Patek Philippe Seal

Bye Bye Geneva Seal. Montres and The Watch Blogger have reported about the decision of Patek Philippe to drop the Geneva Seal. Patek Philippe will progressively replace the Geneva Seal on its own watches, with its own Patek Philippe Seal.

We already wrote about the rumored controversy, a year ago, on our May 24, 2008 article on the Geneva Seal. Now, it is a reality.

Whereas the Geneva Seal is concerned with the quality of the craftmanship of a movement, and not its time keeping accuracy and the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC) is concerned only about the accuracy of a movement, the Patek Philippe Seal encompasses both.

For a movement to be "awarded" with the Patek Philippe Seal the rate accuracy must lie within the range of -3 and +2 seconds per 24 hours. For calibers with diameters of less than 20 mm, the standard is relaxed, the rate accuracy must lie within the range of -5 and +4 seconds per 24 hours.

Patek Philippe watches with tourbillon are subject to a more stringent standard, their rate accuracy as measured during the final inspection with kinetic simulators must lie within the range of -2 and +1 seconds per 24 hours. The greatest deviation between the average rate of the watch in all six measuring positions and the rate in each position must not exceed 4 seconds per 24 hours.

This exceeds COSC requirements.

So basically, the Patek Philippe seal guarantees excellent craftsmanship and accuracy.

Questions, questions questions. Presumably, not all Patek Philippe watches will carry the Patek Philippe Seal. Otherwise is would be pointless to have it at all. We are not sure about this.

Will Patek Philippe open the seal to other watch manufactures who desire to supmit the watches for certification? What is the point of a certification standard when it only applies to one brand.

Most importantly, does Patek Philippe need the Geneva Seal or its own seal. I don't know. If you ask me, the best guaranty of Quality is the incription on the dial that says "Patek Philippe".

We would love to hear you comments on this matter.