15 Things You Didn't Know About PATEK PHILIPPE

15 things you didn't know about Patek Philippe

Philip, welcome to alux.com, the place where future billionaires come to get inspired. Welcome to the Alux channel, and thank you for joining us for another fascinating, fact-filled video. The Alux back catalog is filled with videos that strive to show our viewers backstories and anecdotes about all the luxury things that make life worth living. It is said by many that one of the true signs of luxury living is being a part of the luxury designer watch community, and our video today is all about one of the biggest players in the timepiece game, Patek Philippe.

Founded in 1851, Patek Philippe & Co. is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer located in the Vallée de Joux and Geneva, with a particular focus on complicated mechanical inner workings and a commitment to hand-making every single part. The brand has come to be regarded as one of the very best in the world when it comes to watchmaking. A brand new Patek Philippe watch will cost you tens of thousands of dollars, with rarer, more vintage items fetching four to five times that at auction houses across the world. If you want to make a statement with your choice of luxury accessories, then you really can't go wrong with a stunningly intricate Patek Philippe creation.

Let's delve into the world of luxury watches with 15 things you didn't know about Patek Philippe.

Number one: Patek Philippe watches are incredibly rare. Since beginning to manufacture in 1839, it is said that fewer than 1 million Patek Philippe watches have been produced. To put this figure into perspective, that's less than some of the other high-end watch manufacturers make every single year. The Patek production process is so incredibly intricate that it often takes up to 9 months to make even the most basic watch in its collection, with the most intricate designs taking up to 2 years to complete.

Number two: There is an application process for buying one. Unlike other luxury watch brands like Rolex or Cartier, you cannot simply order a Patek Philippe watch whenever you feel like owning one. The company takes their work so seriously that the prospective buyers are required to submit an application form to demonstrate that you are of a suitably high social caliber to deserve a Patek watch. Of course, you can always attend an auction house and bid on a Patek watch, but this will cost you significantly more money than a brand-new sale.

Number three: Every single part is hand-finished. You might be wondering why the manufacturing process for Patek Philippe watches is so much longer than other brands. It's because every single individual part of the timepiece is hand-finished by an expertly trained employee, with unrivaled dial-faceted buttons, hand-polished hands, and an absolutely flawless presentation in every sense of the word. The care and attention that goes into producing a Patek wristwatch is completely unrivaled. These small, painstaking touches really add up to a sense of something special being in your possession.

Number four: It takes over 1,000 people to make a single watch. Believe it or not, it actually takes a total of 1,035 employees to make a Patek Philippe watch from start to finish. This number is the sum of experts that design the mechanisms of the watch, workers who sculpt and hand-finish each individual component, and all of the other factory and corporation workers whose hours go toward the pristine completion of just one wristwatch or pocket watch. As luxury brands go, we can't think of another product that demands such an intensive and large number of dedicated employees than a Patek Philippe watch.

Number five: A Patek Philippe pocket watch once sold at auction for $24 million. On November 11th, 2014, at a much-anticipated Sotheby's event in Geneva, Switzerland, the iconic Patek Philippe Supercomplication pocket watch was put on sale. The world's media gathered in anticipation of a huge story, and they sure received one. By the time the final hammer fell, the bidding for the famous timepiece had reached an unbelievable $24 million. This instantly became the highest figure that anybody had ever paid for a timepiece, including both wristwatches and pocket watches. So who would be so bold as to pay nearly $25 million for a watch? Bill Gates, perhaps? Donald Trump? It looks like we will never know, as the winning bid on that day came from an anonymous entity.

Number six: Patek Philippe keeps detailed archives of all of their creations. One of the touches that sets Patek Philippe apart from the rest in terms of luxury and quality brands is the fact they keep an extensive archive of records for every single watch they have ever produced. In the Patek Philippe archives, you can discover a searchable extract for every watch made since 1839. Each extract gives an insight into the history of the watch, and though it does not include the names of previous owners for privacy reasons, it is widely known that nearly all heads of state and major celebrities over the decades have owned a Patek Philippe. If you are ever lucky enough to get your hands on one, you can be assured that you are sharing history with some iconic figures.

Number seven: They have had plenty of famous customers over the years. It is no surprise that the amazing quality and status of Patek Philippe has attracted numerous high-profile customers over the years. Past famous owners of Patek timepieces include the likes of Pope Pius IX, Christian IX of Denmark, Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, and Queen Victoria. In terms of more modern Patek Philippe fans, the luxury watches have also been spotted on the wrists of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Mayer, Brad Pitt, and even the Dalai Lama, who received his watch as a gift from the late President John F. Kennedy.

