Patek Philippe has always had a special liaison with Paris. It was in this city, during the 1844 French Industrial Exposition, that aestehte Antoine Norbert de Patek met virtuoso watchmaker Jean-Adrien Philippe. It was an encounter that would have a decisive impact on the future of the manufacture. In 1995, Patek Philippe was the first major watchmaking company to establish its own exclusive presence on place Vendôme, a fabled venue with one of the world’s finest suites of show windows in the domains of jewerly and haute horlogerie. The company’s own timepieces had already been on display here for many years. For now sixteen years, and after comprehensive enlargement, renovation, and remodeling work, the Patek Philippe Salon reopened in late September 2009 as the preferred address for devotees of exceptional watches.