• Patek Philippe watches are some of the most coveted in the world.
• That's because they're high in quality and have industry-leading features.
• Watch experts said that buying one requires lots of money, strong social skills, and patience.

Phil Reid, a luxury watch seller based in London, first came across Patek Philippe timepieces "on the back of a magazine."

"No one in my family had a Patek; I didn't come from that sort of wealth," the 30-year-old said, "but they'd be on billboards and in magazines. The marketing would talk about how you'd buy a Patek and pass it down generation to generation. That stuck with me."

By 1845, the Swiss brand, founded six years earlier, had patented key watch features like keyless winding and hand-setting systems, attracting its earliest fans, who included iconic figures like Queen Victoria.

Ever since, it's been known for its status-symbol watches, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars when bought directly from the brand or millions each on the resale market.

Still, getting one of the timepieces on your wrist is a tricky task, equivalent to buying a Birkin or Kelly handbag from Hermes.

Reid and Craig Karger, another watch industry professional, told Business Insider that purchasing a Patek Philippe timepiece typically requires patience, a solid relationship with an authorized sales associate, and a lot of money.

"Patek kind of has a stepping stone system to getting the watches that you want," Reid said.

Here's what that path can look like.

Where can you buy a Patek Philippe watch?

Karger, a former lawyer who now runs a publication called Wrist Enthusiast, said that Patek Philippe "generally doesn't own their own stores."

Aside from a handful of boutiques spread across cities like Miami and Lisbon, the Swiss brand sells its products through authorized retailers worldwide. Watches of Switzerland and Bucherer are two popular examples.

Karger recently visited the former to see if he could buy the brand's new Cubitus watch off the shelf. Spoiler alert: He couldn't.

At such retailers, the two experts said you typically need to form a relationship with a sales associate and purchase from them regularly.

"You could buy Rolex. You could buy Cartier. You could buy IWC, whatever the store has, but you're going to have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars with them — and probably more — before they start offering you something that's on the very rare side," Karger said.

That's only the first step.

After developing a purchase history of various watches, you'd likely be introduced to Patek Philippe's classic pieces. These variations are luxurious, of course, but not as highly in demand as other Patek watches, like those in the Nautilus and Aquanaut families.

Still, Reid added, completing that step is no small feat. He said these simpler pieces are offered "almost as a privilege," and buying one is another necessary step to being offered more popular styles.

"If you're really buddy-buddy with the salespeople or if you are an influencer or a celebrity, maybe you can bypass some of these steps," Reid said, "but Patek is probably the strictest amongst all the brands with who they allocate watches to."

"They're very, very selective, very careful," he continued. "They will vet everybody meticulously to make sure that they don't resell."

Representatives for Patek Philippe did not respond to a request for comment from BI on its sales processes.

Pay your dues, or pay a hefty premium — the choice is yours

If buying directly from Patek Philippe sounds too daunting, there's always the secondary market. That's where many Patek pieces end up, Karger said.

Some shoppers find buying resale largely beneficial; they can find rare watches and discontinued pieces and save time and money.

"If you have somebody that doesn't want to put in two or three years and spend $50,000 to $100,000 on stuff that they don't want, they can come to businesses like mine," Reid said.

On the flip side, you have to be prepared to pay premium prices.

"Some watches may retail for $50,000 but sell for $150,000 on the secondary market," Krager said. "As long as you're willing to pay that, you can get it leave with it on your wrist that day."

The new Cubitus design is a perfect example. While Patek Philippe's suggested retail price ranges between $41,240 and $88,380 each, the pieces are currently on the resale market for between $127,500 and $238,000 each.

Reaching the level of Patek Philippe

When collectors, jewelers, and other fans discuss Patek Philippe watches, awe almost always enters their voices.

The luxury brand "stands above the likes of Rolex and Audemars Piguet, just because of their quality," Reid said, adding that other high-end watches have "service issues" and don't last as long as they should. "I've never really heard anybody have issues when they've bought a Patex Philippe watch."

Variety also plays a huge role in the appeal of Patek watches.

"As a luxury brand, it's kind of different from everyone else," Krager said of Patek Philippe. "They make something that could fulfill any kind of itch you have at that time — whether it's a sports watch or something crazy with really high-end complications."

But maybe the most attractive quality to shoppers is that owning one is still extremely rare, no matter how many Patek watches are on the resale market. Both Reid and Krager, for example, have yet to have Patek pieces in their personal collections.

But if you are one of the lucky ones who's bought a Patek directly from the brand? You basically got a two-for-one deal: a luxury watch and the bragging rights to say you bought one of the most exclusive offers in fashion.