In Singapore, Patek Philippe Brings Its Grand ‘Watch Art’ Exhibition to Its Biggest Audience Ever

The Swiss watch company Patek
Philippe is celebrating its 180th birthday this year with the most spectacular
edition of its “Watch Art Grand Exhibition” series to
date.

“This is going to be a nightmare
for me,” said Thierry Stern, president of the Geneva-based
watchmaker at a preview for the show in late September, at the
Marina Bay Sands Theatre in Singapore. “We already have some 32,000
people pre-registered online to see this exhibition. That means we
can expect at least double that number.”

Notwithstanding his startling
opening statement, Stern was visibly pleased with the numbers that
foretold a resounding success for the fifth edition of Patek
Philippe’s traveling exhibition. Based on that estimate, the
Singapore show, which opened on September 28 and runs through
October 13, is expected to bring in even more visitors than it did
in London at the Saatchi Gallery (with 42,500 visitors) in 2015,
and in New York (at Cipriani 42nd Street, with 27,500
visitors) in 2017. 

Over the years, the show has
grown by leaps and bounds, especially if one takes into account its
beginnings: a 1969 exhibition of historical watches in Texas done
in collaboration with a local retailer, which was followed by a
small museum show in 1995, titled “The Legendary Watches of Patek
Philippe.” These early shows paved the way for the first Watch Art
Grand Exhibition in Dubai in 2012, and then in Munich in
2013.  

This year’s exhibition covers
18,000 square feet of space, and includes over 400 unique
timepieces, both modern and vintage, some of which are on loan from
the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. The exhibition, according to
Patek Phillippe, is primarily a vehicle used to drive public
engagement, aiming to bring the art of fine watchmaking to the
masses. 

That is achieved by “recreating
the atmosphere of the Patek Philippe manufacture,” Stern explained,
and casting a spotlight on nearly 180 years of the brand’s own
history and that of other legendary watchmakers who have
contributed to elevating the craft of mechanical watchmaking into
an art form.  

Founded in 1839, Patek Philippe
is still a family-owned business today, and produces about 65,000
timepieces annually. Stern, who took the reins of the company in
1997, was in Singapore along with his family for the exhibition’s
opening, accompanied by his two young sons and wife, Sandrine. To
dispel rumors that the company was for sale, Stern explained that
he was preparing the fifth generation to step in. “One of my sons
is already in watchmaking school,” he said.

At the exhibition, visitors will
enjoy themed rooms that evoke the look and feel of Patek Philippe’s
historic Geneva Salon, some with virtual reality displays that
explain the intricacies of the watchmaker’s complicated movements
made in-house. There are artisans onsite to explain, soup to nuts,
how timepieces are assembled, restored, or decorated, with live
demonstrations of the art of engraving, guilloché, wood marquetry,
and enameling. Anita Porchet, one of the world’s premier enameling
specialists, was present for the show’s opening to discuss her own
contribution to the artistic craft timepieces produced by the
company in the last 25 years. 

“Our rare ‘handcraft’ timepieces
are totally fascinating to visitors,” said Sandrine Stern, head of
watch creation at Patek Philippe. “The presence of artisans here
makes all the difference.”  

Those who visit the exhibition
might begin to understand why collectors pay astronomical sums for
a Patek Philippe timepiece, or wait years for the chance to buy one
of the company’s wristwatches. After all, it was Patek Philippe
that produced the “Henry Graves Supercomplication,” a pocket watch
made in 1933 for the American banker, Henry Graves Jr., that sold
in auction in 2014 for a record $24 million—the highest price ever
paid for a timepiece. And then there is the steel Nautilus reference
5711, arguably the most coveted modern wristwatch on the market
today, which has a wait list that stretches well over a decade, and
fetches auction prices far higher than the watch’s retail price of
about $29,000.  

Still, this show is not a
commercial exercise, but rather geared toward showcasing Patek
Philippe’s “culture of watchmaking,” which [Sandrine] Stern
described as “our watchmaking know-how, defined by our continuity,
precision, innovation, and independence.”

But what will surely leave Patek
lovers tickled pink—or rather, red in this case—are the new
special-edition timepieces produced with red accents, an auspicious
color in Asia, and Singapore’s official color. Unveiled at the
show, most, if not all, will be available exclusively at local or
regional retailers for sale only to local residents. Among them is
the new Aquanaut ref. 5167A in steel, with red details on the dial,
and a red strap.

The Aquanaut is another modern
model that ranks high on the popularity scale for Patek lovers, and
the fact that it is limited to just 500 pieces and priced around
$22,000 will surely help to generate even more interest. The rare
handcrafts are also major crowd-pleasers, like the “Batik on Black”
dome table clock in cloisonné enamel, enhanced with manual
engraving and miniature painting on enamel inspired by Malaysian
sarongs, or the limited edition Calatrava “Dragon” wristwatch, with
a dial in wood marquetry, depicting a popular symbol of power in
Asia.  

“Marquetry is an elaborate craft
used rarely to decorate timepieces in such incredible detail, like
the scales on the neck, the eagle-like claws, the bearded throat,
or the comb of feathers on the neck and back,” a spokesperson for
Patek Philippe explained. “An artisan patiently cut out and
assembled 192 tiny wood parts and 30 intarsias, all hardly visible
to the eye.” 

According to Patek Philippe,
Singapore is now one of its most important markets—a fact that
explains the choice of venue. But this year is also the
bicentennial of Singapore: it was 200 years ago that Sir Stamford Raffles,
founder of Singapore, first arrived on the island. To mark that
occasion, Patek Philippe has announced that it will donate all sale
proceeds of its hardcover exhibition catalogue to Singapore’s
National Museum, as a way to give back to the host country for a
grand time well spent.

Patek Phillippe’s
“Watch Art Grand
Exhibition” runs daily through October 13, from 10 a.m.–7 p.m. at
the Marina Bay Sands Theater, 10 Bayfront Avenue,
Singapore.

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‘Watch Art’ Exhibition to Its Biggest Audience Ever appeared
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