1980 Albert Einstein's Patek Philippe Ad
This is a fascinating Patek Philippe ad from 1980 that suggests that Albert Einstein's Patek Philippe is located in the Patek Philippe Museum in the "Patek Philippe Historic Antique Collection," which is very cool. I assume it is likely a pocket-watch, since the ad says "Einstein's Timepiece" but it may be a wrist watch? Either way, it is pretty cool...
Understanding Einstein's Fascination With Time
Albert Einstein's father showed young Albert Einstein a pocket compass when he was a young boy, and Albert was instantly fascinated. He immediately began pondering what invisible forcefield was controlling the needle on the compass. As Albert grew older, he continued his fascination with mechanical devices and started building his own. In the later part of the 19th century, which Einstein grew up in, there was no such thing as a wrist watch for men–only pocket watches.
In 1903 Albert Einstein went to work for the Federal Office Of Intellectual Property in Bern, Switzerland. Albert Einstien's job at the Swiss Patent Office consisted primarily of evaluating electrical-mechanical synchronization of time, thus beginning Einstein's fascination with the measurement of time. It was in the Swiss Patent Office Einstein formed his ideas about the significant relationship between space and time.
Einstein went on to earn his PhD from the University of Zurich in Switzerland in 1905, and in that same year, Einstein published his theory of special relativity. Of course, one of the great questions is, what was Einstein's involvement–if any–in studying how mechanical watches worked? and most importantly, did any of that learning stimulate–or lead to–his theory of relativity?
Albert Einstein was preoccupied with the study of analysis of time and concluded motion through space effects the passage of time. Einstein famously said, "The distinction between past, present and future is only an illusion, however persistent."
