Patek Philippe

Patek Philippe SA
Company typePrivate (Société Anonyme)
IndustryWatchmaking
Founded
  • 1839; 185 years ago (1839) in Geneva (as Patek, Czapek & Cie)
  • 1845 (as Patek & Cie)
  • 1851 (as Patek, Philippe & Cie)
Founders
HeadquartersPlan-les-Ouates, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland
46°09′59″N 6°06′44″E / 46.16629°N 6.11211°E / 46.16629; 6.11211
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Philippe Stern (Honorary President)
  • Thierry Stern (President)
  • Claude Peny (CEO)
  • Laurent Bernasconi (General Manager)
ProductsMechanical watches, clocks
Production output
70,000 (2023)[1]
RevenueUS$2.05 billion (2023)[2]
OwnerStern family
Subsidiaries
  • The Henri Stern Watch Agency Inc.
  • Patek Philippe Salon Ltd
  • Patek Philippe France
Websitewww.patek.com

Patek Philippe SA (French: [paˈtɛk fiˈlip]) is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer, located in the Canton of Geneva and the Vallée de Joux.[3] Established in 1839, it is named after two of its founders, Antoni Patek and Adrien Philippe. Since 1932, the company has been owned by the Stern family in Switzerland[4] and remains the last family-owned independent watch manufacturer in Geneva.[5] Patek Philippe is one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world with an uninterrupted watchmaking history since its founding.[6][7][8] It designs and manufactures timepieces as well as movements, including some of the most complicated mechanical watches. The company maintains over 400 retail locations globally and over a dozen distribution centers across Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. In 2001, it opened the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.[9][10][11]

Patek Philippe is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious watch manufacturers in the world.[12][13][14][15] As of July 2023, among the world's top ten most expensive watches ever sold at auctions, nine were Patek Philippe watches. In particular, Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010 currently holds the title of the most expensive watch (and wristwatch) ever sold at auction (US$31 million/27 million CHF), while Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication, the world's most complicated mechanical watch until 1989,[16] currently holds the title of the most expensive pocket watch ever sold at auction (US$24 million/21 million CHF).[17][18]

  1. ^ "Breaking News: Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult publish Swiss watch industry's top 50 companies for 2023". 28 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Breaking News: Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult publish Swiss watch industry's top 50 companies for 2023". 28 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Patek Philippe | Company | History". Patek Philippe SA. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bloomberg-2018b was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The Patek Philippe Way of Watchmaking". www.rudells.com. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  6. ^ "175 years of Patek Philippe: A big story in three chapters". www.pragnell.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  7. ^ "Patek Philippe | Company | The Manufacture". Patek Philippe SA. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  8. ^ "Patek Philippe | News | Celebrating our 175th Anniversary". Patek Philippe SA. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  9. ^ "Patek Philippe SA | Authorized Retailers". www.patek.com. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  10. ^ "Patek Philippe SA | Distributors". www.patek.com. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  11. ^ "Patek Philippe | Visit the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva". Patek Philippe SA. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  12. ^ Michael Korda (1 January 2004), Marking Time: Collecting Watches and Thinking about Time, Barnes & Noble Publishing, pp. 71–, ISBN 978-0-7607-3576-3
  13. ^ "5 reasons collectors love Patek Philippe". Christie's. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  14. ^ Dool, Steve (2017-07-18). "Why collectors covet Patek Philippe timepieces". CNN Style. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  15. ^ Clymer, Benjamin. "Patek Philippe in America: Unparalleled Luxury That Captures Hearts—And Wrists". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 9, 2013. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  16. ^ "Swiss Pocket Watch Sells for Record $24 Million". Time. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
  17. ^ Goulard, Brice (2019-07-01). "Only Watch 2019 - Patek Philippe 6300A Unique Steel Grandmaster Chime". Monochrome Watches. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  18. ^ Reddinger, Paige (2019-11-09). "This $31 Million Patek Philippe Just Became the Most Expensive Watch in the World". Robb Report. Retrieved 2019-11-11.