Breguet

While London throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries produced much fine watchmaking, Paris could also lay claim to some of the limelight.

Collection included timepieces presented to intrepid French pilots

The 200th auction at specialist clock and watch saleroom Klöter’s (23% buyer’s premium) in Grafenau contained almost 950 timekeepers from all eras.

An early pocket watch by Abraham Louis Breguet with the low serial number 104 was one of the highlights of a recent watch sale at Cortrie (21% buyer’s premium) in Hamburg.

Brand names are everything in watch collecting.

An exceptional silver Breguet hump-backed carriage clock commissioned by car maker Ettore Bugatti topped Bonhams’ latest Fine Clock Sale.

In contrast to the red-hot trade in vintage and modern wristwatches, the market for antique pocket watches appears very low key. However, as demand for the better-quality pieces remains robust, not all are destined for the scrapheap. Richard Fox reports

On October 22 Skinner in Massachusetts is holding a sale of watches and timepieces from the estate of David G Newsom.

Abraham Louis Breguet is generally considered to be the greatest watchmaker of all times, responsible for numerous inventions, which revolutionised the art.