London’s Design Museum played host to a significant moment in the history of modern horology when it hosted the first-ever curated exhibition of a private watch collection in an art museum. The timepieces, owned by French businessman and entrepreneur Patrick Getreide, have been independently estimated by lifestyle magazine Paris Match to be worth more than €300 million. The exhibition has now headed off on a world tour that will take in the Middle East, Asia and North America but, before it left the UK, Tracey Llewellyn caught up with Mr Getreide to find out more about the astounding OAK (One of a Kind) Collection.
WATCHPRO: Until the sensation of the OAK exhibition, not many people knew the name Patrick Getreide. What is your background?
Patrick Getreide: I am the youngest of five children. Growing up I was very spoiled because I have four sisters and all my life they were very, very nice to me.
Early on, I was quite bad in school. I didn’t work at all because I preferred to stay home with my sisters and my mother, so I would pretend to be ill. I was bottom of the class, because I was never there.
I knew it was unsustainable, so I went to see my father and asked to go to boarding school where I would be able to concentrate to my studies. We went to visit a few and we ended up choosing a college in Switzerland.
It helped me a lot because most of the students were ahead of me and I knew that I wanted to catch them.
Every night before I went to bed, I would tell myself a story about how to make it and through determination I did.
When I was about 16, my father became sick and I started to work with him in his tannery business. He died when I was 20 and I took over the company. Of course, I made a lot of mistakes but, by the time I was 25, I was ready; really ready. I wasn’t a genius but I was sharp and I just needed time.
My skills lie in acquiring companies, improving them and selling them on. I believe that in life, the train slows down for everybody, but you have to have faith to make the jump into the unknown.
A lot of big collectors don’t want to show their watches – they don’t want people to know what they have – but to me sharing is important.
Most people don’t take the leap but in 40 years, I have jumped about 10 times, which is one good business move every four years. It doesn’t mean I am particularly intelligent, it just means I have seen and learnt enough to do this.
And now I want to see other people in my family do it, too, so two years ago, when he was 32, I handed over the business reins to my son. There is no point in him being 60 years old when he takes the power – you cannot be number two for 25 years. And I have to say, everybody loves him, which makes me very happy.
WATCHPRO: How did watches enter your life?
Patrick Getreide: I was 10 years old when I went to boarding school and I saved up to buy an Omega. I can’t remember which model as it was 50-odd years ago, but it took me some time because I was a young student and had to save my pocket money. Every week I would go to a watch store in town and pay off a little more. In the end, my father paid the balance for me. Sadly, the watch is long lost.
When I was 20, a horse that the family owned unexpectedly came first in a big race and I won 40,000 francs – 45 years ago that was a huge amount of money. The very next day I bought myself a Cartier Tank. This was my first considered watch buy – I just loved everything about it from the shape to the blue sapphire in the crown. I still have it – in fact it is the first watch in the exhibition.
After this I stopped buying watches for a long time. I spent my money on cars and paintings but watches were at the bottom of my wish-list.
Then, little by little, my attention turned to timepieces and my next purchase jumped to a Patek Philippe ref. 3970 perpetual calendar chronograph. It was a very big buy – more than 350,000 francs – and I didn’t pay for it in one go. I paid one-third as a deposit and the rest over the following year. After that, the dealer refused to sell me any more pieces.
WATCHPRO: Yet, the OAK Collection consists in the main of Patek Philippes. You obviously found another way to buy them?
Patrick Getreide: As the exhibition reveals, I am completely crazy about Patek Philippe – it is my true passion, along with Rolex and the watchmakers of the 21st century who are developing horology for a new generation.
I was fortunate to meet Patek’s president Thierry Stern in unusual circumstances not long after the ref. 3970 saga. He was in Paris for a show and I recognised him and noticed that nobody was really looking after him.
After about 15 minutes I went over to him and we talked for about an hour – not just about watches, but about everything. Eventually I said, ‘Mr Stern, I have one question: why do you not follow what you say in your advertising? You say that your watches are for the next generation. I am the next generation, why won’t you sell to me?’ He said: ‘Come to Geneva. Call me.’ Since that day I have had everything I want.
A man who would not sell to me eventually retired and I was at the dinner for him. In all the years that followed, he never apologised to me. It is so silly – I believe that is fine to make a mistake, but you have to acknowledge it.
