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Three years ago, Patek Philippe moved its workshops from Geneva to Plan-les-Ouates, a lazy village seven miles southwest of the city. In this petite Swiss burg, where cows graze and shopkeepers sill shut their doors at noon, the preeminent watch producer built its $84 million headquarters.
Within these walls age-old craftsmanship and state-of-the-art technology merge to carry on the long tradition of producing some of the world`s most coveted watches. "It`s the company`s first step in preparing for the next millennium," Philippe Stern, the 61-year-old president of the world-renowned watchmaker, says of the new building that was constructed three years ago to replace the previous headquarters in Geneva.

Considered by many experts to be the Rolls-Royce of watchmakers, Patek Philippe labors over timepieces it claims will last for generations. Depending on the movement model and the number of complications a watch may take nine months to nine years to complete. The tag line in a recent advertising campaign smugly suggests, "You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely take care of it for the next generation."

It is a relentless attention to detail that sets Patek apart from other watchmakers. The firm designs and produces almost all of its watch parts and decorates and hand-assembles each watch, some 25,000 per year. All of this is done under one roof in Plan-les-Ouates.

Consistent with its reputation for precision, Patek Philippe keeps meticulous records, cataloguing every watch it makes. Each timepiece and its movement are numbered. The records list the number of the timepiece, its movement`s and case`s reference numbers and when, where and to whom it was sold. This makes it easy to check the specifics of any Patek watch and increases its resale value . Also, they are rarely knocked off.