Tactical Luxury? Patek Philippe’s Surprising Ties to the Military & Intelligence

From General George S. Patton to the Aquanaut’s rumored origins to prototyping military pilots’ watches, Patek Philippe is closer to the W.O.E. Community than you’d imagine 

At Watches of Espionage, we focus on tool watches, specifically steel and titanium dive watches and GMTs. “Haute horology” (i.e., fancy watches) generally falls outside of our purview, except for examples of select uber-expensive watches worn by dictators and statesmen around the globe. 

The Use Your Tools ethos shared among those in our community might seem antithetical to the coverage of expensive luxury timepieces, but like most things, there’s more to the story. No matter how you got into watches or where your horological allegiances currently lie, it’s worth considering the impact Patek Philippe has had on the military, intelligence, and NatSec.

As we like to say, it’s never just a watch, and during a recent visit to the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, that statement rang true. The museum is well executed, and even people who don’t have an interest in watches will walk away understanding why watches are interesting. It’s because the museum sets up the watch (or pocket watch) as a lens through which to view history. It also spotlights an area of Patek’s history that few are aware of: the brand’s legacy of making function-specific watches for military applications. A great deal of military leaders also wore Pateks, some of which we’ll take a look at in this Dispatch.

The Dalai Lama’s reference 658 was a gift from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, delivered by Office of Strategic Service (OSS) officers during the Second World War.

Before visiting the museum, I was aware of the story about the OSS giving a Patek to the Dalai Lama to build a relationship and gain his trust, which eventually would influence his decision on whether to allow a road to be built through Tibet to aid in China's fight against Japan, a common enemy of the US at the time. In 1943, Ilia Tolstoy and Brooke Dolan, both members of CIA’s predecessor, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), presented the Dalai Lama with a Patek Philippe reference 658 on behalf of US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The gift, practically priceless as there are only 15 known examples of the Patek 658, reportedly still resides with him today. 

OSS officers Ilia Tolstoy and Brooke Dolan delivered a Patek Philippe to the Dalai Lama in 1943.

In this case, the pocket watch was a tool to gain influence, but what the Patek Philippe Museum showed me is that there’s another tie this famed watchmaker has to our community, and that’s producing watches for the military. In fact, there's been a rumor about the origins of the Aquanaut circulating the forums and collector groups for years. 

There are several theories, but according to one of the more prevalent stories, the core design was inspired by the texture of a grenade, imitated on the dial and strap. Another argues the watch was created for a unit of the Royal Saudi Land Forces, but the legend also says it could have been made for the military regime ruling Libya in the late ‘90s. Yet another theory suggests they were actually created at the request of the Sultan of Brunei, who reportedly ordered 40 for his personal security detail. 

The Sultan of Brunei, seen here wearing a Tiffany & Co. Nautilus, may have played a role in the creation of the Aquanaut, another Patek Philippe icon. (Watch Photo Credit: Wind Vintage)

Unfortunately, the museum offered no evidence of either of these being true. But what they did have was a collection of issued, gifted, and prototype watches, pocket watches, and clocks that are tied to our community. 

General Patton’s Pocket Watch

Old Blood-and-Guts was what the troops called General Patton, a nickname earned from his relentless pursuit of victory on the battlefield and fondness for harsh measures to prepare soldiers for battle. Being a hard ass paid off, however, as Patton went down as one of the greatest generals in American history. 

General Patton’s Patek Philippe was a gift from his parents upon graduating from West Point. (Photo Credit: Hodinkee)

Long before his days leading troops in North Africa, he was a student at West Point. Upon graduation in 1909, his parents gave him a pocket watch to mark the achievement. On the caseback, an engraving reads: 

Lieut. George S. Patton U.S.A., from his Father and Mother, June 11th 1909

Being given a Patek as a graduation present implies Patton came from a family of means, and that’s true; he was from a wealthy family, but that didn’t mean his parents paid retail. They had a nose for a deal. In a memoir penned by Patton, he recounts the story of the pocket watch:

The day after graduation, Papa, Mama, and I went to Tiffany, and they bought me a watch. It was a stop watch repeater priced at $600.00, but we got it for $350.00 because it was thicker than the then style. I carried it in Mexico and France. It keeps perfect time and is a great watch. Aunt Nannie bought me a chain to go with it. B gave me the locket.

He didn’t use it during his WWII service. It was tucked away in America for that chapter of service. Patek ended up buying the watch from Patton’s grandson. 

The caseback inscription on Patton’s Patek Philippe Five-Minute Repeater Split Seconds Chronograph. (Photo Credit: Hodinkee)

One of the things I took away from seeing the pocket watch is that it doesn’t really matter what kind of pocket watch it is; it’s how it’s used. Being a Patek makes it a great story because, at the time, there were countless Hamilton, Waltham, Elgin, and Illinois models in circulation. But the fact that Patton used this pocket watch and imbued it with stories from his service to the nation is what makes it special. 

Major General Thomas North & his Patek Philippe 533

General North’s Patek Philippe reference 533. (Photo Credit: Sotheby’s)

There’s another timepiece from a prominent WWII figure that’s part of the Patek military lore, but this one isn’t in the museum. I came across it while looking for further information on watches that were on display. We’ve covered how watches can be used as gifts to exercise influence, like the Dalai Lama watch, and this one is similar in that it was presented to Major General Thomas North by the Brazilian Chief of Staff, General Pedro Aurelio de Góes Monteiro, on a state visit to the US after a preceding visit to Brazil with General George C. Marshall. 

