Pocket watch

An unusual 19th century gold watch by the Swiss maker Sylvain Mairet caught the eye of numerous bidders at a recent sale at Dr Crott (25% buyer’s premium) in Mannheim.

A gold and enamel Dent pocket watch given by Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, to the Italian opera singer Giuseppina Grassini surfaced for sale at an auction in Austria

The latest silver and jewellery sale at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (26/25% buyer’s premium) in Exeter included two Georgian 18ct gold pocket watches from two generations of the Drummond family.

In last week’s news story about auction house overall sales totals for 2024 (ATG No 2679) we said that the highest-value objects sold in the UK by any regional auction house last year were two Antonine over-lifesize busts of empresses which hammered at £600,000 each at Lyon & Turnbull.

This remarkable Charles II period silver clock-watch with alarm appeared for sale at Wotton Auction Rooms in Gloucestershire this month.

A single-owner collection of rare 17th to 19th century pocket watches in Australia achieved a white-glove result with 95% of the sale going to international buyers

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.

Camerer Cuss watches carry a certain cachet.

In Norman Dean’s day, to be a watch collector was to collect pocket watches. In today’s market, when the 20th century mechanical wristwatch is king, demand for pocket watches is now markedly segmented.

Any gold ‘wandering hour’ watch made prior to the introduction of the balance spring is a rarity.

Moses automaton watch is one of the stand-out hammer highlights in recent sales

Our selection of lots from 11 upcoming auctions

Our selection of lots from nine upcoming auctions

This 18ct gold pocket watch by Charles Frodsham with accompanying chain (offered separately) was presented by Sir Victor Horsley (1857-1916) to the man he credited for saving his son’s life.

Demonstrating the continued interest in pocket watches by most renowned English makers, two Georgian watches, one signed for Thomas Earnshaw and the other for Thomas Mudge, achieved strong results for regional salerooms on the same day in March.