We have been asked a question: “Why is Patek Philippe considered by many to be the best watch brand in the world?” There are several key reasons why this ancient Swiss watch brand is regarded as the industry’s benchmark. Here, we take a closer look at the brand.
Patek Philippe is easily one of the most respected watch brands in the world. This is largely because the company has never stopped innovating, has always controlled production and distribution, and maintained an independent watch brand status. For these reasons, the brand is one of the most sought after brands for its new watches and antiques.
History and Archives
Patek Philippe was founded in 1839, formerly known as Patek Philippe Czapek & Cie, and now has a long and substantial history. In 1851, when Antoine Norbert de Patek and Jean Adrien Philippe joined forces, the company was renamed Patek Philippe. In the 180 years since its inception, the brand has regularly launched watches that have won global awards for innovation in watchmaking and design. The long history has given the brand a wealth of inspiration, as well as a wealth of archives. In fact, the company established one of the world’s most extensive watch museums in the center of Geneva, where it fully demonstrated its history and creativity.
Watchmaking expertise and innovation
Patek Philippe (Patek Philippe) has always created the best watches. Guided by the desire for innovation in watch complexity and function, the brand has produced some of the world’s most complex watches. And continue to do so. In fact, Patek Philippe has very high standards in the surface treatment and assembly of parts and watches, so the Patek Philippe seal has been established. The brand standard set by the seal is even higher than the Geneva Seal that most brands desire. All Patek Philippe watches are hand-made (once the CNC machine cuts the materials and components with extremely high precision), hand-finished and hand-assembled. The brand employs the best watchmakers, many of whom are multi-generation watchmakers. It even hired its own artisans internally to participate in carving, enamel, carving and exquisite hand painting. In short, everything the brand creates, from simple watches to complex watches, from pocket watches to rare handmade watches, are of the highest quality.
Exploration of double signature watches
Provenance is an important part of collecting antique watches for sale. In addition to all the bumps, scratches, and patina that appear during this process, tracking the life of the watch is critical for many people. In particular, a function may be to instantly display the life of the watch. Double signature. The name of the retailer engraved on the dial immediately provides you with a starting point for understanding the watch. Not only that, but the history behind the brand has rapidly doubled due to the historical connection between the brand and the retailer.
Before building familiar brands, and before there are boutiques and important online businesses around the world, they rely heavily on the retailer network. This allows them to enter markets that were otherwise difficult to penetrate from Swiss manufacturers. Beyer and Gübelin played an important role in strengthening respect for Patek Philippe and Rolex in German-speaking countries. As for Serpico Y Laino, they allow both brands to take advantage of the surge in wealth that occurred in Venezuela in the 1930s and 1940s. Part of Patek Philippe’s reputation and respect in the United States is based on Tiffany & Co’s more than 100 years of efforts to promote the development of the brand. From exotic places like Caracas to Liverpool,
Since there are no physical stores like Rolex or Patek Philippe in these regions, retailers have accumulated real power to control which watches are sold in their cities or countries. This power has brought respect and recognition from customers. When people began to trust and recognize the names of their local stores on the watches in the window, this triggered a quiet revolution in branding and marketing, which would enable the giants of the luxury industry to share a precious dial.
Evolving market
This partnership is rarely seen in any other sector of the luxury industry. Initially starting with practical considerations to help manufacturers expand their global reach, it has now evolved into a detail that collectors are after. In fact, the name of the retailer on the dial greatly increases the value of some of the most valuable watches.
Although these items can now demand a premium at the auction, not long ago, people were not very optimistic about them. Virginie Liatard-Roessli, the head of the watch division of Phillips, and the sales chief of its Double Signed theme sales in 2019 said, “Only five or six years ago, their market was good, but people were not double-signed. Attracted by the watch.”
However, things have changed and this trend has now spread to modern works. Demand is so high that the 5711/1A purchased from Tiffany and stamped with Tiffany’s stamps in July 2018 was sold at the Phillips Auction House at five times its original value. Just four months later. As collectors continue to develop and improve their collection priorities, it seems that many people are aiming at the dual-signature dial. Romanticism, intrigue and rarity combine to form a powerful combination.
“The Tiffany signatures on Patek Philippe watches are almost always added in the United States, which is interesting, and few people realize this.”
