For the next generation
Words by Hannah Tapping Following a remarkable year of exceptional releases, Patek Philippe once again demonstrates why it remains one of the most revered names in haute horlogerie. Lemon Street catches the light differently in August as Truro’s granite frontages soften in the late summer sun. As I step into the Michael Spiers showroom, that same light settles onto dials that have taken years, sometimes decades, to design. I’m here to explore the world of Patek Philippe as Michael Spiers hosts an exhibition, or rather a rare gathering, of the Maison’s latest work fresh from Watches & Wonders 2026, where 20 new creations and four limited-edition Nautilus anniversary pieces were unveiled to the world.
Patek Philippe is a watchmaker like no other. By passing down the helm from one generation to the next since 1932, the Stern Family has been the guardian of Patek Philippe values and know-how, while successfully ensuring the continuous development of the company and its timepieces. At its helm today, Thierry Stern is the fourth generation of his family to run Patek Philippe, following his great grandfather, grandfather and father Philippe, whom he succeeded in 2009.
Commenting during a previous visit to Michael Spiers in Truro, Thierry Stern remembered exactly when his own fascination began. “I was six years old,” he recalls. “In my dad’s office near Lake Geneva, there were big drawers filled with pocket watches. I remember opening them all the time just because I loved looking at them. That’s where the passion started.” Unusually for a man now in charge of one of the world’s most prestigious brands, Thierry Stern did not begin behind a desk. After watchmaking school, he apprenticed alongside Patek Philippe’s own craftsmen, learning to machine springs, hands, cogs and wheels, to engrave a dial and assemble a case by hand. “Every time a member of the family takes over, he must prove himself,” he says. “A watchmaker has to evolve, to be creative, to push further.”
Guiding visitors expertly through the Truro collection is Giordano Chirieleison, Michael Spiers’ resident Patek Philippe expert, who comes from his own family of jewellers. He’s quick to tell me that he does not sell these watches so much as introduce them. His role as advisor is part of an emotional journey where both clients and team meet to become part of something unique.
Just 75,000 Patek Philippe watches leave the Geneva workshop each year, the simplest taking nine months to make, the most complex, the Grand Complications that fill glass cases like small sculptures, two years or more. Among the Exhibition’s highlights are the Grand Complications Celestial Sunrise & Sunset 6105G-001, its dial a recreation of the night sky above Geneva, five years in development and protected by six patents, and the Cubitus Perpetual Calendar Skeleton 5840P-001, its platinum case revealing the skeletonised mechanism beneath. None of this decoration is for its own sake. As I have the privilege of sliding a Complications Annual Calendar & Moon Phases 5396R-016 on to my wrist, I feel the true significance of what it means to wear a Patek Philippe.
The most expensive wristwatch ever sold at auction was a Patek Philippe, a Grandmaster Chime that fetched $31.2 million in 2019. Numbers like that can obscure the point rather than illustrate it, but Thierry Stern is well aware of this. What he comes back to is permanence rather than value: “Inspiration can come from unexpected places,” he says. “A vintage car, a beautiful house. Often when I’m sleeping, that’s where I have my best ideas. My responsibility is to surprise. That’s how we keep growing.” Such is the attention to detail on all levels, that Thierry himself still personally approves the chime of every minute repeater to leave the manufacture, and for the very finest pieces, buyers are vetted directly by him, not for the size of their fortune but for whether they understand what they are being trusted with.
It is this very sentiment, more than the gold or the gemstones, that Gio imparts to every visitor who steps into Michael Spiers’ Patek Philippe area. These are not watches bought on impulse; rather they are heirlooms, built to be handed down through generations not yet born, and only those who truly grasp the craftsmanship and the story behind them are considered fit to own one.
Every day, Patek Philippe creates something that will outlast its maker. “These watches will still be working in 100, 200, even 300 years’ time. That’s the privilege of working here. And for me, it’s the pleasure, too.” Gio’s role, in hosting a century of horological ambition, is to make sure whoever walks away with a Patek Philippe understands what has been placed in their hands, and the two family businesses – one Swiss, one British – who made sure it got there.
