Built To Last

Watchmakers go to great lengths to ensure their creations can be passed down for generations

- Christian Barker

When I interviewed Patek Philippe’s president Thierry Stern last year, he glanced at the very respectable Swiss timepiece on my wrist and remarked, “Take that for servicing in 30 years’ time, and they’ll tell you, ‘Sorry, buy a new watch.’” However, it will always be possible to service, fix or restore a Patek Philippe, claims Stern. “This is the only brand worldwide that is still able to repair every watch it has produced since the beginning,” he states, an assertion no competitor has refuted.

Four generations of the Stern family have owned and operated Patek since 1932, but the watchmaker’s history goes back much further, to 1839. It is by no means the oldest Swiss watchmaker—Blancpain was established in 1735, Jaquet Droz began work in 1738, and Vacheron Constantin, founded in 1755, is the oldest watchmaker in continuous operation. Nevertheless, Patek possesses history aplenty. At the company’s Geneva headquarters, detailed records are kept of each of the million or so timepieces made over the years since Antoine Norbert de Patek and Jean Adrien Philippe cemented their legendary partnership.

The company’s sense of legacy underpins its advertising slogan: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” Patek’s long history offers some reassurance to collectors that their descendants will be able to keep a timepiece purchased from the watchmaker today in fully functional condition, for many decades to come.