Thierry Stern’s Comments, Stallone’s Auction Approved By Patek, Lisa Jones Background

[James84]

Hi All

There has been much buzz about Thierry Stern’s recent comments in response to criticism about the Cubitus, specifically where he says “the haters will never own a Patek”. A very unorthodox response from a leader when facing critique and not being well received as many blogs are viewing this as pretentious and arrogant.

Having said that I’ve seen posts on here in the past where Mr Stern made comments at private events stating “Patek is only for the elite” and what he considered non-elite are people who are not relevant to the brand. Interestingly enough that post quickly got locked.

We also saw Sylvester Stallone auction his brand new fully sealed rare pieces recently and Patek did not directly comment on this matter but made cryptic statements about it saying it was disappointed when any collector does such things and they strive to make sure they sell these pieces to people who will not do such things. I call BS on this public statement by Patek because Stallone has been selling his ultra rare Patek’s for years and Patek was well aware of this yet they continue allocating to him, see 14 min on this video where Avi & Co confirms this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vZAC2e...NlciBtaWNoYWVs

So Patek has not been entirely honest with the public and its core customer base relative to allocations, what it frowns upon, and enabling and encouraging flipping to create more hype on its own brand.

Lisa Jones president of Patek Philippe USA comes from an auction house background. Prior to joining Patek she worked for Christie’s auction house. There is more than enough evidence to show Patek has no dislike for its new highly rare allocated pieces being auctioned at “inflated” prices, and it actually enables “certain collectors” to do this so an inflated price sticks to the brand thus driving more revenue for the company and helping to sell all of its pieces.

The Stallone auction did not play out as well as Patek had anticipated as the 6300G piece sold for a mere $5.4 million. After fees that’s close to the high 3’s and very close to retail. Patek is not seeing the 5X returns on such strategic execution of celebrity auctions, and we continue to be in a downward trend of secondary pricing with demand continuing to fall from peaked levels.

So in conclusion with Mr Stern’s controversial and somewhat arrogant comments in recent years, combined with failed executions of the brand trying to inflate its own brands value and price per piece with such auctions, and the Cubitus being viewed by the majority as “lazy” and “unimaginative” for a brand like Patek’s caliber do you all think these are the early signs of Patek Philippe losing some prestige and its place as the number 1 watch brand in the world?

Patek will always sell watches and is cemented in horological history and prestige. But nothing remains number 1 forever so my question is more around its place and number in horological prestige.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

[77T]

I have been critical of PP's decisions on the Aquanaut's role. But I'm not a hater and I own a Calatrava.

Out of context quotes are a minefield so won't comment on that hater quip.

I tend to agree that Stallone's approach is counterproductive to more different people buying a Patek. But it is his right to sell any of his watches. It reflects more on his choice of PP versus another high-end brand like RM.


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[MangoTree1]

Sometimes even i, as an arrogant person, i like arrogant people. And with TS as CEO i m sure PP will stay far ahead of all others! Buy ur APs, Mosers or what ever-please get happy with. Who do you "haters" think you re?! Its "only" a new design and not your company! You can also take yourself for too important and this is said by a (sometimes) arrogant person!

[Guppydriver]

I’m not sure there is much context to digest here .. I’m not saying he’s wrong , but these comments are off putting by most standards



In other news , PP modernized their slogan to coincide with the release of the Cubitus :

“You never really own a Patek Philippe. You just wish you did , you poor piece of shit “


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[Bearxj86]

Saw this on IG- chuckled abit


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[GGGMT]

I am a lover not a hater. Patek


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[byow]

Originally Posted by Guppydriver

I’m not sure there is much context to digest here .. I’m not saying he’s wrong , but these comments are off putting by most standards



In other news , PP modernized their slogan to coincide with the release of the Cubitus :

“You never really own a Patek Philippe. You just wish you did , you poor piece of shit “


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The translation is inaccurate. The article in Bilan reports that TS said in French: « 99% de ces haters n’ont aucune Patek et n’en achèteront jamais », which means: « 99% of these haters do not have any Patek and will not buy any ». TS is not referring to these « haters » being rich or poor. This is something that is not in the article.

[77T]

^^^
That's a good of example of what I said earlier - when people take things out of context (including a proper translation) it's a minefield.


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[Guppydriver]

Originally Posted by byow

The translation is inaccurate. The article in Bilan reports that TS said in French: « 99% de ces haters n’ont aucune Patek et n’en achèteront jamais », which means: « 99% of these haters do not have any Patek and will not buy any ». TS is not referring to these « haters » being rich or poor. This is something that is not in the article.

I wasn’t translating, I was using satire when I mentioned the being poor part..

I agree no posted or printed translation insinuates that TS mentioned socioeconomic status of clients that will never buy his brand.

We can agree to disagree, but I think there is a heavy implication why 99% of the haters will never buy a Patek. I’m honestly curious why else he thinks 99% of an audience consisting of (primarily) watch enthusiasts would never buy a watch from the most famous member of the Holy Trinity?

[Guppydriver]

Originally Posted by 77T

^^^
That's a good of example of what I said earlier - when people take things out of context (including a proper translation) it's a minefield.


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Other than the 99% part (which doesn’t change the meaning), the translation repeated by Time & Tide is very accurate. More accurate than BYOW’s translation which omits the word “never” or “ever” which is what jamais means.

I do agree whole heartily that it’s a minefield. I also believe one of the responsibilities of a CEO is to avoid them.

I love Patek by the way. I’m just having discourse over what I feel is a very off putting and elitist statement by the CEO.

I do feel the Cubitus was a bit of a lazy all new release compared to say….the Zeitwerk by ALS, so I think objective critique is warranted. I expected a little more from a company with the resources and heritage of Patek. And yes, PP isn’t responsible for my expectations.

Now if you love the Cubitus and can afford one , I think that’s awesome and I sincerely look forward to the incomings. If you love the Cubitus and can’t afford one, I look forward to hearing all the reasons why you do love it.