There’s many forgotten watch brands we’ve discussed so far: Universal Genève, Minerva, and the few that have made comebacks after an acquisition. Of all the forgotten, defunct watch brands, Philip Watches seems to get virtually zero love from the watch community. Their vintage watches are unseen on Instagram or any grey market websites, and its story – however compelling – goes largely untold.
The first surprise that Philip Watches has to offer is that it’s actually an Italian brand, founded to produce Swiss Made pocket watches in 1858. However, not much is known of the brand in the 19th century, apart from the fact that it was founded by Swiss-Italian transplant François Philippe and Neapolitan Filippo Giardiello, in Naples. In 1923, the name Philip Watches was registered in the city. Their original factory was supposedly in La-Chaux-de-Fonds, where they were among the first to manufacture wristwatches for commercial use in the 1930s.
The name of the brand was originally Philippe Watch, after one of its founders, and remained so for nearly a century. But after a 1947 agreement with Patek Philippe it was changed ‘Philip Watch’, as customers were starting to get confused between the two brands – something that should really be taken as a compliment to Philip Watch. As diving became more popular in the 1950s and ‘60s, Philip Watch came up with its own solution, which is also likely its best-known watch model; the Caribbean 1000. Their dive watch shook the diving world with its monoblock case and 1000m water resistance, proving very well suited for professional divers and enthusiasts alike.
Despite the lack of fanfare and famous watch models, Philip Watch still made a significant contribution to horology; especially here in Italy where you can find them relatively easily. They were a good brand, with unique, interesting designs and robust high-quality movements. And its story is not over, the brand was acquired in 2006 by Morellato Group and continues to produce timepieces to this day…although their focus is a lot more on homages and less on original design as it once was.