Women's
Patek Philippe
A Story of Familial Heritage
“The queen” My aunt accosted me, “the queen was wearing women’s Patek Philippe watches! Don’t you understand how unique it is!?”
I never gave it any thought. Every time I saw Aunt Marta, she was either talking about women’s Patek Philippe watches or looking at one in a magazine. Everyone knew it was her “thing”. Snacking on ice cream cake in the living room, I had a choice between two active and concurrent debates. On one side of the room were my dad and uncle, debating the prestige of their sports team of choice. On the other side, a very similar debate on watch brand exclusivity, conducted by my mom and her sister, Aunt Marta (or Mart, for short).
“Patek Philippe is elegance, generational wealth, and wrist candy, hun. It’s Switzerland’s finest, worthy of a queen,” said Aunt Marta, smiling. Not really interested in sports but curious about the watch debate, I joined in:
“So, Mart, what’s so special about Patek Philippe anyway?” What’s the difference between Patek and the other watch brands?”
“What’s the difference between coach and first-class?” she replied, “They both arrive at the same time. The difference is in the experience. Patek Philippe just took it to another level. How many watches do you know that were made with meteorite?” she asked, knowing what appealed to my interests.
Dialing up her zeal, she exclaimed, “The queen, the queen was wearing women’s Patek Philippe watches!” Don’t you understand how unique it is?! The Eclipse she had on during her royal photoshoot was perfection,” and then added lavishly, “haute horology is in the royal blood. Queen Victoria herself acquired a Patek Philippe watch pendant encrusted with rose-cut diamonds set in the pattern of a bouquet during a show in London. It had Adrian Philippe’s recently invented keyless winding mechanism. Watches back then were wound with a key. Could you imagine?”
“So it’s two separate people? I thought it was a guy with reverse names,” I blurted out.
Aunt Marta giggled.
“Who’s Patek, then?”
“Antoine Patek founded the original company with his first business partner, François Czapek. But in 1845, Patek partnered with Philippe. Patek was the determined and visionary entrepreneur, and Philippe was the brilliant inventor whose high watchmaking standards drove the company’s technical progress. Jobs and Wozniak of the 19th century watchcraft.” she chuckled.
“I had no idea watchmaking was such a common occupation. I don’t even know one watchmaker.”
“Back then, things had to be done by hand, and the really good things were crafted by masters. Each Patek watchmaker underwent rigorous, multi-year training, and a single watch could take up to a year to assemble. They still do. People wait years to get their hands on a Patek, even if they can easily afford it.”
“Mart, you know so much about Patek Philippe; they should pay you.” I interrupted.
“They should, shouldn’t they?”
Woman’s
time tale
My aunt’s passionate preaching attracted my other aunts. Sensing the influx of female energy and ravishing in her long-awaited lamplight, aunt Marta calmly continued,
“It’s not just Patek Philippe watches,” she said, “It’s about women’s Patek Philippe watches. Did you know their first client in 1830 was a woman? Madame Goscinska. She bought three of their earliest watches. Talk about breaking glass ceilings!”, she smirked.
“Women needed to keep time too, but back then, proper etiquette ‘forbade’ them from checking their pocket watches in public. So, they wore them disguised as jewelry, like pendants and brooches. One jewelry timepiece caught on more than others. You know it as wristwatches, but back then it was known as ‘Montres-Bracelets’. Patek Philippe made the first-ever women’s Swiss wristwatch for a Hungarian Countess Koscowicz in 1868,” she said proudly, as if she were the watchmaker or the countess.
“But what has he done for me lately?” one of my other aunts interrupted, followed by a collective burst of laughter.
Aunt Marta took it as a challenge.
“The Nautilus was designed for men, you know, but women loved the bold, sporty, and aesthetic style, so they adopted it. And the Twenty~4 was luxury for the working woman. Board meetings, a night out, and all. Or take the Calatrava—classic, sophisticated, and timeless, like the Audrey Hepburn of watches, who wore a Patek, by the way. And how about the geometric designs and precious metals of the Gondolo? That was all Art Deco,” she said, drawing circles in the air. “It’s a conversation starter on your wrist.”
