i think if you position it correctly its always relevant. Look at vinyl records. Niche yes, but they are back in a big way. Its great for me because most of my favorite artists are releasing all of their new stuff on vinyl again.

A mechanical watch serves no practical purpose. IMO its more about the art, the craftsmanship in the same way vinyl is about the small details in the sound

I think any watch that isnt a quartz post 1970 is not necessary at all. But they live on.... so i dont necessarily think its a new issue.

This is a double edge sword. It will be great news for those who already own it as prices will sky rocket for older models (think of daytona paul newman and zenith movements). But new buyers will not get much value especially if they mass produce popular models for quick profits. Unless Rolex buys them and run the same of philosophy of making the market hungry for more ;)

We simply don’t know the future. However, the same holds true for cars; they likely will be obsolete in some form or another in 100 years, if not sooner. And art. There is no practical use for art. But collectors will be collectors.

I think many preowned Patek (pre-company sale, it it happens) will remain collectible.

Perhaps it'll be a similar arrangement to the one the Kaufmann family made with the Blackstone group when Blackstone expressed interest in Leica. If memories serves correct, that was set at 55% Kaufmanns/45% Blackstone.

I think the important point here is Jewelry, people used to favor the mechanical aspect of the watch over the jewelry aspect (dial and bracelet looks). And now is the opposite people favor the jewelry side over the mechanical one. People don’t care about the intricacy of a PCC movement, you don’t show that on the streets , all they care is does it shine right ? Do I look like a boss with it ? Am I on trend ? That’s the market !! And that’s unfortunate because the dress complicated watch is the essence of patek and that kind of watch is dying. Thanks God Patek has the Nautilus line [emoji1376][emoji1376]


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Oh I agree, I am sure there is always a market for it. I am sure some writers still uses type writer because they love the smell of ink or the mechanical keyboards, or photographers still using film. But how big of a market is that going to be? Enough to sustain the business?

As for quartz watches, I think that is a different argument. Let’s say in 1985 you walk down the street, what can you use to tell you the time? You have no smartphone, so whether it’s quartz or mechanical watch, likely you still need one or the other. But in 2019, do you still need a mechanical watch to tell you the time? No because your phone can do so, it’s no longer a necessity.

Anyways, it’s hard for businesses to last centuries, just too much unpredictability. Something like only 60 companies still exist from Fortune 500 in 1955. Patek might go strong for another 50 years or it might not, I wouldn’t blame the Stern family if someone offer them 10B and they decided to sell.

I can say with absolute certainty that if Patek is sold to a conglomerate, I have bought my last from them.

A large part of the appeal is they are independent and not motivated to make stock holders happy. The entire personality of Patek Philippe will change for the worst if owned by a conglomerate designed for shareholder profit.

I still love a good mechanical dress watch and a really nice mechanical sports watch for both the art and the function.

But that is just my thoughts...


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Bloomberg cited Berenberg.

Lol

They are like a tiny little pretend to be Bernstein shop in Europe. I probably would take it with a grainnof salt.

If the sterns were truely selling right now, you would hear it floated by a more reputable bank.


Also if they are sold to a conglomerate, we have also bought our last watches...

I was thinking something similar to that, cash in but still negotiate to run the business, let someone else take the financial risks.

who knows they could be drumming up interest before the IPO. Why sell it if you can just go public and then TS can remain the chairman and make bank

I don’t know what’s worse, selling to a conglomerate or going public, personally like most here, I prefer Patek remain independently private.

me too. Just another possible angle worth speculation.:chuckle:

No one would go to Berenberg to drum up interest is my point

plausible deniability :chuckle:

Its a non float, float

people in politics do that all the time. Use some non reputable or obscure outlet to float something. If its popular its confirmed, if its not they deny it.

If Patek sells to a big conglomerate - outside of Rolex - I think it slowly kills the brand - Audemars takes over the #1 spot in the space Patek has in peoples mind and hearts - they are already in that top 3 trio of Rolex, Patek, AP

Chances are it will all come to nothing, just a lively thread for everybody today :smokin:

Exactly!!!!!

I am with you.

i like AP but i would not put them at #1. I think if patek gets sold people will reevaluate the whole idea of being independent. ALS moves up to #1, Patek/AP at #2 or #3 and it is interchangeable. I cant think of any reason besides the independent thing as to why ALS isnt in the top 2 now as resale has nothing to do with the watch but its the big drawback now as well as non independent.

Rolex is no where near the top of a HH list. Maybe best overall brand lists i would put them in the top 5, but not a HH list.

I would never buy another new Patek again if the company WAS sold.

Since I’m a Patek collector and wearer, I really don’t care about the sports line, as it is today. Would I buy another vintage, with or without complications, yes. No interest in Nautilus or Aquanaut. I have my Rolex submariner for real water activities.


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ppl wear bracelets, rings, necklaces, so yeah i think it's fairly safe to say they'll still be showing off the wrist watches even as subcutaneous chips transmit time 24/7/365 along w/ gov=corp marching orders heh.

pp going public given their numbers? only asap at the nosebleeds of our current everything bubble ponzi -- they better hurry, as silicon startups are starting to look even worse by the day (all cashburn w/ zero revenue); but hey, we got netflix and tesla et al.

