Swiss and German houses · Founded 1839
Patek Philippe History
Patek Philippe began in Geneva in 1839, founded by Polish émigré Antoni Patek with Franciszek Czapek. French watchmaker Adrien Philippe, inventor of keyless winding, joined in 1845. Its watches regularly set auction records for the most expensive ever sold.
Key facts
| Founded | 1839 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Antoni Patek, Franciszek Czapek; Adrien Philippe from 1845 |
| Where | Geneva, Switzerland |
| Famous customer | Queen Victoria (1851) |
| Owner today | The Stern family (since 1932) |
A Polish officer and a French inventor
Antoni Patek fought in the Polish uprising of 1830 and settled in Geneva, where he began selling watches with fellow Pole Franciszek Czapek. At an exhibition in Paris he met Adrien Philippe, who had invented a way to wind and set a watch with the crown instead of a separate key. Philippe joined in 1845, and the firm became Patek Philippe & Co. in 1851. The same year, Queen Victoria bought one of its watches at the Great Exhibition in London.
The record breakers
Patek Philippe made one of the first Swiss wristwatches in 1868, for a Hungarian countess. In 1933 it finished the Henry Graves Supercomplication, a gold pocket watch with 24 complications, made for a New York banker. It sold at auction in 2014 for about 23 million Swiss francs. The company has been owned by the Stern family since 1932 and is one of the few big Swiss names still independent.
Read more: Who invented the watch? 50 inventions · the full story of the watchmakers
Questions people ask
Who founded Patek Philippe?
Antoni Patek and Franciszek Czapek in 1839; Adrien Philippe joined in 1845, and the firm took the name Patek Philippe in 1851.
Is Patek Philippe independent?
Yes. It has been owned by the Stern family since 1932.
Sources
Last updated October 18, 2026. Found an error? Tell us.