Teddy Baldassarre
Cheapest Patek Philippe Watches
To be honest, most people in the know would agree that “cheapest” and “Patek Philippe” don’t really even belong in the same sentence together. That said, for many serious watch collectors, even those just starting out, one’s first Patek Philippe is both a Holy Grail and a milestone purchase to be carefully, thoughtfully planned out and saved for. And most of those aficionados are still going to be entering the brand’s world at the ground floor rather than the penthouse. So what are these “entry level” Patek Philippe watches, i.e., the models actually priced with a first-time buyer in mind? First off, we should establish why Patek Philippe watches are so coveted in the first place by laying out a bit of history. Since its founding in 1839 in Geneva, Patek Philippe has been a leader in high watchmaking, pioneering many complications and design elements that are now seen widely throughout the watch industry. Polish watchmakers Antoine Norbert de Patek and Francois Czapek partnered to form the original company, Patek, Czapek, & Cie.; French horologist Jean Adrien Philippe, who invented the keyless winding and setting system still standard on watches today, joined in 1845, and the Genevan manufacture has been known as Patek Philippe ever since. Among its many horological milestones are the first annual calendar watch and the first wristwatches with perpetual calendars and split-seconds chronographs. In 1932, brothers Jean and Henri Stern acquired Patek Philipp...
