Francieszek Czapek and Mr. Cie to form Patek, Czapek and Cie in Geneva on May 1st, 1839.  They began making pocket watches with good success however due to some fiery disagreements the company closed on April 18th, 1845. Of course that did not stop the motivated Mr. Patek who was already in discussions with the notable Frenchman Adrien Philippe, the inventor of the "keyless winding system".

Mr. Patek, Mr. Philippe and Mr. Cie rather quickly formed Patek & Cie just one month later on May15th, 1845.  Their fame was inked in history when just a month after changing the business name to Patek, Philippe & Cie in 1851 Queen Victoria Acquired a keyless pendant watch at the London Great Exhibition.  The Queen commissioned a subsequent exclusive pendant watch which was to be suspended from a diamond and enamel brooch.  They then created the first Swiss wristwatch for Countess Koscowicz from Hungary in 1868.  Antoni Patek passed away in March of 1877 and his only son did not join the business however one of Adrien Philippe's son in law took over Mr. Patek's position.  A decade later in 1887 the Calatrava Cross became the  registered company logo of Patek Philippe.  Then, in 1891 at 76 years old Adrien Philippe turned over his position to his youngest son Joseph Emile Philippe.

In 1901 Patek Philippe transformed into a joint stock company called Ancienne Manufacture d'horlogerie Patek, Philippe & Cie, Societe Anonoyme.  Patek Philippe was still being run as a family business which had 7 shareholders, 5 of which were on the Board of Directors.  In 1915 the famed Albert Einstein not only finished the Theory of General Relativity but also ordered a gold pocketwatch from Patek Philippe.  The Swiss Stern family bought Patek Philippe in 1932 during the great depression. The Stern company had already been supplying watch dials to Patek Philippe.  A few years after acquiring Patek Philippe Henri Stern Watch Agency brought Patek Philippe timepieces to the American market and sold it as a sister brand to Universal Geneve.  In 1958 Henri Stern the son of Charles Stern became the president of Patek Philippe.  In 1993 Henri Stern's son, Philippe Stern, then became Patek Philippe's president.  In the new millennium Patek Philippe's production numbers have been slowly increasing while maintaining quality and demand.  From 40,000 units in 2010 up to 60,000 in 2018. 

Among the top 60 most expensive watches ever sold nearly 80% of them are Patek Philippe watches.  Among the top 10 most expensive watches ever sold 70% of them are Patek Philippe watches.  Please Click Here if you would like to contact one of the best Patek Philippe buyers.  

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