Patek
Philippe & Co. is one of the most
famous and expensive brands of wrist watches in the world. Patek
Philippe is currently owned by the Stern family. Many watch collectors
regard Patek Philippe timepieces as the best in the world.
Over the years, Patek Philippe watches have been worn by a number
of notable individuals, including members of royalty, movie stars
and tycoons. Albert Einstein was also a customer. The company is
one of the few notable watch companies that still make all movements
in house.
Antoni
Patek started making pocket watches in 1839 in Geneva, along with
his fellow Polish migrant Franciszek Czapek. They separated in 1844,
and in 1845 Patek joined with the French watchmaker Adrien Philippe,
inventor of the keyless winding mechanism. In 1851, Patek Philippe
& Co was founded.
In
1868, Patek Philippe made their first wristwatch. They have
also pioneered the perpetual calendar, split-seconds hand, chronograph
and minute repeater in watches. The company has produced quartz
watches in the past and even a digital wrist watch.
Patek
Philippe is also the creator of the most complicated mechanical
watch ever made, the Calibre 89, created for the 150th anniversary
of the company in 1989. It holds 33 complications, including the
date of Easter, a thermometer, time of sunrise, equation of time,
sidereal time, and many other indicators. The Calibre 89 is also
able to add a day to February for leap years while leaving out the
extra day for every 100 year interval.
Patek
Philippe produces a number of collectible watches. In the 150
year history of the company, they have produced approximately 600,000
timepieces in total - less than the annual production of Rolex.
Patek
Philippe produced an ultra-complicated (with 24 functions) pocket-watch
for Henry Graves 111, who entered into a friendly horological competition
with James Packard, which resulted in the production of the watch
which sold to Mr. Graves in 1933, and re-sold in December, 1999
for in excess of 11,000,000 U.S. dollars.
In
2005 the company introduced the revolutionary Silicium escapement
wheel to the industry.
