After 4 many years constructing of his watch assortment, Patrick Getreide is now taking 168 items on a world tour
After 4 many years constructing of his watch assortment, Patrick Getreide is now taking 168 items on a world tour
Patrick Getreide has spent practically 4 many years constructing one of many world’s most enviable watch collections — the OAK (One-of-a-Kind). With over 600 items, it’s a horological treasure comprising manufactured from restricted editions, a mixture of previous and new — and all in excellent working situation.
The French businessman acquired hooked when he was simply 10-years-old. “My love [for watches] started when I saw an Omega in a shop in Switzerland. I saved up and, with some help from my parents, I bought it,” he recollects fondly. Over the years,
Getreide, 66, grew his assortment with items from famous manufacturers Patek Philippe, Rolex, F.P. Journe, and Cartier, and likewise lesser identified ones comparable to Briston.
Wrist speak
Getreide misplaced his first Omega, sadly, however his subsequent purchase was equally necessary — a 1980 Cartier Tank
LC. Incidentally, it’s the first piece visitors noticed on the London exhibition. “I wanted to acquire it for a long time, but I didn’t have the money. So, I bet on the family horse to win a race [which it did],” he shares.
Another story revolves round a Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar 3970. “In Paris I saw a fantastic 3970, but it was for 360,000 Francs. I paid the sales assistant a partial amount to reserve it, and requested him to let me pay it in instalments [it took him months].” Much later, at a cocktail celebration in Paris, Getreide met Thierry Stern, the CEO of Patek Philippe, who invited him to go to their boutique in Geneva. It was the start of an extended relationship between the model and Getreide. Today, 121 Patek Philippes are a part of the OAK assortment.
The collector takes nice care of his timepieces. He has a watchmaker who checks every bit and repairs are completed each month. If any want additional consideration, they’re despatched to the model’s workshops.
“As soon as I achieved a moderate level of success, I began to buy watches at prices I could afford,” he explains, including, “Gradually, that amount increased and, little by little, the watches became better and the passion for collecting them became stronger. “Perhaps, strangely, I never thought of the financial aspect or that values might rise, but, thankfully, I seem to have bought the right ones at the right time,” he says.
Recently, in an unprecedented deal with for watch connoisseurs, he exhibited 168 items on the Design Museum in London. The OAK (One-of-a-Kind) assortment is the first-ever curation by a personal watch collector in a museum, and consists of uncommon gadgets like timepieces owned by musician Eric Clapton and actor Jean-Paul Belmondo.
The 1980 Cartier Tank LC
| Photo Credit: Nick Harvey
A spotlight is the watches initially owned by Henry Graves Jr, a famend Patek Philippe collector of the Nineteen Thirties. OAK consists of 5 items — the most important set of Graves-owned designs exterior the Patek Philippe Museum. Getreide additionally owns the most important focus of iconic Patek Philippe Calatravas. Among the 20 on show, 12 are classic items.
A Graves-owned Patek Philippe Chronometer
Dialling it up
London is the primary cease on a world tour deliberate for the gathering (hypothesised to be value between $300 to $400 million). “I see the [travelling] exhibition as a reward [both] to myself for building it and to people who are just as passionate about watches as I am, but have not been as fortunate as me in having the time and the means to acquire so many special pieces,” he says.
The collector takes nice care of his timepieces. He has a watchmaker who checks every bit and repairs are completed each month. If any want additional consideration, they’re despatched to the model’s workshops.
Getreide’s ardour drove him to undertake meticulous examine and analysis. “What I prefer is building sets and families — to buy a model that I think is fabulous and then find its twin sisters in different metals or with different coloured dials, and put them together,” he explains. “For example, the Patek Philippe Calatrava 96 was not a watch I was dreaming of. At 31mm, it felt a bit small. After a while, I figured that since I have one of the most exceptional collections of Calatravas in the world, I had to have this historically-essential model, too. I got a platinum model first and then, by a stroke of luck, I was offered a pink gold in perfect condition. I have it in four metals today.” The collector has a small but environment friendly circle of horology consultants who help him.
Patek Philippe Calatravas and a Rolex GMT Master from the OAK assortment
Is there a watch that he feels he’s missed out on? “Winston Churchill’s watch was offered to me. I went to see it but it was damaged [so I didn’t buy it]. In retrospect, maybe I should have bought it because Churchill is my favourite political figure.”
While all of the watches are saved in a secure, he takes them out typically, typically sporting two at a time. “I collect cars and paintings, too,” he says, then provides, “But nothing has given me as much happiness as my watches.”
Source: www.thehindu.com
