Patek Philippe: Luxurious watches with Polish heritage

Patek Philippe is one of the most famous Swiss watchmaker brands. Its timepieces are worn by stars, celebrities, affluent businesspeople and even royals. However, not may know that Patek Philippe timepieces would have never seen the time of day if it were not for the November Uprising and the migration that followed after the event.

The beginnings

It all began in the first half of the 19th century. Two Polish immigrants – Antoni Patek and Franciszek Czapek – settled in Switzerland. They were forced to relocated as a result of the failure of the November Uprising. Both men took part in the battle and Patek was awarded the War Order of Virtuti Militari. Czapek who was a watchmaker by profession arrived to Switzerland earlier than his friend, Patek. He founded his first company with a certain gentleman called Moreau but in 1839 Patek and Czapek became business partners.

Luxury niche

At the beginning the two men adopted a simple business plan: they fitted ready-made mechanisms inside beautiful, ornamental bezels. After some time, they discovered that the manufacturing of luxury timepieces for the Polish aristocracy was quite a profitable business. They would engrave Polish motifs on the bezels, e.g the image of Kościuszko.

The two friends parted their ways a few years later: Czapek wanted to run the little factory and Patek wanted to create watches. So, Patek joined forces with the Frenchman Adrien Philippe, the inventor of a mechanism which allowed watches to be wound and set by means of a crown rather than a key.

Queen Victoria buys Patek timepieces

The name Patek Philippe was first used in 1851. The very same year the brand’s timepieces were exhibited at the World Exhibition in London. One of them caught the eye of Queen Victoria who bought it for herself. The company received a gold medal for their products. They could not have wished for better publicity of their business. Patek Philippe watches instantly gained worldwide stardom.

The timepiece patron

The famous advertising slogan of the brand is “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” As such, it is not surprising that every watch by this Swiss maker is a timepiece with a rich past and a track record. The company claims to have information about each and every Patek Philippe watch that has ever been made. Each timepiece has a unique number and all important events related to the given watch e.g. sale or repair, replacement, are recorded in a ledge. Therefore, if someone is selling a Patek timepiece without a track record, you can be sure it to be a counterfeit product.

Finally, one more piece of information: it was Patek Philippe who made the first ever wrist watch in the world in 1868.