Patrick Getreide
The OAK Collection
Special orders with unique dialcolour choices; unusual Patek
Philippe references including enamel-dial pieces from the 1950s; a Cosmograph Daytona that has been into space; a piece one of the founding fathers of post-fascist Italy gave to his surgeon for saving his life after an assassination attempt.
These are merely a handful of the 160 timepieces, curated down from many hundreds by their owner, French businessman Patrick Getreide, that make up the OAK Collection: one of the finest private assemblages of watches in the world, which debuted at the Design Museum in London this spring.
As well as the watches’ singularity (‘OAK’ stands for ‘one of a kind’), what makes Getreide’s collection so compelling is his borderline obsession with watches being in flawless and fully functioning condition (a clause that necessitates the employment of a full-time watchmaker).
Few private collectors of this magnitude go public with their pieces. What has persuaded Getreide to do so? “I’ve had paintings shown in museums,” he tells Robb Report during an exclusive preview of the collection, “and I believe that watches are art in the same way – they deserve to be shared with people.”