Patek Philippe Watchmaker May Come Up for Sale

ZURICH, Switzerland - Patek Philippe, the closely held maker of $10,000-plus Calatrava watches, may be coming up for sale, according to analysts at Berenberg who cited industry talk Patek Philippe has been owned by the Stern family for almost a century, and Thierry Stern became the company's chairman in 2009 "It was interesting to hear in the corridors of the Geneva watch salon that a potential sale of the high-end watch brand Patek Philippe could be approaching soon," the analysts wrote, noting that it could be just a rumor.

A Patek spokeswoman declined to comment except to say deal speculation tends to occur during the annual watch fairs in Switzerland, including last week's Geneva show A sale of Patek Philippe would upend the watch industry and could lead to a bidding war, as it's one of the last prize assets that hasn't fallen into the hands of a luxury conglomerate Patek Philippe has sales of 15 billion francs, according to Berenberg estimates.

Stern's wife, Sandrine, works in design at Patek Philippe. . Source