A bluffer’s guide to Patek Philippe
HISTORY
Co-founder Antoine Norbert de Patek originally began his Genevan business in 1839 with fellow Polish immigrant François Czapek. Czapek was sidelined in 1844 and replaced a year later by Frenchman Jean Adrien Philippe, inventor of the keyless winding and setting system.
INNOVATION
One of Patek’s legion of innovations is the time-zone adjustment system seen most recently in the Nautilus Travel Time Chronograph (pictured top right). Patented in 1959, it gives a watch two buttons for moving local time backwards and forwards in one-hour jumps.
DESIGN
Close your eyes and think of an archetypal watch design and you’ll almost certainly see Patek’s Calatrava (right, £14,520). The iconic round-cased watch was introduced in 1932.
COMPLICATIONS
For its 175th anniversary, Patek has made the most complicated wristwatch in its history. The Grandmaster Chime has 20 complications, including five that you can hear. Its most complicated pocket watch is the Calibre 89, which has 33.
FAMOUS COLLECTORS
Patek converts are a diverse bunch and include Albert Einstein, Charlie Sheen and Andy Warhol. Eric Clapton is a fan, too. His platinum perpetual calendar chronograph sold at auction for £2.3m in 2012.