Patek Philippe Rose Gold Watch With Tube Bracelet

It shouldn’t be surprising that a Patek Philippe holds the world auction record for a watch ($31.2 million for a Patek Grandmaster Chime, sold at Christie’s). Known for impeccable craftsmanship and some of the most complicated timepieces ever created, the brand is considered by many to be the height of fine watchmaking. Collectors simply love Patek Philippe watches.

The house was founded in Geneva in 1839 by Polish expats Antoni Patek and Franciszek Czapek. Czapek left the firm, and in 1845, Patek partnered with French watchmaker Jean Adrien Philippe. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Catering to the glitterati of Europe, the pair counted among their clients Tolstoy, Pope Pius IX and Queen Victoria, as well as Countess Koscowicz of Hungary, for whom they created the first Swiss-made wristwatch in 1868. They also had their eye on the American market and in 1851 entered an arrangement with Tiffany & Co. still in effect today.

During the Great Depression, brothers Jean and Charles Stern, who had previously supplied Patek Philippe with watch dials, bought the company, and it continues to be run by the Stern family today.

Under the Sterns, the house has developed some of its most famous models, including the Calatrava, an elegantly minimal dress watch introduced in 1932 and named for the Calatrava Cross (the company’s logo since 1887), and the Nautilus, the brand’s first sports watch, conceived by legendary designer Gérald Genta in 1976.

Despite the house’s longevity, it’s rumored that it has manufactured fewer than a million Patek watches, making each one all the more coveted. (The brand's pieces are understandably attractive to counterfeiters — make sure you know how to spot a fake Patek Philippe watch.)

Find authentic Patek Philippe watches, cufflinks, bracelets and more on 1stDibs today.

My business has been carried on by two generations, it started in 1960 in Milan by my father. Today my showroom is still in Milan, capital of the Italian design. My pieces of jewellery are distinguished by the registered trade mark MI716. My jewels have a modern style and they are hand made in Italy by me and produced in 18 carat gold with diamonds, aquamarines, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, tanzanite, pearls, like my cocktail rings, that are stunning pieces of jewelry. But I'm a vintage jewellery lover too: like the 1960s cuff or link bracelets, the engagement or dome rings, the enamel broochs, the 1950s necklaces, the engraved cufflinks and the vintage watches, like Rolex. You can find my modern collection and my vintage jewelry in my 1stdibs online shop.