Art of timekeeping
Luxury watchmaker holds grand exhibition in New York, which opens on Thursday.
FROM Thursday till July 23, luxury watchmaker Patek Philippe presents The Art of Watches, Grand Exhibition New York 2017 which will be held at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York, the United States.
The 10-day public exhibition showcases Patek Philippe’s tradition of high-precision watch manufacturing, an insight into the company’s 178-year history as well as its heritage in the domain of haute horologerie. Visitors will have the opportunity to discover the world of the last privately family-owned Geneva watch company from the inside.
For the first time ever, a two-storey structure has been created within Cipriani to accommodate the space required for an exhibition of this scale.
Ten specific rooms (including US Historic Room, Theater Room, Current Collection Room, Museum Room, Rare Handcrafts and Grand Complications Room) have been created to showcase unique environments. For instance, exhibited items in the US Historic Room include a quartz-powered desk clock, which was presented to President John F. Kennedy by the mayor of West Berlin in June 1963 during Kennedy’s trip.
Visitors will have access to exceptional pocket and wrist watches dating back to 1530 in a space of 1,228sq m.
Watchmaker and artisan demonstrations are some of the interactive activities taking place as a way to educate visitors on the inner-workings of fine watch-making. After visitors have concluded their tour, they can rest and relax in the Patek Philippe Café.
“From its earliest days, when our founder Antoine Norbert de Patek made his first journey to America in the 1850s until today, the importance of the country to Patek Philippe can be seen through our history exhibited in this exhibition,” said Thierry Stern, Patek Philippe president.
Larry Pettinelli, president of Patek Philippe US, added: “We are proud to have been allowed this rare opportunity to educate the public not only about Patek Philippe, but also the historical significance of timekeeping through the ages.”
According to Jasmina Steele, the international communication and public relations director of Patek Philippe, the exhibition’s aim is to recreate elements of the company that will provide an experience for each visitor.
“By offering visitors an immersion inside the world of Patek Philippe, we really want to share our passion for watch-making and hope visitors will come out of the exhibition with a greater knowledge and appreciation of the art of watches,” said Steele.
The exhibition is open to the general public and free of charge from 10am to 7pm daily, with extended hours to 9pm on July 20.
For more details, visit www. patek.com.