A Guide To Pronouncing Watchmakers' Names: It's Neither A "Rollie ...

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A Guide to Pronouncing Watchmakers’ Names: It's Neither A "Rollie" Nor A "Patty"

Just because you can afford the watch, doesn't mean you know how to pronounce it. The names of some of the world's great watch companies are very often butchered, even by seasoned collectors. This simple guide compiled by John Reardon will give you just a little bit of reassurance next time someone asks you who makes your Reverso, Calatrava, or Datograph.

John Reardon April 25, 2011

Rollie Fingers and Peppermint Patty: Rolex and Patek Philippe never expected to be mentioned in the same sentence as these two American icons.I once visited a certain American city (located somewhere between NYC and LA) where the local watch community had developed some interesting names for their beloved watch brands. Both the salespeople and the customers collectively referred to Patek Philippe timepieces as 'Patties' and Rolex watches as 'Rollies'. I normally would have immediately left the premise, but was pleasantly surprised by the great selection of watches to be found…

But it did make me wonder if there should be an audio archive of the correct pronunciation of watch brands for all of us to secretly consult in the late hours of the night while our loved ones, who are not equally so obsessed, are sleeping.

Little did I know, it already exists. And, of course, the Canadians came up with it first. Not only are they telling us all how to design our homes HGTV-style, they are also preaching the best way to pronounce our favorite watch brands. Well, I’m the first to admit that I have second guessed my pronunciation of Patek Philippe and A. Lange & Sohne. And how about the classic missteps many of us have taken with Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet. And, not a day goes by when Jaeger-LeCoultre and Blancpain are not butchered.

Fair warning: this guide is not fool proof; I dare you to call a friend and ask him about his Breitling with the same inflection used here.

In the end, this is just a bit of fun. We Americans have all developed our own ways of pronouncing just about everything.

At least most of us know how to say Rolex.

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