Ladies, now is our time

Traditionally, men are the watch geeks — the buyers and collectors of grand complications and statement timepieces — but Swiss brand Patek Philippe, noting a recent shift, is coming on strong to the distaff side of the market.

“Increasingly we’re seeing women enjoy the mechanical pieces,” observes Deepa Chatrath, general manager of Patek Philippe Southeast Asia. “We’re getting a lot of interest, and from the beginning of its history Patek has been making women’s watches at a high complication level.”

She hastens to add: “And we don’t make women’s watches that are the ‘me, too,’ or miniature versions of men’s watches; the women’s is a very, very strong collection.”

Indeed, Patek Philippe has a significant number of Ladies’ Collections, which exclusive Philippine distributor Lucerne showcased at a recent event in collaboration with bag designer Bea Valdes, who linked the artistry and craftsmanship behind Patek Philippe with her own line.

“Our own workshop parallels any craft-based endeavor because it’s similar,” says Valdes, who started her globally acclaimed label of exquisitely handmade bags with one beader.

“It’s funny because our favorite watch of my father was a Patek, and it was from my mother’s dad; on the eve of when she was going to get married, he gave it as a gift. So, like a lot of other brands, there’s always a story tied into it, a quieter value than some of the other brands that are flashy, so it’s like a vintage car.”

Chatrath observes that you never really own a Patek, you merely act as its steward before passing it on to the next generation. And agrees that the brand aesthetic is consciously unflashy: “You’ll never see blingy but subtle shimmer.”

Their signature Flamme technique — best seen in their bestselling ladies’ Calatrava watches — is a painstaking one, involving setting two rows of diamonds in the bezel so that more light filters through, resulting in heightened brilliance and creating an effect like lace.

Even the watch buckles are set with gems — no detail is left to chance. Patek makes 16 million watch parts a year for 48,000 watches and 200 models, or “references,” as they call them, and their repair services are unrivaled — they can resurrect an 1839 watch from the beginning of their history if you have one.

During that year pocket watchmakers Antoni Norbert Patek and Francois Czapek became partners. “Philippe” was added when they separated and, in 1844, French watchmaker Jean Adrien Philippe, who invented the crown keyless winding system, came onboard. He and Patek became partners and, in 1851, the company officially became known as Patek Philippe. 

From the beginning, royal women used to commission pieces from Patek Philippe, like the queen of Denmark, who had a keyless pocket watch made; Hungary’s Countess Koscowicz, who declined to wear a brooch watch, opting for a timepiece hanging from her skirt; and Britain’s Queen Victoria, who bought two watches: one for herself and one for Prince Albert.

“Patek Philippe’s vision was to design and build the world’s finest watches,” says Chatrath — a vision its current owners, the Stern family, uphold to this day.

Back then the Sterns were the best Swiss dial-makers; in 1932 they bought the company and through four generations the family has steered Patek Philippe to the level it’s at today — the only family-owned watch manufacturer in the world.

While the Calatrava ladies’ annual calendar reference 4947 is Patek’s most popular ladies’ watch, other notable styles include the Gondolo (first launched in 1993), an art deco watch with lute-like shape and snow-setting technique (in which diamonds of different sizes are randomly placed so that light bounces off them like sparkling snow); the Nautilus (1976), a sports watch designed by Thierry Stern that has since become a collector’s item; the Aquanaut (1997), another sports watch with embossed dial and strap that this year is being interpreted in diamonds and pink sapphires; and Twenty-4, a slim wristwatch with curved case that is discreet enough for all occasions.

Such great designs emanate from a department headed by a woman: Sandrine Stern, wife of Patek Philippe president Thierry Stern. Sandrine, who is head of creation, bases each design around the movement, ensuring that each watch — whether for male or female — is a classic piece of mechanical art.

“We don’t design for the moment but for the future,” says Chatrath. “Patek Philippe is the last defender of this classic watchmaking — making precious objects of memory and time.”

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Exclusively distributed by Lucerne, Patek Philippe is available at the Patek Philippe Shangri-La Edsa boutique, Level 2, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong City.

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