I stood there dumbfounded for a moment, melting ice cream cake on my plate as a testament to my fascination.
“I get it,” I finally said. “It’s like paying for Jordans to be part of the story.”
She smiled warmly, caressed my hair, and kissed me on the cheek. “I remember when you were a baby, and look at you now”.
Patek
prestige
Still under the spell of aunt Marta’s infatuation, I looked up Patek Philippe watches for women, and the first thing that came up were pictures of Cardi B, Cate Blanchett, Charlize Theron, Victoria Beckham, and Serena Williams (who wore Patek Philippe both on and off court). The women who wore the watch were known for their success, style, and taste for the exquisite. They chose to showcase their celebrity and success with the implied prestige and rarity of a Patek Philippe watch.
The prestige of the Patek Philippe brand is determined by the limited production of exceptionally durable and intricate masterpieces. The most expensive watches ever auctioned were Patek Philippe, and among them, the most expensive one ever sold.
The brand is renowned for its complications, which sounded bad at first, but as it turned out, it simply meant intricate mechanical functions or features in watch lingo. I can only assume that complications weren’t easy, and Patek Philippe was known for many of the more complicated ones, including “women’s complications”. None of them are required to tell time, but the moon phase indicators, perpetual calendars, minute repeaters, and other features added a touch of magic.
Through 180 years of craftsmanship, numerous patents, awards, and over 1,200 unique timepieces adorning royalty and celebrity—from Queen Victoria in the 19th century to Elizabeth Taylor in the 20th and the Kardashians in the 21st—Patek Philippe has transcended generations due to its ability to be a trendsetter rather than a trend-laggard.
The gift
It was weeks after I found out that Aunt Marta was sick that I was able to visit her. She smiled and waved me over.
“How are you, dear?” She asked me.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that, Mart?” I replied in what was intended to be sarcastic but came out in a sheepish tone, revealing my true feelings.
She smiled.
“I have something for you, Mart.”
“What is it?”
“We all pitched in and got you this. It comes with a stipulation, though: you have to get better.”
“What are you going on about?”
A flicker of light bounced off a tear in her eye as she recognized the logo on the box I was handing her.
“No…”
“Yes.” I replied, “It’s an Eclipse. We wanted to remind you how precious you are to us, so we got you the thing you consider most precious.”
A wave of emotions washed over her face, bringing back some of the familiar hue to her cheeks.
“We wanted to get you the one the queen wore, but it belongs to the queen. This one belongs to you.” I said, in a semi-joking tone.
Lost for words, she whispered, “I can’t believe you did that.” and after regaining her composure, she added, “Where did you even get it?”
“We got it at a jewelry store in New York where they keep unique pieces for unique people.”
A few drops appeared in the corner of her eye, and one of them ran down her smiling cheek. “Thank you, dear; thank everybody for me,” she said, choking up on the incoming tears. “But you really shouldn’t have.”
“Well, we did.”
“No, I mean, you really shouldn’t have.” She wiped the tears on her cheek with the back of her hand, approached an armoire in the corner of the room, opened the door using a key tied to the chain around her neck, and pulled out a box with a familiar logo.
“I didn’t want anyone to see it. It was supposed to be my gift to my family, my most precious possession.”
Flabbergasted, I said, “Mart, you’re something else. Patek Philippe should be proud to be owned by you.”
A wide smile graced her face. “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation. That was their slogan for a while. The reason I wanted one was to own something beautiful, unique, and remarkable I could leave behind for my family.”
After a pause, she added, “These should remain in our family for generations. Our own heirloom.”
“Don’t you want to wear it?”
“I don’t need to. I have love, family, and something valuable to leave behind.”
Beyond
timekeeping
Aunt Marta never had children, but she was everyone’s semi-mom. Selfless, loving, and giving. When she passed, her heritage lived on through the Patek Philippe watches she left behind, along with the unique origin story that will outlive us all.
Patek Philippe isn’t measuring time; it’s keeping it.
The above is a semi-fictional blog (I do have an aunt).
— S.A.C.
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