7 Things to Know about Patek Philippe Watches

Posted by salah on December 28th, 2017

Looking for a Patek Philippe watch in Singapore but unsure if it’s your pick? Here are 7 things you should know about their watches that will convince you of the brand’s quality.

1. They are very rare

Fewer than a million Patek Philippe watches have been made since the watch luxury watch manufacturer opened its doors in 1839. Incredibly complex and completely hand-manufactured, even the simplest of their designs could take months to make. More intricate pieces can take up to two years to complete, and a Patek Philippe watch in Singapore easily costs in excess of SGD0,000.   

2. They have amazing resale value

Patek Philippe watches only ever grow in price over time, with its resale value often redoubling every time it is sold. Even the Nautilus, one of Patek Philippe’s cheaper watches which retails at only ,000 when it was first released ca go for about ,000 at auction sales. Another more grandiose example: the Patek Philippe 2499 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph, which an original pricing of about ,000, can sell in excess of .5 million at auction!

3. Buyers need to go through an application to get one

To ensure that its watches are only adorned by deserving clients, anyone who wants a Patek Philippe watch must undergo an application process. This is to prove that they are of sufficient social standing to bear the brand on their persons. The only other way to get one is to buy one off an auction sale, but those watches could cost up to 10 times the price of a new one! The record: a Patek Philippe pocket watch that sold for US million – the most amount of money that was ever paid for a timepiece ever.

4. A single Patek Philippe watch requires the combined expert labour of over a thousand people

1035 dedicated employees, to be exact. This number includes the experts who design the mechanism of the watches, workers who craft and finish the over a thousand individual components and other factory and corporate workers who promote the Patek Philippe brand.

5. It takes 3 to 5 years to create a new design

Quantity dilutes the value of a brand, and this is something that the designers at Patek Philippe avoid at all cost - literally. Rather than forcing a new design every year into shelves like most other luxury watch brands do, Patek Philippe takes 3 to 5 years to research and develop – a policy that makes their watches more greatly sought after when they do get released.

6. A rigorous scientific method is employed to maintain the consistency of colours used in its dials

So precise is the manufacturing process of the colours used for the dials of a Patek Philippe watch that it does not tolerate the four micro variances in colour that the colour undergoes as the heat humidity. To maintain the consistency of the colours at all times, Patek Philippe employs top chemists in Switzerland whose job is. So rare does an inconsistency happen that watches bearing it are actually more valuable than those “perfect” due to their rarity!

7. Patek Philippe does not rely on star power to promote their brand

Unlike many premium luxury brands, Patek Philippe does not promote its brand by getting famous celebrities to show off their watches in public, using social media or compete for product placement in film and television to gain exposure – a move that they see as degrading to its status as an elite brand meant only for those who deserving of it. They believe that if somebody is looking for the best in luxury watch quality, they should know where to go.