In London antique pocket watches sell for healthy but deserved amounts every day but there can be no argument that as far as watches go the Henry Graves Supercomplication pocket watch is the master of them all. This simply magnificent movement combines the Renaissance ideal of the unity of beauty with craftsmanship and the apex of science.
This particular Graves watch held on to the esteemed title of the world’s most complicated watch for more than half a century, 56 years to be exact, and even then was only exceeded by technicians working alongside assistance from computer-assisted machines.
15 years ago, during a lot at a 1999 Sotheby’s auction the house sold the Graves watch for £6.8 million which consequently broke the record for the most expensive timepiece ever sold at any auction…ever!
November 2014 is a date to note on your calendar, to coincide with Patek Philippe’s 175th anniversary, the watch will once again go under the hammer in Geneva by Sotheby’s, with experts at Sotheby’s anticipating it to fetch more than £10 million when the lot comes up.
Almost like warm up acts at a concert, a number of other Patek Philippe and Rolex watches will additionally be sold.
Following the death of Mr Graves in 1953, the watch was homed in the Museum of Time near Chicago from 1968 until December 1999 when it was sold by Sotheby’s toanonymous bidder in New York.
Until Sotheby’s once again announced it was set to put the famed timepiece up for sale, it had been on display at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.