Number eight: They promote the Patek Philippe DNA. When it comes to producing the best quality timepieces imaginable, Patek Philippe takes absolutely no shortcuts. Whereas some watchmakers choose to have their cases cast elsewhere from an outside company, at Patek, they are forged in-house from solid pieces of platinum or gold. Their case-making techniques hark back to the 1800s, and they are one of only a few watchmakers who still preserve this old-fashioned style of manufacturing. Patek has a strong belief in preserving the past and passing quality skills from generation to generation, and this care and attention reflect in their amazing products.

Number nine: The dial color is a strict science. The color of a Patek Philippe watch dial is determined by an extremely strict scientific process. They employ an expert chemist, one of only a few in Switzerland at such a level, who at any time of day can have four different color variations in their dyeing vats due to humidity. It is their job to chemically adjust this color to keep it as consistent as possible, but there are occasions when a batch of dials comes out slightly different. Rather than being discarded, these watches with the different shades often become the most sought-after pieces in the collection, as the rarer the watch, the more valuable it'll be in years to come.

Number ten: They are a stellar investment. It's a fact that the resale value of a Patek Philippe watch trumps that of all other watch brands, both modern and vintage. Something like the iconic 5131 Calatrava enamel doubled in value immediately after first retailing—a price jump almost unheard of for modern releases. One of Patek's most popular designs in the 1970s was the original Nautilus, which retailed for a relatively conservative $3,000, but nowadays it would set you back more than $50,000 at auction. In the 1980s, a watch in the $24.99 104th series cost less than $20,000 but would fetch a staggering figure of more than $400,000 today. You can discover more about the world's most expensive watches by clicking on our video in the top right-hand corner.

Number eleven: The bracelet is also painstakingly made. It is not only the dials and timepieces that Patek Philippe focuses their care and attention on; the wrist bracelets are also subject to an extensive manufacturing process. Every single Patek Philippe watch bracelet is hand-polished. A brilliant example of this quality is the Nautilus bracelet. Each link is cut individually, one at a time, and this cutting process takes an average of 6 minutes and 45 seconds per link. The bracelet is then assembled with great care, all done by hand and in keeping with the strict quality regulations of the brand. Each bracelet takes an average of 7 hours to hand-polish upon completion.

Number twelve: Patek Philippe is a member of the Holy Trinity. Patek Philippe watches are so highly regarded that they are one of the trio that has become known as the Holy Trinity of wristwatches. Alongside Patek Philippe in this esteemed trifecta are the luxury brands Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin. These three are regarded above all other watchmakers as the very best in the world, and anyone who owns a watch from all three companies is certainly somebody who is living the most luxurious and expensive life they can.

Number thirteen: There is no official Patek Philippe Facebook page. Possibly one of the only major retail brands to do so, Patek Philippe has chosen to preserve their elite and luxury status by staying away from many of the social media sponsorship activities that you normally associate with a leading brand. Despite several unofficial fan pages being created, Patek has never started an official Facebook page for their brand, nor have they been in the business of gifting their timepieces to race car drivers and tennis players in order to get publicity. Their attitude is that if somebody wants the very best in wristwatch quality, they'll know where to go without having to be swayed by the sight of a celebrity or a Facebook ad. They also do not participate in product placement for film or television.

Number fourteen: It takes 3 to 5 years to design a new model. The expert designers at Patek Philippe take their craft extremely seriously, operating in a distinctly different manner to many luxury and high-end brands whose focus is to constantly bombard customers with the newest, latest, greatest editions of products that have only just been purchased. Working at a much slower pace, it takes between 3 to 5 years for a new timepiece to be researched and developed, and it is this painstaking process which makes each new Patek release consistently the most sought-after accessory when it eventually does drop.

Number fifteen: They have a desired decibel level for minute repeaters. The minute repeater is one of the most technical and innovative complications that Patek watches contain, and they are so fastidious in their quality that the brand has a requirement for how loud the chimes should be. Their experts determined that between 40 and 50 dB was the prime volume for this function, and they make sure that all of their minute repeaters are tuned to this strict requirement before being sold to a customer. The least expensive Patek Philippe minute repeater will cost you a cool $360,000.

Thank you for joining us once again, Aluxers! We hope you enjoyed the video. Have you ever seen a Patek Philippe up close? Do you yourself own a Patek Philippe watch? Let us know in the comments! And here's one last bonus fact for all you Aluxers who stayed with us right to the very end:

Number sixteen: The first incarnation of a Patek Philippe was ordered by a woman. The very first wristwatch was commissioned by a Hungarian, Countess Kővitz, who requested that Anton Patek create a watch that she could wear on her wrist. Of course, this first design was more of a piece of jewelry than a timepiece, but Patek clearly became inspired by this first instance, and the rest, as they say, is history.

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