Auctions Phillips Is About To Offer Some World-Class Pocket Watches – Here's Why It Matters

I thought that Vacheron's announcement of the most complicated watch in the world would be my only chance to publish a story about an outstanding pocket watch this year. But between Phillips' upcoming Hong Kong and New York sales, there are 10 world-class pieces from a single collection that are all worth attention. Yes, pocket watches are an anachronism. No one wears waistcoats anymore. Even I only wear pocket watches rarely. But if you're the kind of collector with a world-class collection of other watches and start to look for incredible feats of watchmaking, unique pieces, or outstanding examples of history, there's nothing better. The total estimate for these 10 watches (at the high end) is $1.8 million, showing that there's a strong market for the best pocket watches.

The obvious rarity – and most understandable for a modern audience – is a possibly unique Patek Philippe ref. 767 grand complication pocket watch (with perpetual calendar, minute repeater, and double-split chronograph) up in Hong Kong. There are seven ref. 767 are known on the market, and Phillips does a great job breaking down the history of all of them. This one has an engraved enamel dial in the style of a ref. 1518 (with French calendar) and a modern-style case by Emile Vichet, known for his cases for ref. 1518s and the first series of 2499. But this ref. 767 is the only known double split-second version. In the same auction, you can compare this watch with another Patek Philippe grand comp from 1883. This ref. 767 is believed to formerly be from the collection of Seth G. Atwood, founder of The Time Museum in Rockford, IL, where the Henry Graves Supercomplication once resided. The estimate is a staggering $410,000-$821,000. 

Also in Hong Kong, are two names of watchmaking excellence often overlooked in the modern landscape. The first that jumped out to me is this L. Leroy & Cie perpetual calendar minute repeating chronograph with the quintessential engine-turned dial that you would find on a Leroy from the 1930s (both wristwatches and pocket watches alike). Leroy was responsible for the most complicated watch in the world from 1900 to 1989 with the Leroy 01 and continued their excellence with watches like this. This watch was submitted for testing at the Observatory of Besançon on August 26, 1932, and achieved a first-class rating. The estimate seems wildly low to me at $20,500-$41,000. Meanwhile, from England, Phillips also has a phenomenal example of a Frodsham tourbillon, this one with a minute repeater and split-second chronograph. Only 12 Frodsham tourbillons have ever come to the open market, and at $61,500-$123,000, this one is a ton of bang for your buck.

While the catalog hasn't gone live, Phillips sent along information about some pocket watches from their New York auction a few weeks later. There the company will also offer a Charles Frodsham tourbillon watch with a 1917 open-faced yellow gold minute repeating grande sonnerie clock watch with perpetual calendar. The watch features a full hand-made three-tone dial and weighs over a pound, with an estimate of $200,000-$400,000. Keeping with the British theme, they'll also be offering one of the most coveted and accurate tourbillons of the 20th century with a hunter-cased pocket watch from The Northern Goldsmiths. The watch features a steel double-arm bridge of the "Better 1" design attributed to Sidney Better, with a "Better type-2" carriage with offset arms. Never heard of the company before? That's okay; the estimate is still a solid $40,000-$80,000.

Last but not least, there are three outstanding pocket watches from S. Smith & Sons. This is another name that is largely lost to time in the modern space unless you study watchmaking history and pocket watches, but like their contemporaries, Charles Frodsham and Dent, S. Smith & Sons made watches for the upper echelon of society's elite, including folks like John Pierpont Morgan. Similar to the Charles Frodsham clock watch, the first Smith from 1899 also has a grande sonnerie and minute repeater, but it also features a petite sonnerie as well as a tourbillon and was given a Class A rating at the Kew Observatory. The watch has a slightly American flare to the dial design (in my opinion) and England was often a market for both American and Swiss watches a like, so this is not only an example of British watchmaking but how the country was pulled between two worlds. The estimate is $80,000-$160,000.

The other two Smith pocket watches examples of that push and pull British watchmaking faced at the time. The first, a single-button chronograph and tourbillon is actually made by Nicole, Nielsen, and Co. for S. Smith & Sons based on a Victorin Elysée Piguet ébauche. The watch is also featured in George Daniels and Cecil Clutton's book Watches. The estimate range is $50,000-$100,000. The other, which reminds me very much aesthetically of a Swiss grand comp of the era, is a minute repeating split-seconds hunter cased perpetual calendar pocket watch with moon phase from 1899 with an estimate of $40,000-$80,000.

Phillip's "The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XVIII" will take place from May 24 - 25, 2024 and "The New York Watch Auction: X" will take place from June 8-9, 2024.