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Patek Philippe & Co.

Patek Philippe SA
Private
Industry Fine Watchmaking
Founded 1839 (Patek, Czapek & Cie.)
1851 (Patek Philippe & Cie.)
Founder Antoni Patek
Adrien Philippe
Headquarters Plan-les-Ouates, GE, Switzerland
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Philippe Stern,
Honorary President
Thierry Stern,
President
Claude Peny,
CEO
Products Watches
Revenue Increase 1.3 billion CHF (2016)
Number of employees
2,000+
Website patek.com

Patek Philippe & Co. is a Swiss watch manufacturer founded in 1851, located in Geneva and the Vallée de Joux. It designs and manufactures timepieces and movements, including some of the most complicated mechanical watches. It is considered by many experts and aficionados to be one of the more prestigious watch manufacturers. Past owners of Patek Philippe watches include Pope Pius IX, Queen Victoria, Victor Emanuel III of Italy, Christian IX of Denmark, and Albert Einstein.

Polish watchmaker Antoni Patek started making pocket watches in 1839 in Geneva, along with his fellow Czech-born Polish partner Franciszek Czapek. They separated in 1844, and in 1845 Patek joined with the French watchmaker Adrien Philippe, inventor of the keyless winding mechanism. Patek Philippe & Co was founded in 1851. Patek Philippe popularized the perpetual calendar, split-seconds hand, chronograph, and minute repeater in watches.

In 1935, the manufacturer was brought to American markets by New York-based Henri Stern Watch Agency, where it was sold as a sister brand alongside Universal Genève. Alan Banbery, who previously designed Universal's "Compax" movements and worked as a horologist for London's Garrard & Co, would take on the position of director of sales in 1965 and later authored official reference books on vintage Patek Philippe pocketwatches and chronographs.


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