teofft
112
Some answers, more questions :)
Mar 11, 2014,09:10 AM
So first, thanks to Danny Govberg for hosting a wonderful event at the Franklin Museum in Philadelphia for Patek enthusiasts. Mr. Stern was surrounded by collectors and admirers, but he was very gracious and was willing to speak to everyone in the audience on a 1-1 level.
B/c my time with him was limited, and the occasion was celebratory in nature, I didn't feel it was appropriate to "cross examine" him for obvious reasons. I was able to get some questions answered. In general, he was kind, accommodating, down to earth and very passionate about the company and watchmaking in general. I became an even bigger fan of Patek having met him as well as Laurent a top watchmaker as well as the president of Patek USA, who was equally gracious.
1. In terms of service, he did acknowledge that it is a serious concern for Patek, and I got the sense that the limitation was in the workforce available with the technical expertise the company requires. An evolving strategy will be to train more watchmakers to handle less complicated pieces and more "run of the mill" on site at certain dealers perhaps, like govberg. This is basically a "triage" of needs in order to get the more complicated repairs to the more skilled technicians.
2. Size: Mr Stern basically acknowledged that we are all bigger than our forefathers and in kind, we should have watches that are proportionate to our wrists. different models will be sized differently, but he stated the 38-39mm diameter was the sweet spot moving forward. Myopicoog will be happy to note that Patek will not be making "hockey puck" lange-esge watches anytime soon. lol.
3. I asked about upcoming releases. he was tight lipped. so i couldn't get him to spill the beans about platinum 5270g variants, pregnant tachs, etc. he wouldn't tell me whether a black panda 5170p was in the works. but i was able to learn that there is a 5040g that will likely be released at basel! i'm looking forward to that
i appreciate everyone chiming in. Bottom line: Patek is in great hands with Mr. Stern. I'm looking forward to what the future brings!