Patek Philippe & Co. the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer was founded in 1839 and remains to this day a family owned company (it was acquired in the 1930s by the Stern family). It designs and manufactures some of the world's most complicated and expensive mechanical watches and is widely considered the most prestigious watch brand in the world. Amongst many firsts, Patek was the first company to make a wrist watch and in 1933 Patek Philippe produced the first ultra-complicated (24 function) pocket-watch for Henry Graves, Jr., known as The Supercomplication . The watch was auctioned at Sotheby's in November 2014 for $24,000,000, the most expensive timepiece ever sold. In 2014 it was revealed that Brad Pitt had paid $3m for a rare Patek Philippe 'J.B. Champion Observatory watch' as a gift for Angelina Jolie. Patek have commissioned Preface and Penguin Random House to create the definitive history of the company to celebrate their 175 anniversary. Overseen personally by owner Philippe Stern, Patek have opened their unique archive of timepieces and given the author complete access to their museum in Geneva. Patek have created a new archive of photographs especially for the book. Two years in preparation, this book is eagerly awaited by the millions of watch collectors around the world and will garner as much fanfair as the launch of one of their prestigious new designs."
