“The Emergence of The Watch” and “The Quest for the Perfect Watch,” the two 104-page volumes are available for around 50 Swiss francs in a collector’s set at the Musée Patek Philippe, online and in bookstores worldwide. Questions to the Curator, Peter Frieß.

Joël A. Grandjean, JSH Magazine & Swiss-Watch-Passport.ch ‘s editor in chief
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I regularly bump into Dr. Helmut Crott, either at one of my Watch Cafés in Geneva or at one of the dinners he hosts, attended by watchmaking luminaries, experts and living legendary figures.

The opinion of a worldwide expert, Dr Helmut Crott

The co-founding father, together with Oswaldo Patrizzi in Geneva, of watch auctions over 40 years ago, is also the author of the reference book I wrote under his dictation, “The dial, the face of the wristwatch in the 20th century.“

Dr. Helmutt Crott: consistent, clear presentation, sublime picture quality

He is particularly enthusiastic about these two books published by the Patek Philippe Museum: “The historical watches are presented with an unprecedented aesthetic quality, and put into perspective with the contemporary history of their creation. The descriptions are short and concise, not overloaded with redundant details. This allows us to concentrate on the beauty of the pieces.”

Interview with Patek Philippe Museum curator Dr. Peter Frieß

Is it possible reaching out to the specialists and to the general public?

In recent years, the Patek Philippe Museum began to place much greater emphasis on reaching the general public, by telling stories about time and timekeeping. I felt this was a powerful way to bring the objects to life. Each of our two new books tells 20 stories, based upon our two major exhibitions, the Antique Collection and the Patek Philippe Collection. Together they deliver two key messages. First, that watchmaking is a great European success-story and, Secondly, that, with Patek Philippe’s invention of the key winding and setting mechanism in its early days, the company rose almost immediately to top tier of the watchmaking industry.

How have the watches for both books been selected?

We selected watches that support our story lines. Philippe Stern was deeply involved in the selection process. I vividly remember the conversations we had in making the difficult decision about which timepieces to include, a mere 10 percent of what is on display in the museum. Originally, when the museum was founded 22 years ago, all the watches were presented in the order of their manufacture, from the earliest to the most recent. Today the Antique Collection and the Patek Philippe Collection are each divided into 20 subject areas. Each exhibit area is assigned to a period and matched by a chapter in the book.

Could you tell us about the enamel painted watches?

The Patek Philippe Museum owns the world’s largest collection of enamel-painted watches (a small selection of which are shown in the pages of this book as seen below). Often containing copies of large paintings by great artists of the Renaissance and art periods that followed, these timekeepers are works of art in their own right. The mechanical movements in these watches are impressive but, in most cases, not all that important to horological history.

Are the watches the stars of the book?

Philippe Stern (Editor’s note: Honorary Chairman of Patek Philippe) Philippe Stern wanted watches to be the stars of the books, and did not want other images or vintage company advertisements to upstage them, so to say. The book design was the idea of and executed by Birgit Binner. She created a design that brings out the star power of every piece. Each page is unique. None of her design elements is used in a purely decorative way; instead, every one of them is meant to enhance the reader’s understanding of the subject.

What about Patek Philippe and the Complications?

Just as important as Patek Philippe’s powerful design language are the complications. The books illustrate the movements and, in some instances, critical parts of the mechanisms, which are greatly enlarged, beyond what one can barely see with the naked eye. One of the most important timepieces is the now-famous Calibre 89, with more than 1,300 parts. Following the Calibre 89 came the Star Caliber 2000 as well as the most recent watch in the book, the famous Grandmaster Chime from 2014.

There are also the Montre à tact and the watch for blind people?

Acquiring and showing watches other than Patek Philippe’s is one of the smartest ideas of our museum’s founder, Philippe Stern. Such historical timepieces provide a frame for appreciating Patek Philippe. The historical watches are the reference points for technological evolution, which often leads to an invention by Patek Philippe. I will give you one example. The great 18th-century French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet invented a watch called “montres à tact”. This watch has a prominent hour hand, positioned on the outer case to allow you to “feel the time” while you keep the watch in your pocket—a nice way not to be “tactless” by glancing at your watch while conversing with others. When Jean Adrien Philippe published his book “Montre sans clefs” in 1863, he used Breguet’s century-old idea of the montres à tact and added his modern, crown-winding-and-setting mechanism to make this type of watches useable for blind people who found it difficult to manipulate a key.

Is there an idea holding the Patek Philippe book together?

The idea of the “perfect watch”! This is a kind of vision statement which I developed in order to better describe how I understand what the founders of the company, Patek and Philippe, were thinking. The “perfect watch” is a timekeeper you can put on your wrist or in your pocket that always shows you the correct time, and never needs to be wound or set. Of course, this is impossible, but it gave Mr. Patek and Mr. Philippe and all four generations of leaders of the Stern family the motivation and ability to get closer and closer to that ideal goal. The perpetual (see below) or secular calendar, the mechanism of the world timer, the miniaturization of the quartz watch, the gears for calculating the date of Easter, are just a few examples from Patek Philippe’s portfolio to show the incredible bandwidth of this company, which constantly pushes the envelope of horological technology.

How to purchase the books?

The books can be purchased at the Patek Philippe Museum, or ordered shortly through the Patek Philippe website. Books can be pre-ordered online for delivery in the USA through Amazon. In addition, our publisher teNeues distributes them around the world, which potentially gives you access to a copy wherever you happen to be.