Luxury pocket watches are back in fashion with collectors after the sale of the world’s most expensive timepiece
Vacheron Constantin artistic director Christian Selmoni reckons pocket watches are no less prominent than wristwatches
The fascination revolving around the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication wasn’t just because of its record-breaking price or its calibre – the most complicated mechanical movement ever created – but also because of the provenance, legendary stories and a whiff of mystery. Fetching US$24 million at Sotheby’s Geneva sale in November last year, it holds the record for the world’s most expensive timepiece.
“It was such a significant and rare piece that got everybody talking,” says Sharon Chan, Sotheby’s head of watches for Asia. “[The sale] helped the pocket watch market too. We have more clients approaching us with beautiful pieces to sell, and we have noticed growing interest among collectors.”
The past year has seen the “Henry Graves effect” boost auctions and the retail market. Luxury watchmakers such as Vacheron Constantin, Officine Panerai, Roger Dubuis and Hermès have launched modern interpretations of pocket watches, catering to the surge in demand.
Vacheron Constantin launched its Reference 57260 pocket watch at Watches&Wonders in October in Hong Kong. The piece, not unlike the impressive Henry Graves Supercomplication, features 57 complications in celebration of Vacheron Constantin’s 260th anniversary. It took three master watchmakers eight years to create and is estimated to have a retail price of US$8 million.
Designs come in various materials, styles and forms. While the Reference 57260 adopts classic and traditional aesthetics, Roger Dubuis’ new Excalibur Spider Pocket Time Instrument falls on the futuristic end of the spectrum. The piece adapted the RD101 movement featuring four separate balance wheels first applied in the Quatuor wristwatch in 2013.
Vacheron Constantin artistic director Christian Selmoni reckons pocket watches are no less prominent than wristwatches. “There has been a lot of interest in the last 20 years concerning wristwatches, especially when it comes to complicated designs,” he says. “Vintage and classic pocket watches have driven less interest, but they represent a fascinating area in the world of watchmaking – beautiful designs, magnificent dials and some of the most complex mechanisms.”
Vintage and contemporary pocket watches are now becoming sought-after collectables as connoisseurs and collectors grow more knowledgeable about the history of horlogerie.
“Collectors are awakening to the close ties between pocket watch movements and contemporary wrist mechanisms,” Chan says. “Many collectors started with wristwatches as they were easier to understand and more relevant to their lifestyle, but as they know more about timepieces and look back at the history of horlogerie, they discover the charm of pocket watches. The interest has been there even before the Henry Graves sale.”