Patek Philippe

The company was founded on May 1, 1839, when Polish watchmaker Antoni Patek and his Czech-born business partner Franciszek Czapek established Patek, Czapek & Cie in Geneva to manufacture pocket watches. After the partners separated due to disagreements in 1845, Patek was joined by French watchmaker Adrien Philippe, inventor of the keyless winding mechanism. On January 1, 1851, the company officially became Patek, Philippe & Cie. That same year, Queen Victoria acquired a Patek Philippe watch at the Great Exhibition in London. In 1868, Patek Philippe created the first Swiss wristwatch for Countess Koscowicz of Hungary. The Calatrava cross, from the Order of Calatrava, became the company logo in 1887. The Stern family acquired the company in 1932 during the Great Depression, when brothers Charles and Jean Stern—whose company Fabrique de Cadrans Sterns Frères had been supplying watch dials to Patek Philippe—purchased the struggling manufacturer. The company has remained under Stern family ownership ever since, with leadership passing through generations: Henri Stern became president in 1958, Philippe Stern in 1993, and Thierry Stern in 2009.