Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva: outstanding collection of historic timepieces
GENEVA, April 21, 2013 – The Patek Philippe Museum houses a superb collection of vintage timepieces going back to early pocket watches, and wristwatches of the First World War and Art Deco periods.
It is a watches connoisseur’s dream to wander around the three floors of the Patek Philippe Museum in central Geneva.
Visitors can admire the supreme craftsmanship that went into creating timepieces after exiled Pole, Antoni Norbert Patek and French watchmaker Jean Adrien Philippe joined forces in the 19th century.
Some of the earliest timepieces on display were decorated with painting on enamel featuring portraits.
The museum experience begins with a film, made by Remi Faillant, shown to visitors in the ground floor auditorium, in which a man reveals to a boy the history of Patek Philippe by leafing through images in a book showing personalities who come alive to the boy.
After taking an elevator straight up to the third floor of the museum on the Rue des Vieux-Grenadiers, one glimpses at a well-stocked library filled with books about the history of horology.
The second floor presents a collection of historic objets d’art from the 16th to 19th centuries, ranging from timepieces to snuff boxes to a pendant-watch in the form of a harp.
The Patek Philippe watches collection resides on the first floor, and includes watches with varying levels of complications from the earliest days to recent times, encompassing the First World War and Art Deco periods and up to the late 20th century.
The exhibition includes a watch and desk clock specially made for James Ward Packard (1863-1929) of Warren, Ohio.
The watches and objets d’art are attractively presented in well-lit wooden and glass display cabinets, which allow tourists to linger as they admire the designs.
On the ground floor at the end of the tour the tools of watch making are displayed on top of wooden work benches used by watchmakers and goldsmith-jewellers over the generations.
The appeal of the craftsmanship that goes into Patek Philippe watches, which are among the most sought-after by collectors, ensures that the museum will be high on the priority list of any watches aficionado visiting Geneva.
