Haute Time Talks Grand Exhibition with Larry Pettinelli, President of Patek Philippe US
Next month Patek Philippe will open their “Grand Exhibition.” Located at Cipriani 42nd Street, it will showcase the world of Patek Philippe. It does so through a unique, two-story structure inside Cipriani in which several rooms will emerge the visitors in not only the glorious past of the brand but also tells the story of how these unique watches are made.
Haute Time had a few moments with the President of Patek Philippe US, Larry Pettinelli to ask him about this unique event.
Martin Green (MG): The Grand Exhibition is unprecedented, not only for Patek Philippe but in the watch world in general, because of the amount and quality of the watches on display, but also because admission is free. What is the goal of this event?
Larry Pettinelli (LP): The goal of this event is to deliver an extraordinary experience to a broad range of visitors, from the most knowledgeable collectors to the curious.
MG: You are building a two-story structure inside Cipriani to achieve the square footage required for the exhibit. What made you decide to do this instead of finding a larger venue?
LP: We needed a midtown location to maximize foot traffic and PR exposure. It is also very difficult to find larger indoor locations within Manhattan that we could take over for a full month.
MG: The exhibition shows more than just current and past Patek Philippe’s, but also include historical watches of other makes, as well as showing the different crafts needed to make them as if they were able to visit the manufacture in Geneva. What do you hope that people will remember after they have visited this exhibition?
LP: Hopefully people will remember that Patek Philippe is one of the last companies to care about the traditional arts of watchmaking and that this art-form is still evolving.
MG: Patek Philippe and the United States have had a long relationship, and the same goes for the Stern family who owns the brand. How did this relationship evolve and why is it so important to Patek Philippe?
LP: Patek has been cultivating the American market since the 1850’s. The Stern’s have always made the U.S a priority, with each generation having spent time in America as they were preparing to take over the company.
MG: The exhibition is divided over several areas or rooms: what is your personal favorite part of the exhibit? And to add to that a bit of an unfair question given to the enormous amount of rare watches that will be exhibited, but do you have a personal favorite among the watches shown?
LP: My personal favorite part will be the U.S Historic Room since we are able to showcase some very special timepieces from iconic American collectors. As for my personal favorite timepiece…that you will have to wait and see when the exhibition opens….it was created specifically for this event.
The Grand Exhibition will be open to the public, free of charge, July 13th – 23rd 2017 from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
