Fine Watches & Wristwatches Tuesday 18 December 2012, at 2pm New Bond Street, London Fine Watches & Wristwatches Tuesday 18 December 2012 at 2pm New Bond Street, London Bonhams Bids Enquiries Customer Services 101 New Bond Street +44 (0) 20 7447 7448 Paul Maudsley Monday to Friday 8.30am to 6pm London W1S 1SR +44 (0) 20 7447 7401 fax +44 (0) 20 7447 7412 +44 (0) 20 7447 7447 www.bonhams.com To bid via the internet please visit www.bonhams.com Kate Lacey Please see back of catalogue +44 (0) 20 7468 8301 Viewing for important notice to bidders Sunday 16 December 11am to 3pm Please note that bids should be Sophia Guy-White Monday 17 December 9am to 4.30pm submitted no later than 4pm on Illustrations Tuesday 18 December 9am to 12noon the day prior to the auction. New +44 (0) 20 7447 7413 +44 (0) 20 7468 8370 fax Front cover: Lot 154 bidders must also provide proof Back cover: Lot 17 of identity when submitting bids. Highlight Viewing [email protected] 20 - 24 November Failure to do this may result in your Island Shangri-La Hotel, Hong Kong bids not being processed. Sale Number: 19810 9 - 13 December Bidding by telephone will only be Catalogue: £15 Bonhams New York accepted on a lot with a lower 580 Madison Avenue estimate of £400 or above. Catalogue Subscriptions: +44 (0) 1666 502 200 Live online bidding is Important notice available for this sale regarding importation Please email [email protected] into the United States with “Live bidding” in the subject of Corum, Franck line 48 hours before the auction Muller, Piaget and to register for this service. Rolex Watches. Bonhams cannot arrange for the delivery of Corum, Franck Due to the high volume of Muller, Piaget and Rolex watches shipments prior to Christmas, into The United States. The any goods that have not cleared buyer or designated agent customs and been delivered by may collect the property in December 24th, are likely to the country of sale. be held until the New Year. Please note that shipments cannot be dispatched until payment has cleared. Bonhams 1793 Limited Bonhams 1793 Ltd Directors Bonhams UK Ltd Directors Registered No. 4326560 Robert Brooks Chairman, Colin Sheaf Deputy Chairman, Colin Sheaf Chairman, Jonathan Baddeley, Antony Bennett, Iain Rushbrook, John Sandon, Tim Schofield, Registered Office: Montpelier Galleries Malcolm Barber Group Managing Director, Matthew Bradbury, Harvey Cammell, Simon Cottle, Veronique Scorer, James Stratton, Roger Tappin, Matthew Girling CEO UK and Europe, Andrew Currie, David Dallas, Paul Davidson, Jean Ghika, Shahin Virani, David Williams, Michael Wynell-Mayow. Montpelier Street, Geoffrey Davies, Jonathan Horwich, James Knight, Charles Graham-Campbell, Miranda Grant, Robin Hereford, London SW7 1HH Patrick Meade, Caroline Oliphant, Hugh Watchorn. Charles Lanning, Camilla Lombardi, Fergus Lyons, +44 (0) 20 7393 3900 Paul Maudsley, Gordon McFarlan, Andrew McKenzie, +44 (0) 20 7393 3905 fax Simon Mitchell, Jeff Muse, Mike Neill, Charlie O’Brien, David Park, Giles Peppiatt, Peter Rees, Julian Roup, Fine Pocket Watches Lots 1 - 76 Fine Wristwatches Lots 77 - 310 2 1 1 2 Charles Charleson. A fine and rare early 18th century alarm pocket Unsigned. A rare early 17th century ovalcase clock watch with watch in gilt metal pierced and embellished case alarm Circa 1700 Possibly German, Circa 1620 Gilt full plate fusee verge movement with pierced and engraved balance Fusee verge movement, alarm train with floral embellishment by the cock, silvered regulation, polished steel alarm hammer, brass dial with pins, later replaced pierced and engraved balance cock with silvered engraved Roman chapter and outer five minute divisions, central alarm regulation, steel worm-gear, round pillars, later white enamel Roman chapter with blued steel alarm hand, female winding square at 6, chapter with engraved edges, central engraved gilt alarm rotating pierced and engraved gilt metal case with steel bell, movement signed chapter with fleur-de-lys shaped alarm hand, gilt metal oval case with 69mm. steel bell, pierced and engraved sides £2,000 - 3,000 53mm x 62mm. €2,500 - 3,700 £2,500 - 3,500 US$3,200 - 4,800 €3,100 - 4,400 US$4,000 - 5,600 Fine Watches & Wristwatches | 3 3 4 3 4 Robert et Droz. A fine late 18th century 18ct gold open face Robert Higgs. A very fine early 18th century 22ct gold quarter musical quarter repeating pocket watch repeating repoussé pair case pocket watch Circa 1770 No.2435, Circa 1730 Signed gilt full plate movement with virgule escapement, 3-arm brass Full plate fusee verge movement numbered 2435 with small centrally balance with overcoiled spring, engraved barrel, polished steel repeat mounted pierced and engraved balance cock and diamond end stone, mechanism, musical work under the dial, white dial with black painted silvered regulation, two polished steel hammers striking on a bell held in Breguet style Arabic numerals