Patek Phillippe’s Legacy And Celebrity Fame

Patek Phillippe is almost synonymous with legend and legacy, at least for many stars and famous celebrities. The Swiss watch brand has been in the business for ages, and now, the world of hip-hop has overwhelmingly embraced the watch brand. Even royalty like Princess Diana used to wear these amazing watches. Their connection to famous and often rich personalities led to a certain association being made.

Now, rappers in the contemporary hip-hop scenario can’t get enough of Patek Phillippe’s expensive and often diamond-laden luxury watches. It has been mentioned in multiple songs by many rappers from different backgrounds.

From Travis to Cardi

Cardi B has often been seen sporting Patek Phillippe watches. Last year Cardi took to her social media handles to tell the world how GlorRilla gifted her a brand new Patek watch as they were collaborating on a song called Tomorrow 2. Travis Scott has never backed off from showing the world his amazing watch collection, which more than usually always includes a brilliant Pate piece. He has also rapped about his ‘two-tone Patek’. In fact, rapper Lil Uzi Vert released two whole tracks called Patek and New Patek. So the question becomes, what is this sudden obsession with Patek Phillippe and their watches?

What Does Patek Say?

The company’s senior vice president of content went on record saying that:

“Since Patek Phillipe has always been one of the most prestigious watch brands, it stood to reason that it would be the one that everyone was talking about,” he said,

“Hip-hop has a long and storied history of shouting out brands that artists like, going back to ‘My Adidas’ by Run-DMC, and it just so happened that watches caught fire.”

It does make sense, especially when one considers how long the brand has been associated with luxury. The brand was founded in 1839 in Geneve, Switzerland, and to this date, remains the only family-owned watch manufacturer there. The family business has been wildly successful, with the likes of even Albert Einstein preferring their watches. Modern artists showing interest in the brand was like rain in New York City. It was bound to happen one day or another. Content senior vice president Nick Marino further said:

“Rappers are smart,” he said. “They know what status means, and they know what exclusivity means. You might expect rappers to talk about Richard Mille because that’s a young, flashy, ‘new money’ watch brand — and rappers love that one too — but I love that they love the old-money watch brands. By positioning themselves as Patek customers, rappers are positioning themselves in the lineage of elites going all the way back to the 19th century. That’s power.”

Patek Seeing The Opportunity To Promote Its Heritage

In a very successful campaign in the past, Patek immortalized the catchphrase: “You never actually own a Patek Phillippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” This message resonates with the image that the brand is trying to hold up. While the brand has found its fame with the new generation, it still holds up to its 182-year-old history.

However, they do realize that they have no reason to worry about it, especially when it comes to becoming a status symbol for the current generation. Marino said:

“In a lot of ways, the young audience — the hip-hop audience — has found Patek maybe rather than the other way around.”

Rappers and modern artists like Drake and John Mayer have made the brand their own in many ways. It looks like the association of Patek with luxury will never quite die out. As for the new way it is being received, it seems that business is only booming for the brand with millions of Dollars in profit every year.