Patek Philippe

You may remember that I quite recently asked you: "What watch with these ones?", the question being illustrated with the picture below.

It was there: 

patek.watchprosite.com -0/

My intent was obvious, especially if you know my current temptation for a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A.

I wanted to explore a bit deeper the links we could find between these boats and the sea-able Patek Philippe models!

A line of now vintage Riva Aquarama boats

It is easy to try to build bridges between watches and other products. I personally find such bridges often misleading. Bridges towards cars or carmakers for instance are frequent and that for me is the most misleading bridge as I don't think the car industry shares much product logic with the watch industry. Even the luxury car industry shares IMO very little with the high horology segment.

Cars are produced in greater numbers (even a Ferrari 458 Italia will never be as rare as a Patek Philippe 5970 for instance). Cars are more and more disposable, at least because of the never lasting electronic devices and the exotic materials that are more and more difficult to repair. Luxury cars are a very visible expression of your tastes towards the crowd, while high horology watches remain (at last for now, even if there are growing exceptions) mainly invisible and un-identified by the vast majority. Cars are hard to collect (how many car collectors do you know, owning tens or hundreds of pieces?). Cars are here to satisfy our extrovert tendencies while I feel that watches are here to please our introverted ones.

In fact I think that boats better remember me the link between the owner and the object that I feel with my watches, even if again any comparison has its limits.

Boats are IMO much more personal than cars. There are much more different boats available than cars. They are much less industrially built. Boats are much more customable. I feel that owners are much more dedicated to boats than cars. Like for watches, there are many safe –or harbour- queens!

Even luxury cars can often have an everyday utility, while leisure boats are totally un-necessary, like watches, and remain only a source of pleasure, of self indulgence.

Furthermore people who see your boat are generally people who own a boat as they cross the path of your boat in a marina or at sea. So if that's part of the equation what you express is received by someone who expresses something himself. There is no "innocent"!

Obviously this opinion is expressed by someone living on the sea side and may be less understandable or shared by someone living far from the shores.

Patek Philippe pocket watch reference 982/125 named "Ship trapped in ice"

We could then wonder what the links could be between Patek Philippe watches and boats. I will not rely on watches like the one above and below to build any relationship. That would be stupidly superficial.

I would not rely either on the glorious past of Mr Philippe Stern as a sailor, as I don't think his victories in the Bol d'Or on the Geneva lake have had much visible influence on the Patek Philippe range of watches.

Dial side of the "Ship trapped in ice" pocket watch

I am more tempted to look for names of comparable fame, and even more than fame, respect by those in the know. I've thought about several motor boat brands to compare with patek Philippe. What about Bertram (Hatteras is nearly unknown in Europe now), Grand Banks, Couach, Feretti, Azimut, Sunseeker? All these brands have huge qualities and make admirable boats but they fall short to convince me in terms of deserved prestige when compared with Riva.  

Riva Aquariva Super

Riva has been consistent during its long history. Riva boats have always been beautifully designed, perfectly crafted and finished. They were and are performing boats. I will never forget the "peach skin" treatment of the wooden panels of the cabin cruisers. I will never forget the extreme beauty of the runabouts. What does Riva express for you? What does Patek Philippe express for you?

Because it can't be better done

Like for a few other brands I named Riva has perpetuated its vintage heritage to create its more recent boats. Of course neo design has been a large theme in the recent car design history, but the perpetuation of vintage designs has been permanent in the Riva and Patek Philippe lines. Their recent designs are not neo design but are the result of a slow and moderated evolution.

Achieved

Of course brands have expanded their range and in the last ten years Riva has been also producing 20 meters plus yachts and Patek Philippe has launched the Aquanaut, both to satisfy the evolution of the demand. But they have remained faithful to their legacy. The Riva yachts express the same refinement and grand lasting and superior style and the Aquanaut updates the Nautilus on new refined and simplified ways.

Stainless steel aquanaut series

To further investigate if the boat / watch comparison was pertinent I thought it was necessary to explore the other side of the boating world. I looked for a sailing boat company and the result was even more obvious. If a Riva is the summum of the motorboats it is as clear that the summum of the "standard" sailing boats is a Swan from Nautor.

Some will say that Nautor is historically linked with Rolex. That's true. But does that mean that all Swan owners, or a majority of them wear Rolex watches? Do they wear them only at sea? Is there any chance that some of them wear also Patek Philippe watches at home or at work? I hope so. I also hope that some Swan owners race or cruise with Patek Philippe watches.

Nautor's Swan 45s racing

Furthermore do you really think that all Aston Martin owners wear Jaeger-Lecoultre watches, or the contrary? Rolex is a sponsor of the Swan races, as Rolex advertises through car races like the Le Mans 24 Hours. Is it intended to sell watches to the Le Mans drivers or to the crowd attending?

Do you think that because Swan 45 owners are united by their boating choice they also have the same watch? I don't think so. Still they may share some common tastes for lasting performance, traditional conception developed to the limits, perfection of understated design, superior craftsmanship, and yes the prestige of a discreet choice recognized only by fellow amateurs. I don't think Rolex can answer all such criteria.

Definitely not safe queens

Don't you think that all Frers' Swan models of the last thirty years or so look nearly the same in and out? And are not so different from the Sparkman and Stephens models?

You can just have a look at the current Nautilus models below and realize that their design is so similar to the design of the original model.

On the contrary the car industry lives of design revolutions. Even the neo designs were in some way a revolution in the car industry.

Stainless steel Nautilus series

Great wines mature, great boat lines mature, great watch models mature. Time goes by and only the best remains the best. As we need the judgement of time only when the best has been the best for very long can it reach the top.

Swan 45 the perfect cruiser racer

When you've explored your own way to the top and started again, your aim is to improve yourself, to beat yourself each day. Ideally you don't try to  compare yourself to others as others have chosen another path.

You learn more by letting your customers compete between each other in their class. The Rolex Swan World Cup is the best example of a prestigious competition, and especially the more recent Swan 45 class. Obviously some other exceptional boats have such "class" races. And some cars too like the Porsche cup and the several other examples of mono brand car races.

Competing fairly with fellow men

That's where it could become interesting (at last ) for us watch lovers. Chronometric competitions are missing. We're missing them. A new competition was initiated last year but its organization is not intended to make it replace the old Observatory prizes. Watch makers can't regularly submit pieces to tests that can substantially demonstrate their superior rate regulation and that such regulation is common in their production.

The COSC testing is interesting but not enough to differentiate the really exceptional pieces. To what extent, to what level a watch can be wished to be precise? Is rate regulation perfection attainable? Serially? 

Run for me baby

What do we want for Patek Philippe? What are the aspects of Patek Philippe watches that we want to be tomorrow's expressed values or proved performances?

Can it be better?

The calibre above is truly exceptional, nobody would doubt of that. The Swan 90 below is also truly exceptional.

That's where the difference between boats and watches is though. Large boats are more exceptional, even if not better, as they bring the same refinement if not more in a larger size. Large watches do exactly the contrary. The real grandeur of exceptional watches is to bring the same or greater refinement in smaller sizes. That's the position of Patek Philippe to have the smaller possible calibres. What Patek Philippe shares with Nautor is the wish of grandeur in its category.

Nautor's Swan 90

What watch with these ones ? I invite you to express your opinion.

No limits

Cheers

Dje