Patek Philippe creative director Sandrine Stern on the brand’s metier d’art creations

WHY HAS PATEK PHILIPPE DECIDED TO HOLD THIS RARE HANDCRAFTS EXHIBITION IN GENEVA?

This is the second time we’re holding the exhibition at the Geneva salon. At the annual Baselworld watch fair, it’s more for press and retailers, but it’s good to share what we do with the public. Patek Philippe is from Geneva, so it’s good to show the locals the kind of work that we do.

WHAT IS THE CREATION PROCESS LIKE?

It’s really teamwork. The designers and I work together with the artisans to create the pieces. It’s important to create, I feel. For example, enamels don’t contain every single colour we need. So we try to create the colours we need. We have to stay open to ideas and suggestions, or else, everything will look the same and there won’t be the element of surprise.

WHAT MAKES A METIER D’ART WATCH A PATEK PHILIPPE ONE?

There’s no marketing brief for us. We don’t really talk about cost and how much we should push for each watch. Instead, we ask ourselves what’s the maximum we can push ourselves. In fact, in terms of prices, there’s not a big gap between other brands’ artistic pieces and ours. But there’s a big quality difference. Plus, it’s not just fine aesthetics for our watches; it’s also a good watch beneath.