Built to Last

Watchmakers go to great lengths to ensure their creations can be passed down for generations

By Christian Barker

When I interviewed Patek Philippe’s president Thierry Stern last year, he glanced at the very respectable Swiss timepiece on my wrist and remarked, “Take that for servicing in 30 years’ time, and they’ll tell you, ‘Sorry, buy a new watch.’” However, it will always be possible to service, fix or restore a Patek Philippe, claims Stern. “This is the only brand worldwide still able to repair every watch it has produced since the beginning,” he states, an assertion no competitor has refuted. Four generations of the Stern family have owned and operated Patek since 1932, but the watchmaker’s history goes back much further, to 1839. It is by no means the oldest Swiss watchmaker—Blancpain was established in 1735, Jaquet Droz began work in 1738, and Vacheron Constantin, founded in 1755, is…

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Tatler Hong Kong (Digital) - 1 Issue, September 2020

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