TRUE HOROLOGICAL ARTISTRY
Watchmaking has been associated with decorative arts for over 400 years and Patek Philippe is known as a leader in preserving the rare crafts of watchmaking — placing great emphasis on specialised forms of craftsmanship such as engraving, guilloching, enamelling, marquetry, skeletonising and related techniques by giving them prominence on the cases, bracelets and dials of its most precious timepieces.
Today, the manufacturer is also actively supporting craftsmen who are still able to master these artisan skills and persuade them to share their knowhow with up-and-coming craftspeople.
For its 175th anniversary celebrations, Patek Philippe spared no effort to find and enlist the best specialists to convert 40 commemorative timepieces into true horological artistry: 20 wristwatches as well as 20 Dome table clocks and pocket watches with their respective holders.
They all pay tribute to the different engraving, enamelling, grisaille, wood marquetry, guilloching and haute joaillerie gem-setting techniques, individually and in combinations.
For these 40 pieces works of art, no motif could be more appropriate than the city of Geneva in which the company still owns the original lake-view headquarters on Rue du Rhône. Incidentally, for many years, the company’s honorary president Philippe Stern was a respected regatta skipper on Lac Léman, as Genevans call their lake, famous for its traditional lateen-rigged sail boats and for the Bol d’Or Regatta, one of Europe’s foremost inland sailing competitions. Now, such motifs adorn a collection of 40 unique, limited-edition models featuring eclectic handcraft techniques.