In the horological world, Patek Philippe, along with Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille, is one of the Big Four privately owned watchmakers, accounting for nearly 44 per cent of the sales of the Swiss watch industry. Despite the size of its business, however, the 185-year-old Genevan brand remains very much a family-centred enterprise. Just consider its surfer-themed metiers d'art watch, named "Morning on the Beach", displayed at the Watches and Wonders trade fair in Geneva in April.
Featuring a surfer approaching the waves on a Californian beach, the tableau is created using traditional wood marquetry. A hundred tiny veneer pieces and 75 miniature inlays, derived from 23 species of wood of different colours and textures, are assembled to form this evocative image on a watch just 38.6mm in diameter. It is an unusually modern image among the Rare Handcrafts timepieces, which are more often decorated with images of flora and fauna. Perhaps even more unexpectedly, it is inspired by a personal experience of Thierry Stern, Patek Philippe president and fourth-generation head.
"I had been surfing," says the 53-year-old, speaking to Prestige Singapore in an exclusive interview at Watches and Wonders. "That was about a year ago. I tried surfing in the Mediterranean Sea," he recalls, adding ruefully, "The waves were not kind to me."
Wipeouts notwithstanding, that experience led to the creation of an outstanding timepiece. "I don't have a marketing brief telling me do this or that," he says with characteristic candour. "I do whatever I have in mind and what is fun. Very often, when you see these images (at Patek), it is because I have been travelling. When I see certain things, I'll think, ah, I have to keep this in mind."
INNOVATION WITH PURPOSE
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Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Prestige Singapore.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Brave New World
Dover Street Market finally opens its Paris boutique, its eighth and most extraordinary to date.
Spot Of Mystique
Cartier's Nature Sauvage high jewellery collection tells entrancing tales of a mysterious menagerie.
Wings Of Imagination
In an interview with Prestige Singapore in Hong Kong, Tiffany & Co chief artistic director NATHALIE VERDEILLE reveals how renowned Tiffany designer Jean Schlumberger inspired her second high jewellery collection for the house.
The Eyes Have It
Whether you're a cynic or a skincare enthusiast, knowledge of eye cream ingredients is your best bet to rejuvenate your gaze.
PRESTIGE WOMEN OF POWER 2024 LIFTING HALF THE SKY
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REFUGE FOUND
While Zhongdian in China won the bid to call itself \"Shangri-La\" in 2001, Lijiang to the south continues to draw stressed out-of-towners with its picturesque scenery, welcoming locals and slow pace of life.
A Vintage to Love
After tasting nearly 1,100 barrel samples of Bordeaux's 2023 vintage, the verdict is that it compares favourably to some of the region's great years, but with even more precise winemaking.
Sea of Opportunities
With all the science that points us to the needs and means of marine conservation, the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative shows that human will is most vital in our efforts to protect the oceans.
DANCING WITH TIME
After establishing the first modern Chinese luxury house, JIANG QIONG ER opens a new exhibition in Paris straddling art and design that fuses the past and the future.
On Your Marks
Since taking on the mantle as the official timekeeper of the Olympic Games back in 1932, Omega, too, has lived up to the competition's 'Faster, Higher, Stronger' credo.
