As the USA celebrates Independence this July 4th, at Collectability we celebrate Patek Philippe’s own independence with three classic Patek Philippe watches that embrace the symbolism of red, white and blue. First, a short history lesson to remind us why red, white and blue are significant on this special anniversary. The flag of the United … Continued
Patek Philippe has always made watches for the highest echelons of society. From the very beginning, Antoine Norbert de Patek sold his timepieces to the customer base he knew best: members of the Polish aristocracy. Among the privileged few throughout Europe, news traveled fast about Patek’s exceptional timepieces. The super-rich of the late 1800s, early … Continued
Over the past ten years, it would be hard to identify another person who has had as much influence over the digital and social media evolution of the watch industry as Ben Clymer. The launch of Hodinkee as a digital platform around 2011 completely changed the way we learnt about watches and the industry. Over … Continued
It could be said that the definition of a great design is one that begs the question, “Why didn’t I think of that?” At the 1996 Basel Fair, the watch industry must have been asking itself the exact same question when it first saw the Patek Philippe Annual Calendar ref. 5035. This never-before-seen movement did … Continued
The superlative Patek Philippe accessory What is the ultimate Patek Philippe accessory? There is strong competition from elegant cufflinks, key chains, and even rings, but nothing can compare to the Golden Ellipse lighter. Created in the late 1970s, but made with 19th-century finishing techniques, these accessories captivate even non-watch collectors. And specialist lighter collectors have … Continued
Two thousand years ago, Euclid discovered an enduring principle of aesthetic proportion known as the Golden Section. So perfect are the proportions of this design principle that the Renaissance mathematician Luca Pacioli renamed it De Divina Proportione, the ratio 1 to 1.6181 that dictates the perfect point at which to divide a line into two … Continued
