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FEATURES
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GENEVA
MUSEUMS
Much more than just a monument to the king of Genevan
luxury-watch brands, the Patek Philippe Museum
(
patekmuseum.com
) contains innumerable ticking treasures
that represent more than 400 years of watchmaking
expertise. Housed in an early 20th-century building, the
modern, vintage and antique exhibition pieces – a number of
which originally came from the personal collection of Patek
president, Philippe Stern – date back as far as 1540. The
earliest piece by Patek Philippe on show was made in 1845
and is a jeweled pocket watch made for a princess. Visitors
looking for another view of the history of the industry can
usually visit the Musée d’Horlogerie et de l’Émaillerie,
though this is currently closed. Don’t despair: you’ll find
many of its key artefacts on display at Musée Rath (
ville-ge.
ch
), which also partners with the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire.
And right now, there’s a large exhibition on there called
Watchmaking in Geneva
, boasting 1,000 objects from the
16th century to the present day.
Clockwise from here
, the
Patek Philippe museum’s
pieces date back to 1540;
on the approach to the
museum; a pocket watch
on display