Hi Sam, where I come from many consider Patek a good gift for their children as a rite of passage into adulthood, so for their fortunate off-spring the answer to your question would typically be "on my 21st birthday". The Nautilus is popular for boys, Calatrava or Twenty-four for girls, and the Aquanaut seems to be a good bet for both sons and daughters. I would agree that Patek is "the most respected watch house" but quite often it is for their marketing prowess over their technical merit (I am NOT saying that they do not also possess formidable technical merit!). Others have responded to the "factory built" comment and I have nothing to add to that, though I would ignore comments about watch/dress combos as I agree that "it's an individual's choice of expression". Having said that, if you truly want pieces that are "understated & typically only appeal to connoisseurs", you might want to look elsewhere. Pateks are very prominent and enjoy a very wide following; they appeal mainly to the mass market (although also to connoisseurs as well of course!). The independent watch-makers fulfil your "ONLY appeal to connoisseurs" brief far more successfully as many of them spend little or nothing on communication or advertising. A wonderful journey of discovery awaits you - just click on
that "AHCI and independent haute horlogerie" link above!! (",)