still in effect today.ĭuring the Great Depression, brothers Jean and Charles Stern, who had previously supplied Patek Philippe with watch dials, bought the company, and it continues to be run by the Stern family today. They also had their eye on the American market and in 1851 entered an arrangement with Tiffany & Co. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.Ĭatering to the glitterati of Europe, the pair counted among their clients Tolstoy, Pope Pius IX and Queen Victoria, as well as Countess Koscowicz of Hungary, for whom they created the first Swiss-made wristwatch in 1868. Czapek left the firm, and in 1845, Patek partnered with French watchmaker Jean Adrien Philippe. The house was founded in Geneva in 1839 by Polish expats Antoni Patek and Franciszek Czapek. Collectors simply love Patek Philippe watches. Known for impeccable craftsmanship and some of the most complicated timepieces ever created, the brand is considered by many to be the height of fine watchmaking. It shouldn’t be surprising that a Patek Philippe holds the world auction record for a watch ( $31.2 million for a Patek Grandmaster Chime, sold at Christie’s).
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