Luxury designer watches do more than tell the time – they remind us off the ingenuity, passion and pedigree of makers from centuries ago.
Beautiful timepieces have been admired since their invention. European royals were among the first to treasure them and, despite the digital revolution, watches are as popular today as they have ever been.
Consequently, an important Patek Philippe gentleman’s World Time 18ct rose gold wristwatch, has sparked admiration in Hansons’ saleroom. Patek Philip, one of the world’s oldest watch makers, lists Queen Victoria among its patrons.
Luxury watches are both practical and beautiful. The finest metals blend with minute detail and mechanisms honed to perfection over centuries to create elegance. The Patek Philippe example in Hansons’ Spring Fine Art sale boasts these attributes. It features a striking dial with round bronze guilloche enamel centre with silvered borders. It comes with its original lacquered case and papers, dated 2013, estimate of £28,000-£30,000.
Patek Philippe, a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer located in the Canton of Geneva and the Vallée de Joux, was established in 1839. It is named after two of its founders, Antoni Patek and Adrien Philippe.
It is regarded as one of the most prestigious watch manufacturers in the world. As well as Queen Victoria, notable patrons have included Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, Pope Pius IX, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Pablo Picasso, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Leo Tolsoy.
Since 1932, the company has been owned by the Stern family in Switzerland and remains the last family-owned independent watch manufacturer in Geneva. It designs and manufactures timepieces as well as movements, including some of the most complicated mechanical watches.
Among the world’s top 10 most expensive watches ever sold at auctions, eight are Patek Philippe watches. In particular, Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010 currently holds the title of the most expensive wristwatch ever sold at auction (US$31.19 million), while Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication, the world’s most complicated mechanical watch until 1989, holds the title of the most expensive pocket watch ever sold at auction (US$24 million).
Another example set to attract strong bidding is a rare Jaeger Le Coultre vintage gents 9ct gold Chronometre 1958 Geophysic wristwatch, estimate to be confirmed. Jaeger-LeCoultre is also a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacture. It was founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833 and is based in Le Sentier, Switzerland. Since 2000, the company has been a subsidiary of the Swiss luxury group Richemont.
Jaeger-LeCoultre has hundreds of inventions, patents, and more than one thousand movements to its name, including the world’s smallest movement, one of the world’s most complicated wristwatches (Grande Complication), and a timepiece of near-perpetual movement (the Atmos clock).
The earliest records of the LeCoultre family in Switzerland date from the 16th century, when Pierre LeCoultre (circa 1530-1600), a French Huguenot, fled to Geneva from Lizy-sur-Ourcq, France, to escape religious persecution. In 1558, he obtained the status of ‘inhabitant’ but left the following year to acquire a plot of land in the Vallée de Joux. Over time, a small community formed and in 1612, Pierre LeCoultre’s son built a church there, marking the founding of the village of Le Sentier where the company’s manufacture is based.
In 1833, following his invention of a machine to cut watch pinions from steel, Antoine LeCoultre (1803-1881) founded a small watchmaking workshop in Le Sentier, where he honed his horological skills to create high-quality timepieces. In 1844, he invented the world’s most precise measuring instrument at the time, the Millionomètre, and in 1847 he created a keyless system to rewind and set watches. Four years later, he was awarded a gold medal for his work on timepiece precision and Mechanization at the first Universal Exhibition in London.
In 1866, at a time when watchmaking skills were divided up among hundreds of small workshops, Antoine and his son, Elie LeCoultre (1842-1917), established the Vallée de Joux’s first full-fledged manufacture, LeCoultre & Cie., pooling their employees’ expertise under one roof.
Chaumet is another name to resonate with collectors and an example also set for auction is an 18ct gold automatic Etanche wristwatch, estimate £10,000-£11,000.
House of Chaumet, a French watchmaker and jewellery manufacture, opened in 1780 in Paris. It was founded by Marie-Étienne Nitot, a name with illustrious connections.
Nitot (1750–1809) settled in Paris in 1780 after serving his apprenticeship at Aubert, then jeweller to Queen Marie-Antoinette. His aristocratic clientele remained loyal to him until the French Revolution in 1789. It was after this that the Nitot jewellery house really took off, becoming the official jeweller of Napoleon I in 1802.
With such inventiveness and history it is no surprise that watch pedigree stands the test of time.
Entries are invited for Hansons’ Spring Fine Art, Watches and Jewellery Auction.
To book a free valuation, email Head of Jewellery Helen Smith: [email protected] or call 01283 733988.