and outer five minute divisions, very fine the back by a screw, signed and numbered gilt metal cap, white enamel blued steel skeletonised hands, polished and engine turned case with dial with Roman painted chapter and outer Arabic five minute divisions, hinged back numbered 4647 and 7360 and with maker’s mark P&S, blued steel mitre hands (matched), pierced and engraved inner case with push repeat via the stem and numbered 7, dial and movement signed push repeat via the bow, pierced and engraved repoussé outer depicting 58mm. an allegory of Time, squared hinge, engraved bow and stem, movement £1,500 - 2,000 signed €1,900 - 2,500 50mm. US$2,400 - 3,200 £2,500 - 3,500 €3,100 - 4,400 Pierre Jaquet Droz was born in 1721 in La Chaux-de-Fonds. He began US$4,000 - 5,600 to take a serious interest in clockmaking and precision mechanics under the tutelage of older relatives from the Brandt-di-Grieurin, Sandoz and There is a Robert Higgs of London listed in Loomes between 1713-31 Robert watch making families. He is probably best known for his fine who is also listed as a goldsmith. automaton watches and figurines. Henri Robert was himself taught by the great Abraham Louis Breguet. The influence of Breguet can clearly The watch case depicts an allegory of time. The woman to the left is be seen in this watch. Hope, who can be identified by the half covered anchor she is holding. Father Time and Hope are often depicted together representing man’s good fortune. The boy is probably Cupid holding a lamb which is the symbol of innocence. These figures often accompany Father Time. 4 | Bonhams 5 George Graham. A fine early 18th century 22ct gold pair case pocket watch Movement Numbered 5074, Case Numbered 5045, London Hallmark for 1724 Gilt full plate verge fusee movement signed Geo. Graham, London, 5074, pierced and engraved balance cock with diamond end-stone, silver regulation, Egyptian pillars, contemporary gold champlevé Graham dial with Roman numerals and outer Arabic five minute chapter, signed 6 to the centre, later blued steel beetle and poker hands, now with contemporary Graham pair case, the inner punch numbered 5045, maker’s mark WS for William Sherwood, indistinct London hallmark, the outer square hinge, with gouged number 5045 by the pendant channel, 6 also marked WS, and with London hallmark for 1724 Spencer & Perkins, London. A gilt metal and shagreen covered 50mm. open face pedometer £3,000 - 4,000 Circa 1780 €3,700 - 5,000 Brass hooked operating lever movement, white enamel dial with painted US$4,800 - 6,400 black numerals, subsidiary dials for one and twelve miles, blued steel hands, gilt metal shagreen case with gilt metal stud work, dial signed Clutton & Daniels, Clocks & Watches in the Collection of the Worshipful 55mm. Company of Clockmakers, cat. no.138. £600 - 800 €750 - 990 This is a standard Graham verge movement made a couple of years US$960 - 1,300 before he began using his cylinder escapement. The movement was presented to the Clockmakers’ Company by Sir John Thorold Bt. in 1818, A very similar example can be seen at the British Museum where it when it had a non-original enamel dial. It was sold by the Company at was acquired from the Ilbert collection. Sotheby’s 22:10:1981, lot 66, when it was purchased by Martin Ball. Subsequently, Ball located and acquired the original cases and dial of Spencer & Perkins, also recorded as Perkins and Spenser are listed as Graham watch number 5045 and fitted his movement 5074 to them. working in Snow Hill, London between 1765-1810. 5 5 (detail) Fine Watches & Wristwatches | 5 7 Thomas Tompion. A very fine and historically important early great-wheel. This example has a pierced and engraved standing barrel balance-spring silver key wind pocket watch with stop-work on the potence-plate. The design of movement forbade Circa 1675-7. the use of a conventional centre wheel, so the second wheel arbor was Gilt full plate verge movement with pierced and engraved winged extended through the pillar-plate and squared to take a wheel which balance cock, signed Tho. Tompion on the potence-plate, and with later drives the canon wheel carrying the canon pinion, mounted floating inscription ‘Tho Tompion LONDON,’and traces of scratched ‘No.1’ also on a central stud. The design also determined that the train would, in on the potence-plate, fine balance-cock pierced and engraved with a tri- effect, run in the opposite direction than in a movement with more partite design with small irregular foot, 3-arm steel balance, the balance- conventional arrangement. Interestingly, Tompion used a comparable spring pinned by square wedge, silver regulation disc, four large tapering arrangement –-reversed direction of train with floating motion-work - in Egyptian pillars ( two engraved, two left plain) silver dial with Roman and a small group of month-going longcase clocks of about the same period.