Over 20 years ago, Patek Philippe had unified all of its operating and production units from a scattering of facilities across Geneva into a central campus in Plan Les Ouates. While that might seem good business sense, it was a high risk decision made during the 1995-96 period of industry turmoil. Yet, two decades down the line Thierry Stern…
The 2017 edition of the Grammys was largely quiet in terms of spotting watches, or was it? We know rapper Jay Z is a watch connoisseur and has many timepieces from notable brands. What he was wearing on the evening was pretty epic but went under the radar because it was difficult to see under the cuff of his shirt.…
In the world of vintage watches, Patek Philippe’s chronographs with perpetual calendars occupy a category of their own. They are benchmarks in the industry, and that goes especially for the Reference 2499, which we examine here.
Introduced in 1996, the Patek Philippe annual calendar has had a stellar run, becoming of the brand’s bestsellers. Thanks to its modular construction, the annual calendar mechanism has been fitted to a variety of base movements, but its most classic form is arguably the window-type display found on the various versions of the ref. 5396. […]
The first weekend of November 2016 was a big one for me: in addition to attending the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, I collected not one, not two, but three spectacular watches. The watch I left home certain to bring back was one that I had been waiting patiently for since January 2016: the split-seconds chronograph Reference 5370P from Patek Philippe. Here’s why I bought it.
On the left bank of the Rhone, a scant 10km away from Geneva’s city center ,sits Patek Philippe’s Home at Plan-Les-Ouates. “Ouates” is pronounced “whu-at” phonetically, lends the municipality an easy nickname derived from a phonetic pun symbolic of what the region has come to represent – Plan-Les-Watch; for Patek…
Invented in the 1930s, long before the proliferation of commercially available jet travel, world time watches captured the imagination of its onlookers with its dial; displaying real time in key cities across the planet’s 24 time zones. From exotic locales like Rio de Janeiro and Tahiti, the genius of Geneva watchmaker Louis Cottier…
The term “God of Gamblers” was derived from the eponymous Hong Kong made movie, all thanks to the lead character Ko Chun’s (portrayed by Chow Yun-fat) incredible gambling skills. The movie had subsequently generated many sequels and spin-offs, and it has somehow became a staple every Lunar New Year. …
Today is officially the second day of the Lunar New Year, but the season of festive celebrations have just barely started. Traditionally, the celebrations last over 15 days, which means that there is effectively almost two weeks’ worth of festivities to go.…
Anyone who visits online watch forums with any frequency very likely comes across at least a few heated discussions of “finishing,” a topic that seems to fascinate, and divide, enthusiasts. What is it and why are opinions divided?