Luxury Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe is all set to release its first new prototype in 24 years, announced CEO Thierry Stern, at the Geneva Watches and Wonders fair, reported Bloomberg on Friday.
The new line of models will compete with its already popular Nautilus line. Patek last introduced a new line in 1999 with its 'Twenty~4' women’s collection.
Stern said the new model line is expected to be unveiled later this year, or next year once all the final elements are in place.
He did not elaborate on whether the new line would consist of sports models such as the Nautilus — originally designed by Gerald Genta — or dress watches such as the Ellipse or its Complications and Grand Complications lines.
The brand, much like other Swiss luxury watches, has been grappling with a surge in popularity and a rise in demand for the Nautilus collection in recent years, the report added.
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Prices also soared to unprecedented levels on the secondary market during the pandemic before pulling back sharply over the past year. Currently, they are still selling well above retail prices.
The company responded to the hype by ending production of the blue dial steel 5711, a popular sports watch model.
The brand later introduced a similar model, the 5811, housed in a white gold and at a higher price of about $70,000, compared with about $35,000 for a steel Nautilus version.
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Stern maintained that more modestly priced watches still remain a key component of the luxury brand’s portfolio.
“You should not only do a million-dollar watch; we don’t have only very, very rich people” as customers, he was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
“We have people who are passionate about watches and who can spend a maximum of $30,000 or $40,000 on a watch — which is already a lot of money.”
Overwhelming demand for the brand's watches has pushed the company to cut its retail distribution network by about 30 percent.
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Stern also added that the watchmaker has no plans to follow Rolex and authenticate its watches for resale on the secondary market through authorized dealers.
“I’m a watchmaker, I’m selling new watches,” he said. “That’s what I’m good at,” he was further quoted as saying.
Patek Philippe is one of the last and most coveted independent Swiss watchmaking brands and would have no shortage of potential buyers though Stern said there are no plans to sell the business, which his family has controlled since 1932.
In fact, he elaborated how a sale to a larger luxury conglomerate such as LVMH or Richemont would almost certainly herald the beginning of the end for the brand and diminish the value of its watches owned by collectors.
“If I’m selling Patek Philippe to a group, for sure I am going to be the winner. I can sell it for billions,” he was quoted as saying.
“But then I’m going to kill Patek Philippe in less than five years. You can be sure you will only see Nautilus, because that’s what the group would do.”
“This is not what I want to do,” the report concluded.