Exceptional complications, the highest level of craftsmanship, and a reputation without equal: Patek Philippe is unquestionably one of the biggest names in the watch industry. Since 1932, the Geneva luxury brand has been led by a family dynasty that has now reached its fourth generation with Thierry Stern. Like his forebears, the Patek president is committed to clear values: quality over quantity, considered innovation, and strong personal involvement in the company's day-to-day business.
From Economic Crisis to Global Success
To understand Thierry Stern, you have to look back more than 80 years into the history of this prestigious manufacture. After all, the brand was not always blessed, as it is today, with soaring sales and thousands of customers willing to wait years for their Patek. In 1932, as the global economy suffered the fallout of the great financial crisis, sales at the Geneva firm plunged to an alarming low that threatened its very existence.
Just in time, two owners of a dial factory stepped onto the stage: Charles and Jean Stern bought all of Patek Philippe's shares, saved the company, and laid the foundation for its later success. The international rise itself was achieved by the second and third generations: while Henri Stern established distribution in the US market and remained the company's president until 1977, the era of his son Philippe marked the manufacture's definitive breakthrough.
His mission to elevate the Geneva firm to the highest ranks of the Swiss watch industry left a lasting mark on the company: the undiminished success of the Nautilus collection to this day, the reintroduction of the minute repeater in 1989, and the maximization of exclusivity through the systematic thinning of the retail network would likely have been unthinkable without him. The opening of the company's own museum in 2001 can also be traced back to Philippe Stern's initiative.
A President with Watchmaking Expertise
Thierry Stern therefore had big shoes to fill when he took over his father's senior position in 2009. The successor was certainly not short on preparation: alongside a successful degree in business, his career up to that point also included training as a watchmaker. This likely places him among a small minority of bosses who still master their company's craft themselves. And indeed, Stern's involvement in day-to-day operations is greater than you might think: he personally oversees the development and design of the luxurious timepieces, has his own expertise when it comes to selecting materials, and generally prefers to keep the door to his office open. He wants news from daily operations to reach him directly and unfiltered.
Is it his sense of responsibility that makes Stern determined to avoid becoming cut off from what is happening at all costs? After all, he steers a brand that sold more than 60,000 watches in 2018 alone, employs over 2,400 people, and ranks among the industry's most important pioneers. Wrong decisions could not only jeopardize Patek Philippe's future but also damage the entire watch industry. It is at least very likely that Thierry Stern takes these aspects into account in his actions. But at its core, it is a deep passion for his manufacture that drives the president anew every day.
Not Founders, but Guardians
Stern is aware that his family joined the company long after Patek was founded. Ninety-three years later, to be precise. The brand was born back in 1839, when the Polish nobleman Antoine Norbert de Patek opened what was initially a modest watch manufacture in Geneva. With the later arrival of the French entrepreneur Jean Adrien Philippe, the brand took on the name it still bears today in 1851 and fundamentally revolutionized horology. That same year, it presented the first keyless pocket watch at the Great Exhibition in London, and in 1868 it created the very first Swiss wristwatch – a bespoke piece for the Hungarian Countess Koscowicz.
Just like his forebears, Thierry Stern looks back on the company's early chapters with great respect and explicitly emphasizes that he does not want to call the brand his own. Rather, he sees himself as a custodian who wants to preserve Patek's craftsmanship and innovations for the future.
Strictly speaking, however, the company is owned by the Sterns and is today estimated to be worth around €10 billion.
Wouldn't it be much easier, then, to sell the company, never work again, and spend the rest of your life in pure luxury?
A Sale: Out of the Question
Thierry Stern has a clear answer to this question. Despite its enormous wealth, his family is not about yachts, villas, or luxury cars. The entrepreneur is convinced that selling would make him nothing but unhappy – after all, he loves what he does.
Despite the president's clear stance, rumors of a possible sale surface regularly – most recently in early 2019, when a takeover by the luxury goods group LVMH or Rolex was being floated ahead of Baselworld. In reality, however, Stern has something quite different in mind. Ideally, he would one day hand the business down to his own children – entirely in keeping with the old family tradition. But there is still time for that.
First, his successors are to discover their own passion for watchmaking and acquire the technical skills needed to lead Patek one day. It seems the house's most famous advertising slogan applies to the Stern dynasty itself: "You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation."
