I really appreciate this thread and thank you for this, Horology_Ancienne!
Your text is full of love for Patek and full of passion.
The points you raised give food for thought and also open up some new perspectives.
I'm currently quite tied to work, so just a few fragments of thought that I would be interested in from your point of view (especially Fabrizio and xxcesar already made a few more good notes):
1.
Patek is of course also a private company that has to think/act economically and follows corporate economic goals. These goals do not always have to go hand in hand with the (romantic) ideas and wishes of the passionate watch collector.
2.
My feeling is that in recent years Patek is also ... flirting with this hype. It's not just about the profit, it's also about the value of the company itself. And of course Patek benefits from this hype because the company value increases massively (I think it will not be just a storm in a teacup).
There is no other way I can explain why, after the announcement that the Nautilus model was going to be phased out, further releases kept appearing and how this - for my feelings - terrible Phillips-Tiffany-Patek “disaster” could have happened.
3.
When it comes to quality and maintaining tradition, then from an economic point of view - of course (!) and as with any other brand - it's always also about reputation and thus the company's value. But sometimes the profit seems to be more in focus. Otherwise I couldn´t explain why Patek sometimes makes cost-saving measures like chintu or BigFatPauli showed us so impressively in their posts on April 25th, 2021.
Note:
I'm not a "Patek hater". Rather, I greatly admire the rich heritage and achievements of this incredible watch brand.
I'm
not a "frustrated non-Patek buyer" either. I could get and afford one
or the other piece.
But I always try to observe closely and form my own
opinion.
So I am very interested in how you and everyone else participating in this discussion sees it. Am I missing something or am I misjudging something?
I am really happy to be part of this forum. It is always exciting and inspiring!
Thomas