In the past, and even in recent times, the subdivision of the dial stamping process has led to various interesting quirks and changes. For example, Ben Clymer recently publicly shared his Patek Philippe 5170P, which was stamped by Tiffany at 12 o’clock instead of 6 o’clock. For Clymer, this unique placement was a mistake in the stamping process and was part of the motivation to buy this work. These interesting little details continue to help attract many antique and modern collectors.
As early as the early days of Patek Philippe, Antoni Patek, the marketing and business unit of the new watch brand, regularly traveled to the United States to promote its watches. In 1847, after completing one of its trips to the United States, Patek met Tiffany at the last stop in New York. It is said that they immediately liked each other. When Patek Philippe returned to Switzerland, he found that Tiffany had already placed orders for 150 watches, which was quite impressive at the time. A few years later, in 1876, Tiffany formalized this arrangement and announced that the jeweler would participate in Patek Philippe’s affairs in the United States as if they were their own. Although this relationship has developed over the years, it is still as strong today as ever.
The combination of these two brands is respected for their durability, exclusivity, and a different but complementary understanding of luxury in Switzerland and the United States, which means that their double signature dial appeal is second to none. To date, Tiffany & Co. is the only retailer that can still print its name alongside Patek Philippe, which illustrates the strength of their partnership.
Although the modern sports watch market around Tiffany’s stamp has aroused heated discussions, the classic vintage timepiece has stood the test of time and attracted collectors. Like @vntgbug, it’s what Tiffany’s collectors of antique and modern printed Patek Philippe works (including 2499) said: “This marks the solidity between two powerful countries with more than 170 years of history The bond. Coupled with the rarity and the lesser number of works on the market, collectors can start buying.”
However, this New York jeweler also played an important role in expanding the influence of other watch brands. In particular, it has established a strong cooperative relationship with Rolex. Beginning in the mid-1950s, Tiffany will sell Rolex dials on their stamps from the 5th Avenue Store. Interestingly, they will change the position of their signature according to the type of watch, so as not to create a design balance with the added text. The Tiffany stamp of a wearable watch should be under Rolex, but above the hands. As for their movement model, it will be placed under the hand, but just above the other lines of text.
It is believed that all this was done on site by Tiffany until Rolex began to instruct the dial manufacturer to stamp all watches cheap issued to the jeweler before leaving the factory. This may be to ease Tiffany’s burden, or it may be another example of Rolex wishing to incorporate all of its processes internally. After all, manufacturers are known for their strict control of production. Nevertheless, Tiffany continued to stamp himself after receiving the Rolex dial, which is why the stamping time of these watches is different.
Patek Philippe (Patek Philippe) is closer to the manufacturer in addition. Retailers and watchmakers have many things in common. They are all family businesses that have been passed down through generations, each developing individually and focusing on tradition.
As Herold can tell us, this relationship stems from Patek Philippe’s expansionist spirit. Patek Philippe is not a watchmaker, but a businessman. He is very passionate about business prosperity. Therefore, he not only expanded to London, New York and other places, but also sold more and more pocket watches inside Switzerland. “
Although this relationship exists for a long time, this connection can be illustrated by a special reference story: Perpetual Calendar 3940. Patek Philippe’s Philippe Stern launched the reference in 1985, when the industry was in a turbulent period and was recovering from this situation. Quartz crisis. At a time when the manufacturer gradually got rid of the tradition instead of embracing it, he launched the bold 3940, with the help of his close friend Theodore Beyer.
To celebrate the 225th anniversary of Chronometrie Beyer, the first 25 models were numbered and the Beyer mark was placed on the dial. The first is a gift for Bayer himself. Beyer has played an important role in publishing Patek Philippe’s important reference documents. This fact should tell you all about the close connection between retailers and manufacturers.
You can also get limited editions from manufacturers to help retailers celebrate various occasions and anniversaries, just like Patek Philippe Fake did for Wempe. The watch brand is still like Breitling and Bremont, uniting with military units, adding a military logo to the dial, and providing it exclusively to the unit or squadron. As collectors seek exclusivity and uniqueness, this practice seems unlikely to disappear. As Wind said, “Given that modern watch buyers increasingly want something special, unlike what others have, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the return of more double-signed new watches. Customization is future.”