This year, Revolution turns 20. Two decades of chronicling watches, people and ideas have given us a front-row seat to a remarkable story: how an age-old craft has both preserved its soul and reinvented itself for the 21st century. To celebrate, we’ve chosen over 100 names and milestones that, for us, define the era so far. From leaders to watches, you can see the whole list here.

I would argue that the two greatest watch leaders of the last 50 years are Blümlein and the amazing Philippe Stern. I remember bumping into him outside the Plan-les-Ouates manufacture that he created. He looked at it (Patek Philippe has since added a second manufacture next to it) and said, “My father didn’t want me to build this. He thought the financial burden too risky, and at the time in the watch industry, everyone was reliant on third parties or suppliers.”

It reminded me that until Philippe Stern took over, the Patek manufacture was smack in the middle of Geneva, occupying the building where we find their boutique today. Stern created an in-house manufacture that has made all the difference. In 1989, he heralded the return of complicated watchmaking, with the creation of what was at the time the world’s most complicated watch, the Caliber 89, and also the world’s first serial produced automatic minute repeaters, the References 3979 and 3974 featuring his new Caliber R27. He created the Patek Philippe Museum to tell the entire story of Swiss timekeeping to reinforce the reality that his maison is synonymous with the history of complicated watches.

The rebirth of Patek Philippe’s chiming watches came in 1989 with the launch of Caliber 89 with 33 complications (Image: Patek Philippe)

He also helped to elevate the price of vintage complications from a historic low in the ’80s and ’90s. And he created the on-application policy where you couldn’t just buy a Patek, you had to ask nicely for one. He oversaw what is still considered to be the greatest ad campaign in watchmaking history: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” His influence in the 21st century has been equally important, in particular his interest in silicon, which comprised much of the initial focus for his Advanced Research watches.