Family, Business, and Legacy, the Grand Conversation with Patek Philippe’s Thierry Stern
It is an exhibition about educating people first rather than something commercial. Most of the people on the first day were collectors, to be frank, some even knowing Patek better than I do. They are here because they love the brand and for some, they haven’t had the chance to come to Geneva. So I decided to bring Geneva to Singapore.
The limited editions produced are not solely for Singapore, but Southeast Asia. Is there a reason why you don’t want to make for Singapore only special editions? And does that mean that for Greater China, you will have another exhibition to address the needs of that market? In addition to educating and informing people do you think is also effective as a tool to whet the appetite of consumers?
Given your long 63 year relationship with Mr. Anthony Lim of Cortina, would it be right to say that in business dealings you would prefer to deal with family owned business and not so much with the unduly corporate or bureaucratic conglomerates? Oh, yes. Of course, you feel it. I have been talking about that with my sons already, and it’s very important that they understand I made my choice when I was young. So the pressure that I had on my shoulders, I choose to have it. You cannot be prepared, you can only learn by doing it and growing. But it was something I accepted that because I really wanted to do it and that’s what I said to my kids, I said, “listen, you will have to choose your own destiny, if you’re willing to take over fine.
You have a Singapore edition Pilot Calatrava this year but when you launched it in 2015, there were mixed reactions. Is it selling pretty well today and do you think it is harder to launch a new watch today in the age of social media?