I've just spent a couple of hours at an auction preview. I went to see a nice snowflake. There's a Lemania HS9 that's nice. A 381 moonphase which was very nice. But it was the pocket watches that blew me away. You don't see many 18th century pocket watches in good condition these days. They don't command high values and there's no real prospect of the market suddenly picking up. As a result, they change hands privately or stay in one collection for decades.

i honestly just stood and stared at these for probably half an hour ...


As a wristwatch collector, I've never even seen an escapement like that. Retrograde hours? Moonphase. Tortoiseshell case with silver embellishments. Circa 1760? I know that there aren't that many collectors for these things but if you love watches, your heart should stop for a moment handling this.

And, as if that wasn't enough, there were two other English pair cases next to it, both of a similar age:



The shagreen cased watch being a quarter repeater. The other tortoiseshell piece would be enough to attract attention in any other sale but in this company it seems almost pedestrian. A bit like that 18ct rattrapante in the background.

For those of you who prefer something more modern, here's what I'd throw my money at:

 

I thought the earth was still flat in those days.

 

My father has 4 of the Omega Cosmics. I can't get him to stop buying redials though.

 

These pocket watches must have been show stoppers, like the first cell phones, but way better looking.



I still remember swapping notes with friends about how many cars with cell phone antennae we saw in a day. 18th century Twitter must has lit up when these gorgeous watches hit the street

 

Beautiful pieces, I love pocket watches

 

You didn't happen to score a Moeris just recently did you?

 

Wow! It’s really something else to see nice pieces like these, where you can tell an actual human being worked on this painstakingly. What do they go for around?

 

Yes

 

Pocket watch prices are all across the board from £10 to £6 millions. The ones pictured have reserves in the mid to high hundreds ... That does mean to say they'll get that, or that they will sell much higher.

They come to auction in this condition so infrequently that I can't even guess. However, the most expensive pocket watch in my collection at the moment was £2500 and I do have a long-running 17th century pair case (not even close to these three in quality) that I paid £300 for. So... you pays your money, you makes your choice.

 

[QUOTE="jimmyd13, post: 1266466, member: 25636"However, the most expensive pocket watch in my collection at the moment was £2500 and I do have a long-running 17th century pair case (not even close to these three in quality) that I paid £300 for. So... you pays your money, you makes your choice.[/QUOTE]
Pics?

 

[QUOTE="verithingeoff, post: 1266471, member: 37263"
Pics?[/QUOTE]
My pair case is locked away in the safe but the more expensive one is this 18ct quarter repeater:

 

That is a beautiful watch, any pictures of the movement?

 

If this works, better than a photo, you should be able to hear it:
https://imgur.com/gallery/siy4jJm

 

Just to give this thread some completion, the first watch featured hammered at £3500. The shagreen case one went for £900 and the third £1800. This auctioneer adds 25% commission.

 

Sorry, I know people think these tripe of comments are post farming but that moonphase is absolutely beautiful