Patek Philippe watches are being manufactured by "Patek Philippe & Co.," a popular Swiss watch company. This watch company is family-owned. Currently, it is privately owned by the Sterns. These watches are popular among famous people such as celebrities, business tycoons, and members of the royalties.

Antoni Patek was the co-founder of the "Patek Philippe & Co." In 1839, he began making pocket watches back in Geneva. It was in 1845 when Patek joined Adrien Philippe, a French watchmaker and inventor of keyless winding mechanism, in founding the company. However, it was only in 186 when Patek Philippe released their first ever wristwatch. They were also among the pioneers in creating watches with split-second hand, perpetual calendar, minute repeater, and chronograph. Today, the company still manufactures quartz watches and digital wristwatches.

Patek Philippe created an ultra-complicated pocket watch with 24 functions for Henry Graves, Jr. In Dember of 1999, the watch was up for public bidding at Sotheby's. It was sold at $11,000,000 and became the most expensive watch ever sold at that time. Last April 10, 2008, a "Patek Philippe Tourbillon" wristwatch was sold for $1,490,000 at Hongkong Sotherby's. This watch has become the most expensive one ever sold.

Watch connoisseurs and collectors from the elite social class are among the Patek Philippe watches enthusiasts. Monarchs, political leaders, and popes are among the enthusiasts who have bought Patek Philippe timepieces for themselves or as as gifts for other notable figures. Queen Victoria was among them. She owned several exclusive timepieces made by Patek Philippe. Other notable figures who owned these timepieces include Christian IX and Louise (the monarchs of Denmark), Pope Pius IX, Victor-Emanuel III, and Hussein Kamal.

In 1989, Patek Philippe designed and released Calibre 89, one complex mechanical watch, to commemorate the company's 150th anniversary. It has 33 functions that include a thermometer, date of Easter, equation of time, sunrise time, and sidereal time among others. The watch also has 1,728 unique parts and a star chart. The watch also automatically adds a day to the month of February during a leap year. In this year, the company produced about 600,000 timepieces with some of those considered as collectibles.

The men's line of Patek Philippe watches include Nautilus, Gondolo, Aquanaut, Golden Ellipse, and Caltrava. They also have models of men's watches called Exceptional, Complicated, and Grand Complications, as these watches have several other functions aside from telling the time. As for the ladies' line, they have Gondolo, Aquanaut, Calatrava, Twenty-4, and Complicated Watches. Patek Philippe also continues to produce pocket watches--the Lepine and the Hunter models. Other than timepieces, the company also creates hand-crafted jewelries for both men and women. They manufacture rings and earrings for their jewelry line.

Currently, Patek Philippe have only around 600 authorized retailers in over 70 countries. Patek Philippe watch owners are highly encouraged to register online their ownership of their purchased timepiece. Once registered, owners will get a free subscription of the company magazine.