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Universal Geneve was a great brand, and its vintage pieces are still coveted by collectors. It also shares an interesting, intertwined history with Patek Philippe through the Henri Stern Watch Agency. Henri Stern is responsible for bringing Patek Philippe to the US in 1935, and remains the U.S. subsidiary of Patek Philippe today. It was also an authorized dealer for Universal Geneve in North America, and Patek was actually sold alongside Universal Geneve as a “sister brand”.
The Sterns As Patek’s Saviors
It’s hard to believe that Patek Philippe, now arguably the producer of the world’s most coveted watches, was at one point in time struggling financially. A global economic crisis will do that to you. The stock market crash may have originated in New York, but it was felt worldwide. Patek itself was close to collapsing.
In stepped Charles and Jean Stern to save the day. They began acquiring shares of Patek, Philippe & Cie, and were already familiar with the company. As owners of Stern Frères watch dial factory, the Stern’s were already suppliers to Patek.
A turnaround of the company would ensue, and as we can see today, Patek Philippe now wears the crown as arguably the finest watch manufacturer in the world. The Reference 96 would be introduced by the early 1930s, and this “Calatrava” model is still one of the most (if not the most), iconic dress watch designs today.
Henri Stern And Patek’s First Trip To The US
Charles Stern’s son, Henri, would become head of Patek Philippe Incorporated of America in 1937. He traveled the country and analyzed the US market to a level of detail that was above and beyond. After a brief stint back in Switzerland, Henri launched his own sales company. Patek was initially brought Stateside in 1935.
By 1946, the New York Henri Stern Watch Agency was the sole distributor for Patek Philippe in the US, as well as North American distributor for Universal Geneve watches. Henri would inevitably be President of the entire company by 1958.
Universal Geneve: A Shared History Through Henri Stern Watch Agency (And Gerald Genta)
When Patek Philippe was first introduced to the US market, it was sold alongside Universal Geneve as a “sister brand”, according to Rescapement. Universal Geneve essentially became a “poor man’s Patek Philippe”. That’s still pretty prestigious, however.
Think Scottie Pippen next to Michael Jordan. If you weren’t comparing Scottie to arguably the best ever, then he’d be the best player on many of the other teams of that era.
Patek Phillipe and Universal Geneve also have a shared past history with Gerald Genta, who designed the Polerouter for Universal, as well as the Nautilus for Patek. The Polerouter was actually Genta’s first design in the 1950s. By the time he designed the Nautilus in 1976 (roughly two decades later), Universal Geneve was already starting to decline as a brand.
It started to produce quartz watches in the 1970s and 1980s, and was bought by Hong Kong-based investment firm Stelux Holdings International, Ltd. in 1989.
Patek Philippe: Post Henri Stern
Approximately one year after the release of the Nautilus, Henri handed over the reigns to the company. His son Philippe Stern took over in 1977. Philippe would be a major force behind curbing production of complicated models, as well as right-sizing the company’s dealer network and enforcing stricter standards on sales partners. He was also responsible for founding Patek Philippe’s museum in Geneva.
Philippe’s son, Thierry Stern, became president of the company in 2009. He represents the fourth generation of management, as Patek Philippe remains a family-run business. According to Forbes in 2019, Patek Philippe was worth about $10 billion if it chose to sell itself. In that same article, however, Thierry Stern made it clear that the company was “not for sale”.
Philippe Stern is still an honorary chairman, and Thierry apparently has at least one son showing interest in the company. That’s good news for the brand. As Thierry put it in the article for Forbes:
In our family, we don’t just pass the watches down the generations. We pass the whole company.
Wrapping Things Up
Patek Philippe’s fortunes appear to be on the rise, even today. It remains independent and family-run, producing watches in low quanitites and letting scarcity work its magic. Like Thierry told Forbes, Patek Philippe is not Swatch, it can’t just “push a button” to boost production. When you’re a producer of fine, handcrafted (and often highly-complicated) wristwatches, this makes sense. Especially when it can take a year or more to produce just one timepiece.
Universal Geneve met a different fate, however. This is unfortunate, considering its heritage and quality of its watches pre-Quartz Crisis. The vintage chronographs produced by Universal Geneve are incredible. The Polerouter has the Genta provenance – and it’s iconic in its own right.
Re-release that with a micro-rotor movement in today’s market, and I think that the company would have a real winner on its hands, and that’s without blindly following the more popular Genta trend of today (integrated bracelet, steel sports watches). I think a Polerouter heritage piece would be surprisingly refreshing.
Know more about Patek Philippe and Universal Geneve and want to add to the discussion? Please post a comment below!