Responsible journalism is *not* reporting on hallway rumors. At least they admitted to it in the article.

I expected more from Bloomberg.

whoa! If Rolex bought Patek this could be a win-win situation, for Rolex and the Stern family, at least. Aspirational watches for the masses (Rolex), aspirational watches for people of new-found wealth (Patek). Watch enthusiasts would initially raise an eyebrow, and maybe come to the conclusion this is not a bad thing after all- similar philosophical values (brand image), privately held, and nearly non-overlapping market segments. Just think, you could spend your USD$60K on a diamond studded Datejust, or a 5960P...all bases covered.

And, of course, in the process of buying your first Rolex the salesperson will be happily discourse the history and prestige of Patek Philippe (per their sales training), setting the customer up for the next aspiration, for the next generation.

Why would you expect more? Have you watched their show lately? I have friends that work here and its all about clicks and views

IMHO this could be a VERY GOOD thing for Patek. Maybe the new owner will truly bring them back to ultra-high leading quality they once were. So this is very good news if they get bought out and "the right" buyers does "the right thing" for the brand. There are various ways Patek is truly falling behind (or missing out), so again i vote YES.

SELL SELL SELL

https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...ages/gczk2.jpg

:(

I guess I'm still holding onto the past.

Both Patek and Rolex have cut supplies to drum up interest in their brands and mask the dismal watch market which continues its steady but sure decline everyday with people increasingly using just cell phones to tell time. But how long does that marketing strategy work? Eventually you go out of business either way if there is no demand. Patek would be smart to cash out now but it will do nothing but harm the long term value of products made after the sale. You may only keep their watches for the next generation but who will keep the company going for the next generation?

Everyone has their own view but I think there is a bit of overreaction on this thread. Lange, VC, and JLC are all part of big watch groups and are doing fine without much interference from the big Corp on how to run things. Granted they don’t have great resale like Patek but Patek’s resale has to more to do with their marketing efforts than with their independent status.

A huge part of their advertising is they have been continuously independent since what the 1830's. Any company buying this company will inevitably review all costs and look to gain efficiencies of production where they can. What might be streamlined or cut is an unknown. One advantage of the conglomerates is that they can and do use standardized parts across the various lines. Perhaps this does not reduce quality but it weakens the perception of brand uniqueness rightly or wrongly in the eyes of the consumer.

Agree. But to the best of my knowledge, Lange and JLC at Richemont and GO at Swatch (brands that I am aware of) have not been subjected to this treatment. They retain their independent spirit and watchmaking traits, especially Lange and GO. Only VC has recently started using Richemont manufactured movements in their Sixty Five collection to keep prices low and attract new buyers. All their other collections continue to be made to strict VC standards.

If Patek is indeed taken over by a group, Stern can make it part of the negotiation terms that any efforts to generate revenue will not impact the quality and standard of Patek. I still believe that in the long run, this won’t have a big affect on Patek but may end helping the brand on issues such as service quality.

Maybe they don’t sell completely but just sell off 25% or whatever to an investor, like FPJ did.


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Or to a Qatari 🇶🇦 Company, as they’re buying like crazy everything all over the world. :banghead:

I was planning to buy a new PP, but after Bazel. I don’t understand why PP didn’t make a clear quick announcement?!!!
I’ll hold buying any PP for the coming 12 months, even if the roomer is not true. I can’t afford to buy a new watch and take a risk that after few months it’s value can drop dramatically.

I love PP, and I love that’s an independent company... maybe it’s FP Journe time.

François definitely is laughing now, something big will divert the industry over the -ve feedbacks. :)

I doubt that will be the case, because my assumption is that high-end dress watches have not been selling well for years, while their sports watches ended up with a 10-year-waitlist. How many times have we walked into a Patek boutique and see empty display cases like Rolex's? Patek's display cases are always filled with unsold dress watches. The change in consumer demand from dressy pieces to sports pieces is an overwhelming trend that even marketing-genius Patek is unable to reverse. I seriously doubt they are able to sell out those 40,000 high-end dress watches every year.

To remain as a going concern, Patek needs to increase their sports watch ratio, and that is something that the Sterns are unwilling to do. If there are indeed talks of sales, it could very well be the Sterns rather sell their beloved Patek brand than to see Patek going down the route of sport watches (pride issues).

The new owners and management should thus be given the unbridled rights to increase sports watch production to ensure the viability of the brand. The new owners do not come with any emotional baggage and they will do what is necessary to make money for their shareholders.

One disappointing aspect if the acquisition goes through, is that the Sterns' undertaking to take care of all our purchased Patek watches for eternity might not be fulfilled by the new owners.

You actually never owned a Patek Philippe, you always owned a watch that was a part of a conglomerate

Lol


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What a point to tune in
Hahahaha

I'm worried having read this thread

But it's very interesting and considered... This is certainly what I'll be following very closely