Press release
Patek Philippe Geneva
June 2012
Patek Philippe “Artisanship and Precision Competition”: The Geneva-based watchmaking
workshops celebrate the third talent scouting competition
On April 19 and 20 of this year, 18 students from the six Swiss watchmaking schools took part in thethird Patek Philippe “Artisanship and Precision Competition”. The winners were honored on Saturday
June 2, 2012, during a celebration held at the Patek Philippe Museum in the presence of Patek
Philippe President Thierry Stern, Jury President Robert Anguenot, Daniel Rochat, (Head, HumanRessources) and Laurent Cantin (Head, International Customer Service).
The competition’s third edition confirms once again Patek Philippe’s intention to build solid and longlasting partnerships with the Swiss watchmaking schools. The idea behind the competition originatesfrom a joint initiative involving staff members from various Patek Philippe departments – Watch
Manufacturing, International Customer Service, Human Resources, Sales & Marketing, Administration– as well as from the Patek Philippe Museum.
A competition revealing new watchmaking talent
As the name suggests, the purpose of this competition is directly linked to the fundamental values of
Patek Philippe, namely artisanship and precision. These values describe how the concept of quality isapplied in the manufacture and are mandated by the directives of the Patek Philippe Seal. The
competition is part of a training initiative that aims to evaluate the professional skills of the trainees bycreating equal and fair conditions for all participants, regardless of the schools they attend.
The technical exams were held at the Patek Philippe workshops and supervised by a jury of senior
Patek Philippe staff: Robert Anguenot (Director, Watchmaking Department and President of the Jury),
Dominique Charpy (Head, Watchmaker Training), Vincent Lemmelet (Head, Technical Training),
Carlos Dos Santos (Head, Timing Workshop), and Patrick Conus (Watchmaker Training Instructor).
As per previous editions, this third competition also aimed to make the trainees aware of thesignificance of professional skills and identify the most promising new talents. The term “Artisanship”
refers to reliability and precision in the manual finishing and timing operations. The workshop’s staff
members who provide valuable know-how and expertise further support the pedagogical goal of thisprogram. In addition, the competition provides the participants with a unique opportunity to work on ahigh-quality mechanical movement that fulfills the extremely strict criteria of the Patek Philippe Seal,offering them a glimpse of the exclusive universe of haute horlogerie.
The top three winners of this competition are given the opportunity to expand their professional
experience with an internship at Patek Philippe’s workshops, and the winner of the first prize will also
be able to have a training in the Patek Philippe International Customer Service in Paris.

Chemin du Pont-du-Centenaire 141 – CH - 1228 Plan-les-Ouates
Mail address: P.O. Box 2654 – CH - 1211 Geneva 2
Tel. + 41 22 884 20 20 – Fax + 41 22 884 25 47 – www.patek.com

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Theoretical and practical training focusing on precision timing and balances
On the first day, the candidates from the participating watchmaking schools (3 per school) paid a visit
to several departments of the manufacture (Balance Springs, Timing, Haute Horlogerie, International
Customer Service), accompanied by instructors. The tour was followed by a theoretical introduction
and a series of practical exercises performed by the candidates.
The theoretical preparation focused on the precision timing, aesthetic qualities and different types ofbalances used by Patek Philippe. In the practical session, they learned the art of dynamic poising on areal movement (outside the competition).
The examinations
The trainees made a dynamic poising on a Patek Philippe manually wound caliber 215 movement. In
short, the examination comprised the following: lubrication of a shock absorber on the plate and bridge
side, adjustment of the endshake of the balance, setting of the hairspring (truth in the flat and theround), dynamic poising of the balance, and precision timing.
In assessing the candidates, the time taken to accomplish the tasks, the parts used, and obviously theresults of their work were all taken into consideration.
As in previous years, the results showed a very uniform picture with regard to the success and theabilities of the candidates, which manifests the consistently high level of training provided by theschools that took part in the competition. The examinations took place in a very congenial atmosphere,and the candidates were encouraged to actively exchange views. Their dedication exceeded allexpectations.
Award presentation at the Patek Philippe Museum
During a celebration at the prestigious Patek Philippe Museum on Saturday 2 June 2012, President
Thierry Stern and members of the jury presented the awards to the prize winners. The prizes (seebelow) offer the top three winners the opportunity of an internship in the company’s workshops, toexperience the company’s culture and philosophy, work on manually wound and self-winding calibers,and visit the different production facilities of Patek Philippe in Geneva (Plan-les-Ouates and Perly).
During this internship week, they will also meet students from other affiliated watchmaking schools(Hiko Mizuno College in Tokyo, C.A.P.A.C. Trade Polytechnic Institute in Milan, IES-SEP Mare de Déu
de la Mercè in Barcelona, and the Lycée Technique Diderot in Paris).
Additionally, the winner of the first prize will be given the opportunity of a week’s training at the Patek
Philippe International Customer Service in Paris.
The awards ceremony was preceded by a guided tour of the Patek Philippe Museum.
In 2013, Patek Philippe plans to organize a fourth edition of the “Artisanship and Precision Competition”
in cooperation with participating watchmaking schools.

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PrizesFirst:
Second:Third:
Fourth:Fifth:

1 week of training at the Patek Philippe workshops in Geneva+ 1 week of training at a Patek Philippe service center in Paris + 1 tool set
2 weeks of training at the Patek Philippe workshops in Geneva + 1 tool set
1 week of training at the Patek Philippe workshops in Geneva + 1 tool set
1 tool set
1 tool set

Winners of the 2012 Patek Philippe « Artisanship and Precision Competition »First:
Second:Third:
Fourth:Fifth:

M. Thierry Reichenbach
M. Corentin Jaccard
M. Clément Bourjas
M. Olivier Gantenbein
M. Lucas Morel-Fourrier

CIFOM – Ecole Technique du Locle
CIFOM – Ecole Technique du Locle
CFPT – Ecole d’Horlogerie de Genève
BBZ Zeitzentrum Uhrmacherschule - Grenchen
ETVJ – Ecole Technique de la Vallée de Joux

Participating Schools
The six Swiss Watchmaking Schools taking part in the competition are the following:• CFPT – Ecole d’Horlogerie de Genève• ETVJ – Ecole Technique de la Vallée de Joux
• CEJEF – Ecole des Métiers Techniques de Porrentruy• CIFOM – Ecole Technique du Locle• BBZ Zeitzentrum Uhrmacherschule de Grenchen• CFP de Bienne