From Patek’s first meeting with Mr. Tiffany in 1847, and consistently until the end of the 1980s, it is estimated that over half of all Patek Phillippe timepieces were sold in the US. The following chronology traces this extraordinary relationship. 1839 Antoine Norbert de Patek (1812-1877), Francois Czapek (1811- died after 1869), and a M. … Continued
During the late 1950s, Patek Philippe developed and marketed its first anti-magnetic wristwatch references. These watches were made in response to increased demand for high quality Swiss watches that could be used by professionals who had constant exposure to high degrees of magnetism such as electrical engineers, scientists and doctors. In such professions, a normal, … Continued
At Collectability, we are often asked which books one should read to learn more about Patek Philippe. Thankfully, the list continues to grow due to new scholarship and writers who are pushing the benchmark higher and higher. Here we’ve tried to list all the books on the manufacture and its watches written to date so … Continued
From 1971 until 1995, all watches made in Switzerland with gold applied markers or gold dial plates were required to have the ‘APRIOR’ logo (often called ‘sigma,’ after the Greek letter) marked on the dial. APRIOR stands for Association pour la Promotion Industrielle de l’Or. With Patek Philippe watches from this period, the APRIOR mark … Continued
In this ongoing series, you will learn the ‘secrets’ of the world of Patek Philippe. We will explore questions ranging from the logic behind reference numbers, the meaning of import codes, the insanely cryptic system of dial codes, and marks on your Patek timepieces that you never knew were there. For the first installment, I … Continued
Neither an Ellipse, nor a Nautilus, the Nautilus-Ellipse hybrid ref. 3770 is both gently mocked and celebrated. It is the kind of watch that raises eyebrows among collectors as well as those uninitiated in the world of watches. So why does the Nautellipse exist? When I first saw this reference in 1997, I was cataloging … Continued
Bernie Cornfeld was a former social worker turned investment guru who founded the IOS, Investors Overseas Services. In its heyday in the 1960s, his investment company controlled over 2.5 billion USD in assets and he had over 15,000 people in his sales force. His famous pitch was ‘Do you sincerely want to be rich?’, and … Continued
In the history of horology, there have been few times more dynamic and more impactful in terms of progress than the Quartz Revolution. This period in the 60s and 70s changed the face of watchmaking forever. It was the pinnacle of hundreds of years of development in the quest for timekeeping accuracy as well as … Continued
As those in the know like to say, ‘If it’s good enough for Henry Graves, Jr…’. Mr. Graves bought his first coin watch on June 29, 1928 on the eve of the Great Depression. This early example, one of the first-ever made by Patek Philippe, led to an entire line of coin watches offered throughout … Continued
The mysterious ‘Horology_Ancienne‘ has captured the imagination of the entire Patek IG collecting community, and I think an unnamed father and son team on IG sharing their love of watches as true collectors is a wonderful story in itself. They have never granted an interview before and prefer to stay out of the public eye. … Continued
Collectability in depth shares detailed interviews with notable figures in the Patek Philippe collecting world. I am delighted to start this series with Dogu Tasoren, aka art_of_horology_ and formerly _vintage_vacheron_constantin on Instagram. If you don’t follow his infectious collecting journey, you are missing out. Below, Dogu generously discusses his passion for Patek Philippe and many … Continued
Wearing the ref. 2526, and experiencing it up close, gave me the opportunity to really appreciate the nuances of this model. The dial is superior to anything I have ever had on my wrist before: the way the light hits the enamel and changes at every angle has to be seen to be fully appreciated. … Continued