Thierry has the same attitude – he is very powerful, but he is not too proud. That’s what makes a good person.
WATCHPRO: Tell me about your collection as it stands today?
Patrick Getreide: There are more than 600 pieces altogether. I have a little private museum in Geneva where a lot of them are kept and I regularly take out 15 or so that I wear and then rotate. I wear all of them. I don’t think you really care about watches if you buy them just to collect and not to wear.
The museum is not open to the public, which is why I wanted to do an exhibition. In fact, the reasons for the exhibition are twofold, firstly to share my collection with people that love watches, but also to elevate the perception of watches as pieces of art, which is how I see them.
A lot of big collectors don’t want to show their watches – they don’t want people to know what they have – but to me sharing is important.
As I said, I lost my father when I was very young, but he taught me a few things including that you help yourself when you help others and when you understand that you realise that you have to share. It’s how I was raised, and I thank my father for that lesson.
WATCHPRO: What is important to you when it comes to buying?
Patrick Getreide: There are three things that are very important – condition, rarity and provenance. Every watch is either unique or has been made in very small numbers, and each one has a story behind it. Of prime importance to me is that every watch must be in new condition even if it is 50 years old.
I have often decided not to buy watches because they have been polished or refurbished – and occasionally I will regret this decision.
Seven years ago, Winston Churchill’s World Time Victory watch was sold at Sotheby’s in London. Churchill is a political hero and I really wanted the watch – it is one of only four made for the Allied Leaders after the Second World War, with the others going to Charles de Gaulle, Joseph Stalin and Henry Truman.
I have two Nautilus ref. 5711 models from 2021 in olive green. Why two? Because two are better than one. I wanted three, one for my daughter who has recently had a baby and loves green, but Mr. Stern didn’t give me the third.
When I saw the watch, it was badly scratched so I decided not to buy it. But I always think that maybe I should have because it so important.
For some collectors, scratches and damage are part of a watch’s charm. Sandro Fratini, for example, who is one of the biggest, if not THE biggest collector in the world. He has a lot of pieces that show wear, and why not?
For me they have to be perfect but I don’t say that is the only or the right way to collect, it is just my thing – I have even bought watches that don’t really fit with my other pieces, just because they are in perfect condition.
WATCHPRO: Do you think these parameters make it easier to collect?
Patrick Getreide: Maybe. It means that I love both vintage and modern. Something new can be incredibly beautiful – I have last year’s Calatrava, which showcased the new movement, the beauty of the dial is incredible, it’s not uniform, it is vertically brushed and so chic. I took mine off the crocodile strap and put it on calf leather because it feels younger and changes the look.
I also have two Nautilus ref. 5711 models from 2021 in olive green. Why two? Because two are better than one. I wanted three, one for my daughter who has recently had a baby and loves green, but Mr. Stern didn’t give me the third one – instead he offered me the discontinued ref. 5711 in blue.
It also gives breadth of the collection – I have all brands, across all price levels, from some of the humblest, to some of the great masterpieces of watchmaking.
I don’t have a wish-list of must haves, I collect on an emotional level and that has helped me to assemble one of the top five collections in the world – when it comes to the Patek Calatrava, it is probably THE best collection.
I have original 1940s models and then one-of-a-kind commissions of the same model made in the 2000s – it’s like taking two photographs in the same location 60 years apart. I like to look forward as well as back, which means I have created something that wouldn’t exist in the normal run of things.
But my watches do need to be rare. I have 50 different brands in the collection – but no matter how much I like them, if they are not hard to get then they just don’t fit.
WATCHPRO: How do you source these rare models?
Patrick Getreide: Auctioneers, dealers, people in the industry … they know me and will come to me with pieces because they know that I don’t look at the book prices. I accept that I will have to pay more because I want watches that are in A1 condition.
When Patek Philippe has something particularly special, sometimes they come directly to me. I have to say, we have a good connection, Mr Stern, and I, and I think that I am more than a customer.
I am not suggesting that I am his best friend, but we enjoy each other’s company and we have the same philosophy on life. And I also have a strong relationship with Patrick Cremers who is the director of the Patek Philippe Geneva Salon.
