The company has been owned by the Stern family since 1932 and today is managed by Thierry Stern (President), Philippe Stern (Honorary President), and Claude Peny (CEO). Patek Philippe, like Audemars Piguet, remains independent of the big luxury groups, such as Kering, LVMH and Richemont. The watch was manufactured in 1970 but modified by Patek’s master watchmaker, Max Berney, in 1975 to replace the moonphase on the dial with a leap year indication while Patek’s dial-maker Stern Frères made a custom dial. 2523) holds 6 spots among the 58 world's most expensive watches sold at auction (over 2 million US dollars), with the world record being 4.027 million US dollars (6,603,500 CHF) made at Antiquorum's Geneva auction on April 13, 2002. In 1993, Philippe Stern, the son of Henry Stern, became the president of the company. We kept the same strategies and communication, the same type of product. [96][97] Over the course of 35 years, four series of Ref. In December 2018, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) released an official report giving environmental ratings for 15 major watch manufacturers and jewelers in Switzerland. [49] In 1950s, the company even produced a prototype for a mechanical digital wristwatch, Ref. [107][110] The yellow-gold and the white-gold Calibre 89 were sold at auctions by Antiquorum in 2009 and 2004, respectively, and both watches currently rank among the top ten most expensive watches ever sold at auction, with final prices over 5 million US dollars. In 1989, Patek Philippe created Calibre 89, then the most complicated mechanical watch ever made, for its 150th anniversary. In 1881, patented its precision regulator. Patek Philippe has invented over 20 basic calibres and has received over 100 patents. [115][116] Ref. 6002, also with 12 complications. We kept our soul,” says Stern. [21], In March 1877, Antoni Patek passed away at the age of 65, but his only son, Léon Mecyslas Vincent, did not join the business. 656462, Ref. It designs and manufactures timepieces as well as movements, including some of the most complicated mechanical watches. In print and online, I’ve covered luxury lifestyle, travel, culture, craftsmanship and men’s style for almost two decades. This watch was suspended from a diamond and enamel brooch. The Stern family believe the purity of sound in Patek Philippe’s chiming watches should do more than mark time, they should contribute to the unique character of each watch. Why Is China Soaking Up The World’s Molybdenum? 5970 and Ref. Cottier. [28], Patek Philippe World Time (Heures Universelles) collection was introduced in 1939, with Ref.1415 being the first model. After Patek's death the company changed its owners several times; since 1929 Patek Philippe & Co. has been owned by the Stern family, but kept its original name. It is a testament to the family’s values and spirit of continuity that some casual observers thought that Philippe Stern, Thierry’s father, was the Philippe in Patek Philippe. [96][97][98][99][100] Historically, only 349 pieces of Ref. It would be a bold pivot to take the watch from steel to titanium, but at the same time the material shake up would potentially make the watch more interesting for the Stern family. [15][16][17][18] As of December 2019, among the world's top ten most expensive watches ever sold at auctions, seven are Patek Philippe watches. [51][52][53] In 2009, the company announced that all of its future mechanical timepieces would be imprinted with the Patek Philippe Seal which requires a precision of -3/+2 seconds per day for diameters no less than 20 mm and -5/+4 seconds per day for diameters less than 20 mm, surpassing the highest industry standard of watch manufacturing and thus abandoning the Geneva Seal.[54][55][56]. Stern says he won’t force either into the business. [36][37][38] In 2010, the company produced 40,000 timepieces and, according to Thierry Stern, it produced 58,000 pieces in 2017. In 1916, produced the world's first lady’s wristwatch with. 3940G and Grandmaster Chime Ref.... [+] 6300A. “I have one vision for Patek, and that is to have the highest level of quality. 2499 (Third Series) | PHILLIPS", "Reference Points: Understanding The Entire Lineage Of Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronographs", "Patek Philippe Ref. Stern has helped maintain Patek’s status as one of the world’s most highly prized watches through scarcity. [19][20], Along with his fellow Czech-born Polish partner Franciszek Czapek, Polish watchmaker Antoni Patek formed Patek, Czapek & Cie in Geneva on May 1, 1839 and started making pocket watches. That sum was eclipsed this November when a one-of-a-kind, steel Grandmaster Chime (a model released in 2014, in a limited edition of seven pieces, for a price close to $2.5 million) sold for $31 million. [4] The Stern brothers' company, Fabrique de Cadrans Sterns Frères, had been a business partner of Patek Philippe as its supplier of watch dials. The Stern family is the owner of the Patek Philipe watch brand. 990/1 was sold at, On November 12, 2016, a Patek Philippe Ref. [104][105] On October 2, 2018, a Sky Moon Tourbillon 6002G was auctioned by Poly Auction in Hong Kong, fetching US$2.707 million (HKD 21,240,000), making it one of the most expensive watches ever sold in auction.[106]. Patek Philippe SA is a Swiss luxury watches and clock manufacturer founded in 1839, located in Canton of Geneva and the Vallée de Joux. 5396G, Made Exclusively For Tiffany & Co", "Patek Philippe | Watch Movements & Calibers", "Collecting The First Swiss Quartz Movement: 5 Beta-21 Watches To Look For", "Patek Philippe - A modern version of Ref. [48] In fact, Patek Philippe was one of the twenty Swiss watch companies that founded the Centre Electronique Horloger and collaboratively developed the first Swiss quartz movements, such as the Beta 21 movement (1969) which was used by several manufacturers in their watches. 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