Patek Philippe is considered by many to be the best manufacturer of high-end watches in the world, and produce some of the most beautiful and most complicated watches ever seen. The seeds of Patek Philippe were sown with the collaboration of two Polish immigrants, Antoni Patek and Franciszek Czapek in 1839 to form 'Patek, Czapek & Cie.' Then, in 1844, Patek went to visit the French watchmaker Adrien Philippe to look at a new crown winding and setting system that Philippe had developed. A year later, Czapek left the company, and Philippe joined in an official capacity in 1851. 'Ancienne Manufactre d'Horologerie Patek Philippe & Cie, S A' was born.