OAK stands for “One of A Kind,” the name Patrick Getreide gave his private watch collection. In a February 2022 interview with Xavier Markl for MONOCHROME, Getreide discussed the watches and personal choices behind the collection, as well as a planned exhibition at London’s Design Museum. The exhibition was a selection of 160 timepieces—not a count of the entire collection—and it took place from 19 to 25 May 2022.
How Patrick Getreide says his collecting began
Getreide traces his interest in watches to childhood. In the MONOCHROME interview, he recalled seeing an Omega in a Swiss shop and saving up to buy it. He later bought a Cartier Tank after a family horse won a race. These are his recollections as told in the interview, rather than independently verified biographical records.
His interests broadened across watchmakers before he encountered Patek Philippe reference 3970, a perpetual-calendar chronograph. Getreide said he ordered the watch and paid for it over 18 months. That experience marked a turning point in the story he tells about his collecting.
What guides his choices?
Getreide described his buying principles as rarity, small production runs, excellent condition, historical importance and personal passion. These are his own criteria, not a general ranking for collectors or advice about investment.
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Reference 96: history over initial impressions
He cited Patek Philippe reference 96, part of the Calatrava story, as a watch he pursued for its historical place. Its 31 mm size initially felt small to him, he said, but he eventually assembled examples in platinum, pink gold, steel and yellow gold.
Reference 1579 and the draw of rarity
Getreide also described collecting several iterations of Patek Philippe reference 1579, including a one-of-a-kind example. In his account, rarity matters alongside condition and historical interest; it is not the only reason to value a watch.
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Why the collection includes historically significant watches
The interview names Patek Philippe references 96, 130J, 1579, 1518, 2499 and 3970, as well as cloisonné enamel watches. One especially prominent historical piece is a 1932 Henry Graves Jr. observatory tourbillon pocket watch. MONOCHROME describes it as made to compete in the 1933 Geneva Astronomical Observatory Timing Contest. Time+Tide’s May 2022 follow-up says it received first prize in the 1933–1934 contest. The two accounts describe the contest differently, so those details should not be treated as interchangeable.
Time+Tide also reported that, when asked which single watch he would show someone who could see only one, Getreide chose a steel Patek Philippe 5320. That answer comes from the follow-up, not the MONOCHROME interview. It illustrates a personal choice rather than establishing a definitive “best” watch in the collection.
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Relationships, discretion and care
Getreide said his relationship with Patek Philippe deepened after he met its president, Thierry Stern, at the brand’s Place Vendôme boutique in Paris and later visited Geneva. He said he buys new watches from Patek Philippe and Rolex, as well as from trusted individuals. He generally prefers discretion and avoids auctions, though he will bid when he sees a watch he wants. He named auctioneer Aurel Bacs as a longtime source of exceptional watches and advice.
Privacy was a recurring theme. MONOCHROME reported Getreide’s motto as “A secret life is a happy life.” In Time+Tide’s May 2022 follow-up, he said: “Ninety-nine per cent of my family and friends didn’t know actually. I told no one.” The collection’s public exhibition was a notable departure from the discretion he described.
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Getreide said a watchmaker checks and repairs his watches, sending a piece to its maker when the watchmaker cannot fix it. Time+Tide described more frequent checks in its follow-up. This account concerns the routine of one private collection; it does not establish a service schedule that other owners should follow.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The 2022 OAK exhibition and later auction sales
MONOCHROME’s February 2022 interview announced a planned exhibition at London’s Design Museum featuring 160 vintage and contemporary timepieces. The selected watches were exhibited from 19 to 25 May 2022. Nicholas Foulkes, whom Christie’s identifies as the author of The Impossible Collection of Watches, Time Tamed and Patek Philippe: The Authorized Biography, described the exhibition as “a unique opportunity to appreciate the beauty, the variety, the ingenuity and the sheer excellence of the very best watchmaking.”
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The exhibition’s 160 watches were a selection, not a definitive count of everything Getreide owned. In 2023, Christie’s described more than 500 watches being offered through an auction series. The figures refer to different scopes and dates; they should not be combined into a single current collection total. Foulkes’s observation that “Every collection is a story” captures the curatorial idea Christie’s associated with the group, but does not settle what Getreide owns today.
Christie’s reported that the first Hong Kong sale, held on 26 November 2023, comprised 139 lots. WatchPro reported proceeds of HKD 51,810,570 for those lots. Among the specific results Christie’s reported was HK$2,772,000 for a one-of-a-kind Patek Philippe enamel pocket watch. These are dated sale figures, not current market prices or proof of present ownership.
Christie’s also highlighted examples that show the range of makers and complications in the auction offering: a one-of-a-kind Akrivia AK-06, a Voutilainen GMT-6, a rare Audemars Piguet reference 5516 and a Patek Philippe pocket watch. Their inclusion in the sale coverage does not establish who owns them now.
Why Getreide agreed to show the collection
The decision to make a selection public stood out against Getreide’s stated preference for privacy. In the MONOCHROME interview, he said of choosing a favorite: “Impossible. There are too many I love.” Taken together, his answers present OAK less as a single-minded catalogue of rare references than as a personal collection shaped by history, condition, relationships and attachment to individual watches.
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