The history of the watch appears as an extraordinary parable that involves heaven and earth, science and religion, economy and tradition. However, in the background, there is always that great paradox: how to measure time; but what is time? This subject has been debated since the time of ancient Greek philosophers and has continued up until modern day with Einstein’s theories. And in the end, perhaps all that remains is Sant’Agostino’s line: “If no one asks me what time is, I’ll say that I know; but if someone asks me and I want to explain it, I don’t know anymore.” We don’t know if Antoine de Patek and Adrien Philippe, who founded the maison in Geneva in 1839, were obsessed with this question; we know for certain that they had the objective of making the most beautiful watches in the world and they were certainly successful.
imagen jpgToday, Patek Philippe is considered to be the top brand of Swiss watches. This supremacy is the result of not only its long history of one hundred and seventy years and the techniques used for its creations, but most of all the constant desire to continually challenge the limits of qualitative standards in watch making. Not satisfied with the already exacting qualitative limits of high quality watches imposed by the traditional “Geneva Seal”, the brand recently introduced its own “Patek Philippe Seal”, establishing a strict set of criteria that are applied to the Factory’s mechanical watches.
subir fotosFor more than a century, the criteria of the Geneva Seal were observed in the development and completion of Patek Philippe’s mechanical movements, defining the minimum quality levels to be attained. But true to its tradition of ongoing innovation, the manufacture never stopped its quest for continuous improvements in regards to the performance of its timepieces.
sube fotosPatek Philippe is a "complete" manufacture that not only sustains a unique level of vertical integration in movements but also produces its watch cases and other key exterior elements in-house. Thus, the quality specifications at Patek Philippe relate not merely to the movements but to the entire finished watch. Superior quality in production requires the finest tools and skills, but also a blend of latest-generation technology with long-term experience in traditional craftmanship.
The production of a single movement's components, depending on its complexity, requires the expertise of highly skilled people and involves 1,200 to 1,500 individual steps.
sube fotosAnother important aspect: In compliance with the in-house accuracy criteria, the final rate tests at Patek Philippe are performed with fully assembled watches as opposed to conventional tests with uncased movements. The Patek Philippe Seal defines the quality specifications from the initial production steps all the way to delivery, and it is also the industry’s first promise of lifetime service. Patek Philippe guarantees that all watches it has delivered since the company was founded in 1839 will be serviced and restored.
The Patek Philippe Seal is a promise personally backed by the company’s current President Philippe Stern as well as by his designated successor, Vice President Thierry Stern. They are both members of the family that has owned Patek Philippe since 1932. They represent the third and fourth generations that have grown up with and in the manufacture. They embody the genes of Patek Philippe, serve the company with unbridled enthusiasm, and like their forefathers are committed to handing its legacy down to the next generation, a tradition most Patek Philippe customers follow with their watches.
subir fotos onlinePatek Philippe combines this plus with the mastery of these complicated mechanisms and the ability to create models that are able to interpret the eras and move across time, to the delight of collectors and connoisseurs alike. “Fans come together due to their desire for quality, their obsession with perfection and the idea of possessing something that others do not,” said Thierry Stern, Vice President of Patek Philippe. “Collectors check that the hands fall at the right time and precision is an “asset” that must last throughout time: we expect our watches to be precise for life. With the current economic crisis, requests for our standard watches have dropped by five to ten percent, while requests for watches with great complications have increased by twenty to thirty percent, since they are considered to be a more secure investment than the others.”
