Patek Philippe Museum Geneva, Switzerland Report

Patek Philippe Museum 1

Patek Philippe Museum (Geneva, Switzerland) Report

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Patek Philippe Museum 2

Introduction

Patek Philippe is a famous and well-known name associated with prestigious

timekeeping. Their watches have graced several royal wrists after its foundation in 1839. The

company experiences recognition across the globe due to its unique brand associated with the

products it produces (Expedia, 2015). These products comprise of modern day's precision

pieces that back to early 19

century detailed pocket watches. The early watches were

enameled, jeweled, and emblazoned with the owner's arms. In this respect, the Antique

Collection rewinds back to 1500s during the timekeeping devices development (Viator,

2017). Additionally, the museum houses a large library and archive that concentrates on

timepieces and other related mechanisms that are located in a 20

-century building that is

distinguished by the enormous windows (Expedia, 2015). The current study will analyse the

museum, its purpose, content, and some fundamental knowledge associated with the

museum.

Inside The Patek Philippe Museum

The Patek Philippe Museum is located in a building with historical significance and

contains very impressive collection of watches that are not only significant in design, but also

with historical impression associated with them. Though there are other similar museums

across the world, Patek Philippe Museum is unique due to incredibly valuable timepieces it

houses (Geneva Tourism, 2017).The museum attracts thousands of tourists intended to

interact with one of the world’s historical timepieces of significant value and make. The

building is located in downtown Geneva displaying thousands of watches collection. With its

strategic location at the heart of Geneva, the museum attracts tourists both domestic and

foreign to its historical and unique designed watches that takes the visitors through the

journey in watchmaking.

The magnificent collections comprising of watchmaking and the enamel brands that

were common in China, Geneva, and European region during the 16

and 19

centuries. The

museum has a library that is devoted entirely in documents relating to watchmaking giving a

historic approach to watchmaking engagements that comprise of the watches, portrait

miniatures painted on enamel, and musical automata (Clymer, B, 2014). Additionally, the

library houses prestige associated with creations of the Geneva-based enterprises in 1839.

During the tour, the visitors are taken across the unique voyage for watchmaking history

Patek Philippe Museum 3

where different and uniquely designed pieces that represent different styles and schools of the

European horology from the early 16

century.

According to Expedia (2015), the museum has a history built on 175 years of

watchmaking in Switzerland where it houses more than 1,000 different timepieces that

exhibit the life and times for the watchmakers in Geneva featured by excellence, unique and

attractive designs that date back to 16

century. These watches range from the grand

complications, beautiful representations to commemorative designs of Patek's mastery in rare

handcrafts an enameling that was popular during his time in history. In the second flow of the

building, there is the antique collection that contains clocks, automata, and watches dating

back to 1500s from different makers and designers including the masterpieces made by

Breguet.

Over 500 years of watchmaking in the history of Geneva, the museum provides an

opportunity for presenting the unique designs and types in watchmaking. However, the art of

watchmaking did not begin in Geneva, Switzerland. The history of watchmaking is believed

to have been introduced into Switzerland by immigrants who had run away from their

countries for fear of persecution (Geneva Tourism, 2017). The French Protestant Huguenots

are believed to have crossed the border running away from Catholic France during the 17

century. Others such as Count Antoine Norbert de Patek who was a young Polish cavalry

officer also crossed the border. He departed from their home country at around 1831 where

he was escaping the Russian occupation ( Viator, 2017).

Patek established a shop located in Geneva where he

concentrated in selling watch brands that were fine and unique

to give prestige. After seven years, he partnered with a Polish

immigrant named Francois Czapek who was also a watchmaker

where they began making watches to meet the demand in

Geneva that was rising. In 1839, they established and founded a

company named Czapek & Co (Clymer, B, 2014).

Patek Philippe Museum 4

They focused on the production of unique brands that met the demand for affluent in

the Geneva. By focusing on quality of the brands as well as design. The high-quality

timepieces they produced created a unique flair that was distinctive from the rest of the

timepieces available during their time. The high-quality timepieces they produced carried the

distinctive flair of their home country, however, when Patek

found that revolutionary stem was a winding system that was

designed at Paris industrial fair, he invited Adrien Philippe to

join their partnership in 1844. One year later, Czapek departed

the partnership he had formed resulting in the change of the

name to Patek Philippe. At that time, the Queen of England was

informed about their watches that were keyless during the London Crystal Palace exhibition

that took place in 1851. The firm's innovative direction for the horological pieces became so

popular that more and more head of states considered it as a unique brand sparking high

brand recognition and demand across the globe that took over classic brands market globally

for more than 200 years ( Viator, 2017).

