Patek Philippe

Patek Philippe traces its origins to 1 May 1839, when Antoni Patek and Franciszek Czapek founded Patek, Czapek & Cie in Geneva. After the partners separated, Patek joined forces in 1845 with the French watchmaker Adrien Philippe, inventor of a keyless winding and setting mechanism, and the firm took the name Patek, Philippe & Cie in 1851. In 1932 the Stern family, then dial makers, acquired the company; it remains family-owned and independent today. The same year saw the launch of the Calatrava, the round dress watch that still anchors the collection.

The company is known for complicated watches: it patented a perpetual calendar mechanism in 1889 and produced a perpetual calendar wristwatch in 1925. The Nautilus, designed by Gérald Genta in 1976, and the Aquanaut of 1997 form the sports side of the range. Since 2009 movements carry the Patek Philippe Seal in place of the Geneva Seal. Headquarters are in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva.