Business Breakdowns
Episode 146 Patek Philippe: Watch Perfection
Business Breakdowns

Episode 146: Patek Philippe: Watch Perfection

Business Breakdowns

Episode 146

Patek Philippe: Watch Perfection

John Reardon is a vintage Patek expert and the founder of Collectability. We cover why Patek Phillipe deserves its title as the world's premier watchmaker, how one auction in 1989 defined the brand for years to come, and the experience of purchasing and collecting these watches.

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(00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns

(00:02:41 The main differences between Patek Philippe and Rolex  

(00:06:32) An introduction to Patek Philippe’s brand 

(00:08:47) The founding story of the business

(00:11:14) Henry Graves and the watches that he made for the brand 

(00:16:46) The production process for making a Patek Philippe watch

(00:19:56) A look at the 1989 and its importance to the business

(00:22:08) The types of people who were interested in the brand and purchasing at auction in 1989

(00:24:41) An overview of the successful marketing campaigns of the 1990s 

(00:27:26) Patek’s strategy at auctions, embracing both consignment and buying

(00:30:38) The general size and scope of the Patek Philippe secondary market

(00:32:20) The brand’s perspective of the secondary market and whether it affects the way they market new items

(00:36:47) John’s personal experience working at Patek Philippe 

(00:40:36) The company’s distribution strategy  

(00:43:42) Breaking down the points of sale, branded dealers versus authorized dealers

(00:44:29) The mindset behind consolidating dealers and the exclusivity it created as a byproduct 

(00:46:22) How the LVMH acquisition of Tiffany has affected Patek Philippe

(00:49:18) The potential of Patek Philippe being acquired by another company

(00:53:48) Lessons learned from Patek Philippe

 

Patek Philippe: Watch Perfection

Introduction

Matt
You never own a Patek Philippe. You merely watch over it for the next generation. I'll say it's the best marketing campaign in history, a campaign appropriate for the premier watchmaker in the world and a watchmaker that is worthy of a Business Breakdown. This is Matt Reustle, and our guest today is John Reardon from Collectability.

John has worked at Sotheby's, the auction house. Then he spent a decade at Patek Philippe in the early 2000s, and he continues to write for Patek Philippe Magazine while he has launched Collectability, a brand dedicated to vintage and preowned Patek Philippe. We cover what makes Patek such a special brand. There is the almost 200-year history in the craftsmanship. There are the countless patents like that self-winding mechanism that powers all automatic watches today. This is a brand that keeps 2 chainsmiths on staff just in case.

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