For example, I have a Nautilus ref. 3800 that is truly one-of-a-kind because it is quartz. It was made for Mr. Stern’s doctor. I was very proud that when the physician died, they called me first to offer me the watch – and of course I bought it.
WATCHPRO: How did the idea of the exhibition come about?
Patrick Getreide: I had been thinking about it for a long time. I was already working with auctioneer and consultant Geoffroy Ader who curated the exhibition, but it was when we met Marine Lemonier, who has worked in the watch industry for many years, that it came to fruition.
In life and in work you have to surround yourself with the best and I was waiting to find someone like Marine. She introduced me to Nick Foulkes – Nick won me over with the book Dancing into Battle: A Social History of the Battle of Waterloo (an event that is an obsession for a Frenchman like me) – plus he beat me at backgammon, a game that I am very good at.
His advice was priceless and together we all put together a wonderful team to make the exhibition happen.
Of course, this is just a small, curated part of my collection – about a quarter. There are roughly 160 watches in the OAK exhibition and it took 40 days to decide on the pieces. There are 22 showcases, divided into 11 sections that reflect the major themes within the collection as a whole.
In the main, the exhibition focuses on Patek Philippe Calatravas, Chronographs, Perpetual Calendars, World Timers, Rare Handcrafts, Henry Graves Jnr and Nautilus models, plus Rolex GMTs, Rolex Sports Watches, Rolex Chronographs and finally, New Age Independents.
WATCHPRO: The exhibition was incredibly successful in London and is now heading off on a world tour. What highlights can visitors expect to see?
Patrick Getreide: There are more than 25 auction record breakers. There are five of my 10 one-of-a-kind Calatravas, with exhibits in this section including the ref. 570J with champagne dial, and the four-tone pink ref. 570R. Among the Patek Chronographs are two ref. 1579s, a 1950s model in steel and one in platinum that are one of six and three respectively, plus a unique ref. 530R retailed by Gobbi Milano.
In the QP cabinets, there is a chance to see two unique commission ref. 3970s in yellow and pink gold side-by-side. Among the World Time and Rare Handcraft pieces are some of the most famous, but at the same time rarest, designs including ‘The Lighthouse’ and ‘The Island’, representing Patek Philippe’s unrivalled metier d’art skills, particularly in relation to engraving and enamelling skills. And, of course, there is a section dedicated to the must-have Nautilus, with more one-of-a-kind models here.
What most connoisseurs will be keen to see, though, is the Henry Graves Jnr. watches. I am probably the leading collector of Graves watches after the Patek Philippe Museum and have five of the 15 Patek Philippe pieces that are known to have survived from the 30 commissioned. These include the platinum Tourbillon Observatory pocket watch from 1932. It was the most accurate watch in the world when it was delivered to Graves.
Among the Rolex GMTs are a ref. 6542, ‘Pussy Galore’, a ref. 1675 ‘Blueberry’ and a ref. 17600, ‘Pepsi’ that was made on request for astronaut Chuck Yaeger. All of the favourites are there – a Comex, a ref. 1680 ‘Red’ Submariner with tropical dial, rare Daytonas including a ref. 6239, Paul Newman, NASA Apollo 7 and a ref. 6262 Peruvian Air Force Paul Newman.
The last cabinet is dedicated to the great independent watchmakers of the 21st century and includes an F. P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonnance.and a Tourbillon Souverain plus two one-of-a-king Kari Voutilainens and examples by Rexhep Rexhepi – a fast rising star watchmaker who has the world at his feet. I also have a Philippe Dufour coming this year. Made by the master, it is one of only 20 examples.
WATCHPRO: Your collection of watches is incredible, but if you could keep just one…?
Patrick Getreide: I have so many that I wouldn’t be honest in saying I like to keep this one. I love them all. Every single one.
WATCHPRO: What would you like to see happen to the collection in years to come?
Patrick Getreide: My children do not share my big passion and love for watches. The day I die, they will probably sell the collection. It’s up to them, whatever they want. You know, I don’t ask them to love what I love.
That is not fair. I could put everything in a Trust and say ‘you can never sell them’. But no. I will leave half to my son, half to my daughter and that’s it. I want them to do what they want. Whatever they want. I think they will probably sell.
the secret is money