North has built a career in the United States military by this point, having enlisted nearly 20 years earlier. His career culminated in an appointment as the Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission. The ABMC maintains permanent U.S. military cemeteries, memorials, and monuments outside the United States. A fitting assignment for someone who had much experience with diplomacy while serving. 

The watch was a gift, and it was certainly meant to build trust between two nations, but again, the fact that Major General North used the watch for his entire career and beyond is what makes it stand out. 

Pilot’s Prototype Watches from 1936

These two models are Patek’s take on the Hour Angle watch developed by US Navy Officer Philip Van Horn Weems in conjunction with aviator Charles Lindbergh. Originally developed with Longines, the Hour Angle technique of navigation used the watch, a sextant, Greenwich as an anchor location, and a lot of guesswork. It laid the foundation of another kind of navigation, instead of the standard at the time, dead reckoning, which was difficult to correct and get back on course if a mistake was made. The Hour Angle technique proved to be a powerful tool in avigation (that’s what aerial navigation was called back then). The navigation system that powered the mighty A-12 spy plane, many decades later, was based on the foundation of celestial navigation. 

Patek Philippe prototype “Hour Angle” watches from 1936. (Photo Credit: Patek Philippe)

These watches were based on Weems’ system, and could not have even been conceptualized without his technique. Incidentally, the year these watches were produced is the same year the  B-17 prototype flew for the first time, later becoming America’s heavy-hitting bomber in the European theater. This is purely conjecture, but the fact that these prototypes came out in 1936, during the lead-up to the war, is significant. It demonstrates that there was a need for aerial navigation tools and Patek was willing to experiment in developing them, straying from their sharp focus on haute horology. Incidentally, this was around the time that Patek entered the American market as well. 

The Patek Philippe Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Ref. 5524 was supposedly inspired by the Hour Angle prototypes from the 1930s. (Photo Credit: Patek Philippe)

Prototypes like this are often cited as the inspiration behind the modern Calatrava Pilot Travel Time. It’s interesting to look at something that started solely focused on solving a practical navigation problem and ended up as a $75,000 luxury product a century later. In a way, that’s just about every luxury watch. The Patek pilot’s watches just underscore the notion. 

Patek Philippe in the Intelligence Community

It comes as no surprise that Patek Philippe watches typically appeared on the wrists of high-ranking officials in the armed services around the world, both friendlies and despots. Also of note is that most of the prominent “military” Patek watches were worn in the early and mid-20th century. While Patek Philippe has always been about ultimate luxury, the shift away from function-forward watchmaking towards luxury happened with the now-famous “Generations” campaign from the late ‘90s, stating that “you never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” 

George H.W. Bush was a known Patek Philippe wearer while serving as DCI.

One of the most prominent figures in the IC to regularly wear a Patek was George H. W. Bush, regularly photographed with a Ref. 3445 that was later auctioned by Christie’s. The choice of his watch was congruent with his well-documented sense of “uncommon grace”. He served as DCI and was known for using his background as a member of the House of Representatives to smooth out the sometimes-rocky relationship between the CIA and Capitol Hill. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin wearing his Patek Philippe Reference 5039 during a white water rafting trip. (Photo Credit: Patek Magazine)  

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also rose to the presidency after a career in intelligence, is known to have worn a Patek Philippe reference 5039 as well as a reference 3974, according to a 2012 report detailing his known property. 

Another prominent figure to have favored Patek was Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi. Gaddafi had a special Patek model, in full white gold, commissioned for Libyan Labor Day in 1978. The dial color, a pale green, was a reference to his “Green Book”, in which he unironically extols the virtues of his ideology: “The final step is when the new socialist society reaches the stage where profit and money disappear.” 

A Muammar Gaddafi Patek Philippe Grande Ellipse, commissioned by Gaddafi in 1978. (Watch Photo Credit: Christie’s)

The watch, a Grande Ellipse, features a message from Gaddafi himself, “Only in times of need will you find freedom, Col. Muammar Gaddafi”. According to Christie’s, which auctioned a number of Gaddafi’s watches, another example bears the message, “We celebrate today the first of May, the International Workers Day. The real workers day is the one on which all workers of the world are liberated from slavery and when they become partners instead of wage workers.” Indeed, a message right at home on a white gold Patek Philippe that Gaddafi’s regime most likely paid for with money.

It’s not a coincidence that high-profile leaders have historically been drawn to Patek. It’s for the same reason that an intelligence professional might choose to wear one: it establishes rapport and builds trust in subjects. It signals authority, and although the Patek Philippe name evokes a flashy, ritzy image, the watches can be rather discreet.

Final Thoughts

While Patek Philippe isn’t the type of watch we usually cover at Watches of Espionage, it would be remiss to discount the brand as irrelevant to our community. Patek is seen as the pinnacle of industrial-scale high horology, and a trip to the museum certainly backs up that notion. The execution is impressive, and the historical context of the brand is lost on most watch military enthusiasts. 

The “best” of anything will draw both admiration and ire, but in this case, it’s a very narrow slice of history that our community is interested in, and in that regard, Patek Philippe has certainly earned its place among the pantheon of watches used by military leaders. “Use your tools” can take many forms. In this case, it might be a finely handcrafted piece of Swiss high horology in an office setting on someone’s wrist in DC instead of a chunk of 316L getting knocked around during an op; either way, it’s still contributing to an important outcome. 

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