Patek Philippe has had a busy 2015. Late last year, the watchmaker celebrated its 175th anniversary, and its head honcho Thierry Stern has since been travelling across its key markets to introduce the commemorative collection to its customers. It rolled into town in May, and a select group of collectors were invited to discover the masterpiece, the Grandmaster Chime Ref. 5175, as well as the other anniversary watches including the World Time Moon Ref. 5575, the Multi-Scale Chronograph Ref. 5975, and the Chiming Jump Hour Ref. 5275.

Despite a strenuous agenda, the manufacture had some other nifty tricks up its sleeves at the Baselworld fair this March, and launched the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Ref. 5524. One of the most talked-about launches, the Pilot is derivative of two siderometer timepieces (also known as “hour angle” watches with a navigational function that were used by pilots in the past) found in the Patek Philippe archives, and is a deviation from the classical style one usually associates with the watchmaker. It is rugged and masculine, with oversized luminescent Arabic numerals standing out against the blue varnished dial. The white gold travel time watch comes paired with a vintage brown leather strap, and boasts a patent-pending safety lock that ensures the user does not accidentally change the home time. 

Stern, who is the president and fourth-generation owner-family member of Patek Philippe, reveals his thoughts on this year’s collections.

Congratulations on the 175th anniversary of Patek Philippe. How has the reaction been to the commemorative watches?
Very positive. I think nobody expected to see that many different types of watches in the collection. So that was a big surprise for the customers and they were happy because we have different types of watches at different prices, not just the a big launch, the Grandmaster Chime, which is really expensive. 

A particularity with Patek is that we do not have that many specific collections. Many brands today have specific collections for that and for this, limited editions etc., and that is dangerous. The more limited editions you will do, the less impact and credibility you’ll have for something really special like an anniversary. So at Patek, we don’t really play this game, and when we do an anniversary collection like this, we create a new movement, a new case, a new design, and a new idea. That’s what makes it strong—when people know that Patek has created something special. I built up a team of five, seven years ago, that was only dedicated to the anniversary watches. 

The Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Ref. 5524 launched this year was very divisive. Could you tell us about the rationale behind it?

We’ve had many visitors in our museum who have seen the two vintage pilot watches from 1936 (they’re very big, about 55 and 56mm in diameter). When I had lunch with them after the tour, many of them talked about these pilot watches; most of the time they want watches with bigger dials!

I wanted to do something different, and I didn’t want to make it just like the old pilot watch, because I didn’t think it would be useful. I wanted to do a modern watch, make it smaller and to add something more interesting, that is, the travel time. Because the pilot watch is not actually for the pilot; I would rather say this is a co-pilot watch, or for the passenger who is sitting behind.

It still has the DNA of the pilot watch but I just changed it in terms of the new customer who will be wearing it. It was done very quickly, but the details are still there and are done very well.

Patek Philippe recently announced its expansion in manufacture space. Do you plan to increase production numbers? 

No. Actually, when we moved in 1996 to our space in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, we were happy at that time that everything was under one roof. That was the wish of my father Philippe Stern; he said if you want to be efficient, if you want control and good quality, everything should be under one roof. I remember at that time, he said that now we’re safe for 20 years, we have enough space. Four years later, we had to move out the case factory as we had no more place. Luckily we found a location five minutes away. It’s not far, but it’s still five minutes away.  

This is why we said, one day we will have a piece of land that is big enough for a new building to bring everyone together again. That’s why we decided to invest in this building, which is very big, but then I always remember my dad telling me, “We are happy for 20 years”, and I say okay let’s double the area. 

Definitely, for sure, we need to expand in terms of quantity but it’s not the will of Patek. We normally increase between 1, 2 or 3 per cent per year and I will continue like this. But I have to anticipate for the next 50 years, and that’s why also I decided to build a bigger factory. The second reason for the increased space is also for training. 

And the last reason—which is key to Patek—is our repair service. Patek is the only watchmaker that is able to repair every watch we have made since 1839. This is really something unique; nobody else can do that. But you have to imagine how many parts, dials, screws etc. that we have to keep in stock. So that’s why we need this building, to secure our extended service, because that’s key in terms of credibility.