In 2001, there was a worldwide campaign that sought to collect

by purchasing back their timepieces that had decades of

existences, which were then gathered in the museum. The search

for these historic brands involved the collection of the artifacts

and extensive records in the company (Expedia, 2015). The

company opened the museum at a key location in Geneva in a

building that hosted the former jewelry workshop in Geneva’s Plainpalais district. This

exciting and magical journey in watchmaking art presents a historical journey that Patek and

Philippe have gone through in history. The history associated with their design refreshes the

watchmaking history from the simple industry age through the history of Art Nouveau to Art

Deco (Clymer, B, 2014).

The collection in the museum comprises of timepieces

that were worn by Queen Victoria, Albert Einstein, Richard

Wagner, and Rudyard Kipling. Additionally, the ground floor of

the building hosts collection of more than 400 antique watch-

making tools that were used during the 17

and 18

centuries

with a replica of the craftsmen's workshop that features that

observes a watch craftsman repairing the old watches with the introductory film that is

Patek Philippe Museum 5

located in the auditorium (Expedia, 2015). In the top floor accessed through stairs and an

elevator, there is the library and the archive that host technical notebooks, a rare collection of

more than 7000 papers and books on time subjects, design sketches that were used by Adrien

Philippe as well as time treatises by Christian Huygens (Geneva Tourism, 2017).

In the second floor, the museum hosts the antique of the historical collection

comprising of the magnificent timepieces that were collected dating back to 16

and 19

centuries. Furthermore, the floor hosts important pieces such as

the first watch that dates back to the 14

centuries. This floor

also includes the works of Huguenot who was a renowned

watchmaker after escaping from the France Catholic before

relocating to Switzerland (Clymer, B, 2014). The first floor has

Patek Philippe designs that were done in the early 19

century

to the present day. Additionally, the unique designs of enamelled gold watches or the

miniature portraits with the Lalique art, snuff-boxes of royal portraits, complex mechanisms

of horological masterpieces, automated musical jewel cases that has a singing mechanical

birds that comes to life, Cloisonné domed table clocks, and an elegant display of secret vault-

like experience timepieces for the rich royalty (Clymer, B, 2014).

When visiting the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, there are different encounters

that the tourists experience with antique, materials relation to

watchmaking and other timepieces that dates back to the ancient

time (Clymer, B, 2014). The museum is open to individuals and

groups willing to experience their library, exhibition, and archives

from Tuesday’s t Friday from 2 to 5 pm. On Saturdays, the museum

is open from 10 to 5. For adult admission, a fee of 10 CHF with the

students from 18 to 25 and seniors are charged 7 CHF. For children

under 18 years, they are granted free admission to the museum (Expedia, 2015). The museum

offers a guided tour on Saturdays at 2.30 through the entire building for various timepieces

and watches make history narration n English (Geneva Tourism, 2017).

Conclusion

The study explores the history of watchmaking from the analysis of the Patek Philippe

Museum located in Geneva, Switzerland. The collection of items related to timepieces dates

back to more than 500 years of watchmaking. The products evolved from simple watches to

Patek Philippe Museum 6

more complex and unique designs that attracted kings and queens during their time. The first

watches were targeting men and were often decorated with owner's coat of arms. In later

years, there was a movement to simpler designs that targeted women. The museum displays

these unique designs that developed fantasy during the 18

and 19

centuries. Other items

that are contained in the museum comprises of the watch-shaped like a mandolin that had

automated figures and played music. Other unique designs were gathered together in the

museum demonstrating the history of watchmaking.

Patek Philippe Museum 7

Bibliography

Viator, Inc, 2017. Patek Philippe Museum (Musee Patek Philippe) Tours. [Online]

Available at: https://www.viator.com/Geneva-attractions/Patek-Philippe-Museum-

Musee-Patek-Philippe/d578-a900

[Accessed 10 01 2018].

Clymer, B, 2014. Photo Report Inside The Patek Philippe Museum. [Online]

Available at: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/photo-report--inside-the-patek-

philippe-museum--100--photos

[Accessed 10 01 2018].

Expedia, 2015. Patek Philippe Watch Museum. [Online]

Available at: https://www.expedia.com/Patek-Philippe-Watch-Museum-

Plainpalais.d6067669.Vacation-Attraction

[Accessed 10 January 2018].

Geneva Tourism, 2017. PATEK PHILIPPE MUSEUM: Excellence in the field of

watchmaking. [Online]

Available at: https://www.geneve.com/en/attractions/patek-philippe-museum/

[Accessed 10 01 2018].

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