Patek Philippe

• Author(s): Nicholas Foulkes,
• Publisher: Preface
• Pages: 544
• ISBN_10: 1848094620
  ISBN_13: 9781848094628
  
• Language: en
• Categories: Antiques & Collectibles / Clocks & Watches , Biography & Autobiography / General , Biography & Autobiography / Artists, Architects, Photographers , Biography & Autobiography / Business , Business & Economics / Corporate & Business History , Design / Fashion & Accessories , History / Europe / Western ,

Description:...

Founded in Geneva in 1839 and still to this day a family owned company Patek Philippe makes what are widely regarded the worldâe(tm)s finest mechanical watches, among them, the most valuable watch ever made, the famous 1933 pocket-watch, known as âe~The Graves Supercomplicationâe(tm) which sold at auction in 2014 for US$23,934,000. A cult amongst collectors, its timepieces have been treasured by kings and princes, rockstars and sportsmen. Notable customers of the storied Swiss watchmaker include Queen Victoria, and her great great grand daughter HM Queen Elizabeth II.

Drawing on exclusive interviews with its owners and with workers and watchmakers past and present as well as on hitherto unseen documents from the companyâe(tm)s archives, Patek Philippe: The Authorized Biography celebrates the history of a unique company. Nicholas Foulkes traces the Patek Philippe history from founder Antoine Norbert de Patekâe(tm)s early life in Poland as a young cavalry officer fighting in a doomed uprising, recounts his exile, his life in Geneva. His meeting with gifted watchmaker Adrien Philippe and the 1932 purchase by the Stern family who over four generations have turned it into the legend that it is today.

âeoeâe~I am very pleased to see the history of my familyâe(tm)s company come to life in this excellent volume. This is the first time that the Patek Philippe archive has been accessed and brought to life in a factual and definitive work. Nicholas Foulkes has perfectly recreated the atmosphere and details of our 175-year journey.âe(tm)

Philippe Stern, honorary president of Patek Philippe