The first exclusive boutique of the luxury watch brand Patek Philippe from Barcelona will open in the Jardinets de Gracia. The establishment, which will have 460 square meters on two floors, will be operational at the end of this year. It will do so with Unión Switzerland, which has been selling watches from the emblematic Geneva brand since 1929.
The new store will open on the ground floor of the luxury residential complex Mandarin Oriental Residences Barcelona, in the old Deutsche Bank building that crowns Paseo de Gracia. The opening of the establishment will represent a turning point for Patek Philippe and Union Switzerland, both born more than 180 years ago.
Swiss Union aspires to turn this space into a reference point for watches and jewelry from the Geneva brand. As La Vanguardia has reported, an architectural team is working with this objective in the design of the premises, located at number 111 Paseo de Gràcia, at the intersection with Avenida Diagonal, where Unión Naturaleza has a nearby establishment next to the Via Augusta where Patek Philippe watches are also sold.
The connection between both brands goes back a long way: the grandfather of the current generation of Barcelona jewelry already worked with the grandfather of the now president of Patek Philippe, Thierry Stern. The Swiss firm is the last independent Geneva manufacture in the hands of a single family, as part of its commitment to the continuity of the traditional jewelry art, which it has practiced since 1839.
Coincidentally, it was a year later when Jaume Vendrell and Francisca Castellà opened their first business and jewelry workshop in Barcelona, near the Carme del Raval parish. The Vendrell family has maintained and expanded the company to this day, and already has the seventh generation incorporated into the business.
The history and trajectory of both brands now come together again and does so with the milestone of opening this exclusive boutique at the top of the emblematic Barcelona promenade. It will occupy the ground floor of the Mandarin luxury residential complex, a building that has gone through many adventures.
The building was acquired in 2014 by the real estate group KKH Property Investors, with the initial plan to convert the property into a luxury hotel of the Four Seasons chain. The change of color at City Hall and a restrictive urban plan with the opening of hotels frustrated these intentions, and finally the developer opted to enable the most exclusive homes in the city.
