CORTINA WATCH X PATEK PHILIPPE
The partnership between Cortina Watch and Patek Philippe transcends continents and generations, held up by a singular bond shared by two intertwined families
THE LEGACY PATEK PHILIPPE— the last independent, family-owned Genevan manufacture—was built not only through its absolute mastery of traditional watchmaking but also the family and generational ties that has become intertwined in the brand’s DNA. Unsurprisingly, this extends to the relationship between Patek Philippe and its partners all around the globe. And this brings us to the enduring, intergenerational friendship between Patek Philippe and Cortina Watch.
Back in 1935, Henri Stern—son of Charles Stern who, together with his brother Jean, acquired Patek Philippe in 1932—started to travel around the world to help with the brand’s expansion. In one of his trips, he encountered a humble watch salesman named Anthony Lim. It was, one could say, a fated meeting and the beginning of an incredible friendship spanning decades. “It was 63 years ago since I first met with Mr. Henri Stern and Mr. Philippe Stern,” Anthony Lim, founder of Cortina Watch, recalls today. “Two families, three generations of friendship, it is a bond that we truly cherish.”
This friendship would be put to the test during the infamous Quartz Crisis. Cortina Watch was established in 1972, at the height of what can only be described as the most disruptive period for the global watch industry. Many brands ended up folding or bowed down to the inevitable and switched to producing quartz watches. Patek Philippe famously refused to budge and instead strengthened its commitment to mechanical calibers in the tradition of Swiss watchmaking.
At the same time, Cortina Watch—under the leadership of Anthony Lim—continued to build and strengthen its bonds with brands that still championed mechanical timepieces. With a bond already in place and now with this shared vision, Cortina Watch went on to become the very first official dealer for Patek Philippe in the region through its first boutique along Colombo Court. While the watch industry at large still struggled to find its footing, the close relationship between Anthony Lim and Philippe Stern—son of Henri Stern; and here we can see the intergenerational bonds coming into play—allowed both companies and both families to not only endure, but grow.
The same resolve also helped Cortina Watch weather the economic turmoil of the 1980s. While the retail business as a whole faced the challenge of increased overheads, Raymond Lim, the oldest son of Anthony Lim, pioneered the shop-in-shop concept in Singapore’s up-and-coming shopping malls including Paragon, Raffles City and Millenia Walk. The success of these ventures opened the way for the establishment of Patek Philippe’s standalone boutiques in “the little red dot.”
“The strong foundation between the families allows us to have unreserved communications,” Raymond Lim, currently Deputy CEO of Cortina Watch, remarked, “and also give us the ability to set longer term strategies together that would transcend through generations.”
At the dawn of the 21st century, it was Thierry Stern (son of Philippe Stern, currently President of Patek Philippe) and Jeremy Lim (the youngest son of Anthony Lim, currently Chief Operating Officer of Cortina Watch) that would lead this partnership through yet another major crisis, namely the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression. Like their fathers and their grandfathers before them, they persevered. Better yet, against all odds, they prospered, with the Patek Philippe boutique at the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands— established in 2008—becoming one of their generation’s most notable milestones. This was then followed by expansion into Hong Kong, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.
What truly makes the partnership between Cortina Watch and Patek Philippe so special are the many personal, heartwarming moments between the two families at the helm of each company. For instance, in 1997, Philippe Stern proposed the idea for a special watch to celebrate Cortina Watch’s 25th anniversary. The resulting model, the Patek Philippe Cortina Jubilee 5057R 18K Rose Gold Limited Edition Automatic, remains a highly sought-after specimen even today.
Then in 2015, Philippe Stern himself attended Anthony Lim’s 80th birthday celebrations. There, the former presented the latter with a special gift: A white gold Calatrava Ref. 5227, with a special engraving on the case back that read “Happy 80th Birthday, Philippe et Thierry Stern.” It certainly added a beautiful note to a story of two gentlemen whose fortunes have been so closely intertwined and that of the enduring friendship between the storied Genevan watchmaker and Singapore’s most prominent watch retailer.