Patek Philippe The company known today as Patek Philippe was founded in Geneva in 1839 by an exiled Polish nobleman, Count Antoine Norbert de Patek and his compatriot Francois Czapek. The earliest watches were signed Patek, Czapek & Co. until 1845 when Czapek left the partnership. Several years later the company was joined by French watchmaker, Jean Adrien Philippe, who later became the inventor of their famous stem-winding and hand-setting mechanism, a modern and reliable concept. From May 1845 to January 1851 the firm was known as Patek & Co.; Philippe lent his name to the company in 1851 when he became a full partner. Among the reasons for their initial success was the high standard of watchmaking and practicality of Philippe?s new stem-winding system. In the early years of the partnership, Queen Victoria of England herself was already a client. From the middle of the 19th century, Patek Philippe assumed a leading role in the Swiss watchmaking industry by raising the standards of workmanship and timekeeping through the introduction of technical improvements (the free mainspring, the sweep-seconds hand), in addition to implementing improvements to regulators, chronographs, and perpetual calendar mechanisms. As early as 1867 at the Paris exhibition, Patek Philippe displayed watches featuring functions that were to become the standard for complicated watches at the beginning of the 20th century, namely a perpetual calendar, a repeater and a chronograph with split-seconds. The two most complicated watches of all time were made by Patek Philippe. The first, made for Henry Graves Jr. of New York, was completed at the beginning of the century, and the second, the Calibre 89, the world?s most complicated watch, completed in 1989 (hence the name) to mark the firm?s 150th anniversary. In 1932 Patek Philippe changed hands, and its new owners became Charles and Jean Stern. Shortly after World War II, Patek Philippe established an electronics division, and in the 1950?s the company pioneered quartz technology, filing several patents and winning multiple awards. Subsequently, the firm passed into the capable hands of Henri Stern. Today, Patek Philippe S.A. of Geneva is still a family company, under the direction of its President, Mr. Philippe Stern. The firm has traditionally made complete timepieces, watches and solar clocks, employing craftsmen who are master-watchmakers capable of designing and finishing the most complicated watch movements. Other specialists, such as goldsmiths, chainsmiths, enamelers, jewelers and engravers, complete the firm?s manufacturing capabilities. The firm?s clientele has included many famous figures across history, including royalty such as Queen Victoria, as well as distinguished scientists, artists, authors, and musicians inclu- ding Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Charlotte Brontë and Tchaikovsky. Today, clearly, most of the firm?s production consists of wristwatches, but Patek Philippe retains the ability to produce pocket watches and clocks to order, from highly complicated movements to those decorated with enameled miniature paintings and engravings. The company continues to patent new inventions and improvements in horology and plays an important role in maintaining the quality, prestige and reputation of the Swiss watchmaking industry. In November 2001, Patek Philippe made a highly significant contribution to the appreciation of the art of horology when the Patek Philippe museum was opened to the public. Exhibited in a quietly elegant and comfortable setting, over two thousand exceptional objects illustrate the history of Genevan horology from the 16th century until 1839, the date of the firm?s creation. One floor is entirely devoted to the most noteworthy creations of the Patek Philippe firm. Philippe Stern?s long-term strategy, that of combining present, future, and past, has paid off and has firmly established the company as a leader in the world market for collector?s watches. Today, Patek Philippe holds all world records, without exception, for prices of collector?s pieces, whether it be for wristwatches or for pocket watches. Philip Stern is the man behind the incredible anachronism of hand-finished watches in today?s world of mass production. He first joined Patek Philippe, his family?s business, in 1966, in order to gradually take over the company?s day-to-day responsibilities. It was his grandfather, Charles Stern, who bought Patek Philippe in 1932. The Stern family previously had close links with the Company, as they were Patek Philippe?s long-time suppliers of watch dials. Philippe Stern, however, is not a watchmaker; he is a businessman with a sound background in business administration and computers, which helps him to run this exclusive business like clockwork. A graduate of the University of Geneva in Business Administration and Economics, Stern worked in the computer business in Germany before joining the Henri Stern Watch Agency in New York, wholesalers of Patek Philippe watches in the USA, and founded by his father. Mr. Stern learned the watch trade from the basics, through stock control and visiting customers and retailers throughout the US, during his period in New York between 1963 and 1966. He continued learning the Patek Philippe business when he returned to Geneva, the head office of Patek Philippe and his hometown in 1966. He worked through the various departments, coordinating stock supplies, administration, bookkeeping and commercial activities until finally taking over the day-to-day running of the Company from his father. Outside of the office, Mr. Stern enjoys a variety of sports. He is a keen skier, previously a member of the Swiss national ski team, and the University World Ski Champion in 1961. He is also a keen sailor and has won many Swiss championships and regattas on Lake Geneva.