Watches & Watch accessories

A new record has been set for a rare Rolex watch once owned by the last Emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dai.

Jackie Kennedy’s Cartier watch and a rediscovered painting are on offer as part of Christie’s 'Rare Watches and American Icons' sale in New York.

An 18th century gold-coloured pocket watch is among the lots expected to lead one collection in The Canterbury Auction Galleries’ upcoming auction.

Numerous 18th and 19th century watchmakers in Geneva and London made their living by manufacturing watches for the Chinese market, many destined for the Chinese Emperor and members of his court. One of the pioneers in this field was William Ilbery who was active in London from about 1780 until his death in 1839.

Phillips set a record price for a wristwatch sold at auction over the weekend when a Patek Philippe Reference 1518 was knocked down for SFr9.6m (£7.7m).

A Rolex watch that was bought in 1966 for £69.10 has sold at auction for £140,000. The rare Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner stainless steel model is highly desired by collectors due to its 3-6-9 Explorer dial.

Sotheby’s established an auction record for a watch by John Arnold (1736-99) when a large silver pocket chronometer of 1781 sold at £460,000.

A rare Rolex Submariner took a record £160,000 plus buyer’s premium at a Gardiner Houlgate sale in Wiltshire on May 25.

Bonhams are launching into the internet-only auction arena with a timed sale of watches from a single-owner collection of a European nobleman.

A watch by Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823) became the second most expensive piece by the Swiss maker when it sold to a private Swiss museum for triple-estimate SFr3.25m (£2.35m) including premium at Christie’s Geneva.

The market for traditional antiques ended 2015 on a high with a series of spectacular individual prices posted in London and New York in mid-December.

A 1940s Rolex wristwatch whose RAF owner was murdered by the SS after the Great Escape has sold for £165,000 in Buckinghamshire.

Dr John C Taylor, the horologist, inventor and clockmaker, has been given the Harrison Medal by the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers for his services to horology.

Police are appealing for help from the antiques trade to trace two men captured on CCTV at the scene of a watches burglary in London.

What is billed as “the best collection of English clocks that has come to the market in living memory” will go on sale later this year at Winchester dealers Carter Marsh.

COMMENT – Dealer Jamie Sinai believes modern functionality will eventually lead to a celebration of creativity and individual flair

A significant reward is being offered for the recovery of 125 watches stolen from an antiques store in north London.