Patek Philippe Museum - More Than 100,000 Visitors!

Inaugurated in November 2001, the Patek Philippe Museum recently welcomed its 100,000th visitor, thereby demonstrating once again its huge success among a large public of enthusiasts and lovers of luxury watchmaking. Situated at number 7, rue des Vieux-Grenadiers in Geneva, this prestigious sanctuary houses treasures that have previously been only partially unveiled. "By opening this museum we wished to create a real Mecca of watchmaking in Geneva, where researchers, aesthetes, scientists, technicians and simple enthusiasts could gather to admire some of the watchmaking treasures that have left their mark on our history," said Philippe Stern, the president of Patek Philippe. "We also hoped to attract the general public, from Geneva and elsewhere, to share with it our passion for luxury watchmaking. By reaching the 100,000 mark in terms of visitor numbers, we feel we have successfully risen to the challenge!"

The Patek Philippe Museum houses around 2,000 watches, automata, miniature portraits painted on enamel and exceptional showcase exhibits covering five centuries of European watchmaking. Its collection is displayed in two complementary sections: one devoted to old pieces from the European heritage (essentially from Geneva) predating the foundation of Patek Philippe in 1839, the other highlighting the history of the manufacturer, from its origins to the present day, illustrated by its finest creations. The museum also houses on the ground floor the reproduction of an old watchmaking workshop from the turn of the last century, containing more than 400 old machines and tools, and on the third floor a library of more than 8,000 works all dedicated to the measurement of time.

From the very old German montre-tambour (around 1530) to the famous Calibre 89 by Patek Philippe, plus the chance in passing to observe the magnificent pendant-watch which belonged to Queen Victoria (1851), visitors to the Patek Philippe Museum are invited to take a passionate and thought-provoking journey through time that will both delight and surprise.

June 27, 2008