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Patek Philippe authenticity personified

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Rick Cohn

Ask anyone in advertising what the best themeline ever written is, and you’re as likely as not to hear “Just Do It” or “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” And for sure, who can argue with those? One you probably won’t hear, but which I believe is every bit as powerful, at least for a much narrower slice of the acquisitive culture, is this one.

You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.”

Founded in 1839, Patek Philippe – or simply Patek, as it is more commonly referred to – is Geneva’s oldest family-owned watch manufacturer. You could get into an argument very quickly with people like John Mayer and Bubba Watson, to name two well-known watch hounds, as to who makes the world’s finest watches, but Patek is certainly going to be part of the considered set. And if you visit a website like Paul Duggan Fine Watches (www.pduggan.com) and see the kind of prices vintage Pateks are fetching ($135,000 for a 36mm Perpetual Calendar “with a platinum case and bezel, exhibition caseback and interchangeable full platinum caseback, Opaline white dial, day, date, month, moonphase, chronograph and perpetual calendar and sapphire crystal,” was the most expensive piece I found on the site as of this writing), you realize very quickly that this is a rare and highly valued brand indeed.

Let’s look closer at the themeline and consider what the 16 words tell us:

  • That Pateks are timeless and never go out of style
  • That by spending the money for a Patek, you are joining into a tradition that reveres excellence
  • That owning a Patek is both a privilege and a responsibility (how upstanding is that?)

As it happens, those very messages are stated in more depth on the Patek website, we learn that the spirit of the company is embodied in a group of values that have represented the essence of Patek Philippe since its founding more than 175 years ago and which it adheres to just as intently today. How many other brands are this tenacious about honoring their history?

In a recent article in the European Business Review about luxury wine brands, many of the authors’ comments are just as relevant to Patek. “Marketing academics,” they state, “note the increasing importance of authenticity to consumers in developed societies, which goes along with the desire to escape excessive commercialization, and with a search for meaning and experiences that feel real.” Interestingly, they identify what they call the “three dimensions” of authenticity:

Pure authenticity is associated with a continuing commitment to tradition and the place of origin – i.e., where the product is produced. Patek gets a check for this one.

Approximate authenticity refers, they say, to consumers’ mental picture of the product. Does it conjure an image of history? Patek gets another check.

Finally, moral authenticity occurs when a brand is genuine in its intentions. “Morally authentic companies create something because they deeply believe in it, not just because there is external demand or the promise of financial reward.” I seriously doubt that the good people at Patek are insensitive to the economics of what they’re turning out, but I think I can say for sure that they not only believe deeply in what they’re doing, but that they derive a huge sense of satisfaction from the fact that their buyers celebrate them for it.

As for the themeline, I don’t know who wrote it, but I can tell you this – if I had, I’d die happy.