In and around Geneva, Switzerland (sweets, Ft. Knox, Patek Philippe, Rolex) Part 1

It's Sunday morning and I'm heading to the outskirts of Geneva to see if watch companies have built any new additions to their factories. Back in 2002/03/04 I visited the head offices of over 100 watch and watch related companies in Switzerland. Many times head offices and factories were located in different parts of the city/country. 

Ten years ago (on a Sunday) I cycled around an area of Geneva where a slew of watch companies had built new factories. I'm back to see if any new additions were added.

Every time I'm in Geneva I make it a point to visit one of Guillaume Bichet's pastry shops (he has a half dozen). Why? Many patisseries have the same selections of sweets (that's not a bad thing) but Bichet is always changing his offerings. 
 

Strawberries are coming into season and I've been sampling the offerings of various pastry shops to see who has the best strawberry tart. 

On the left is a mocha tart and the right a strawberry something. Both get the thumbs down. 

Under those balls of whipped cream on the mocha tart is a cake-like filling and the shell is not crispy. 

There's also a cake-like filling under the strawberries---kind of like strawberry shortcake. Not so good. A strawberry tart to me has a thin crispy shell, filled with a creamy vanilla custard, then a mixture of strawberries and LOTS of whipped cream on top.

Wow, that tall green building is the head office of Rolex and wasn't there when I visited the company back in 2002. 

Over the past few years Rolex has been marketing Tudor, their second tier brand, like crazy. This building with the Tudor name atop is new and sits behind the tall green building in previous photo. 

I'm standing next to a busy road a half-dozen miles from central Geneva. See that block long unassuming boring looking building with "Ports Francs" atop?  

What if I told you more than $100 billion dollars worth of art, precious metals, jewelry, wine, cars and who knows what are stored inside. 

It has been said it's the most secure facility in Europe. 

Here's a closer look at the entrance. Two different sets of fencing. Big deal. Doesn't look too daunting to me if I was a bad dude looking to break-in.

So, let's say the Mona Lisa was put up for auction and I snagged it paying $500 million. I could have it shipped here and have it put in storage for a possible sale in the future. Since it's considered "in transit"  I don't have to pay custom duties or tax liabilities until it leaves the warehouse which could be years.

 

This grey building if you look past the unsightly trash dumpsters has the word "art" on the door.  It has been said it holds the "greatest art collection that nobody gets to see". 

The company dates back to 1849 and has been involved in quite a few incidents involving antiquities trading and money laundering.  Oh, and by the way, who is the majority owner of this business?  The Canton of Geneva. Cantons are similar to states in the USA.  

Go to Wikipedia and type in Geneva Freeport to read more about its fascinating past. 

Patek Philippe and Rolex are considered top dogs in the world of watches. 

I visited Patek Philippe back in 1996 and 2003 and received an excellent reception.  You can read the stories by going to www.corporatetrivia.com, then clicking on the "watches and chocolate" heading. 

Looking through a fence I can see their 15th century chateau is still intact. Patek Philippe inherited the chateau when buying the property. It was renovated and is used for receptions.

Snapped this through a fence. Patek Philippe has created a campus-like setting.  

This is a new Patek building. In the distance can you see that half circle metal sculpture? It's a 4-story tall stainless steel balance spring.  

This is the full shot of the new Patek building in the previous photo. 

This was an old addition and is connected to Patek Philippe's head office building.

When I visited Patek Philippe back in 2003 Rolex was putting the finishing touches on a massive three building production facility--right next door to its rival. 

That's Rolex on the left and Patek Philippe on the right with a public sidewalk separating the two. 

This is the Rolex three building complex.