0902

Two-Day Horological Auction

Pocketwatches, Watchmaker’s Material and Old Coins

Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 4:00pm

Preview: 1:00pm – 4:00pm, or earlier by appointment

and

Fine American and European Pocketwatches, Wristwatches, Estate Jewelry, Clocks, etc

Sunday, November 1, 2009 at noon

Preview: 8:00am – 12:00 noon

Note: Additional preview time is available at our office by appointment from October 11 through October 27. Please Contact Us to setup an appointment.

Auction Location: Radisson Hotel Manchester 700 Elm St, Manchester NH 03101

Here are some of the Wristwatches:
Patek Philippe & Co classic rectangular ref 1493, 24mm wide x 40mm to lug tips, 18KYG original two-bodied case, leather strap, finely refinished silvered dial w/ applied roman numerals & markers, possibly conserving some original fired graphics, 18J, s#839528, case #646118, triple signed
Patek Philippe & Co 18KYG rectangular with heavy trapezoidal lugs and matching PPCo buckle, ref 2427, 26mm wide x 41mm to lug tips, 18K original case, leather strap w/ 18KYG buckle, original silvered dial, 18J, s#973571, case #512699, triple signed
Patek Philippe in custom platinum curved case with custom diamond dial for US market, 1920's, 24mm at waist x 43mm to lug tips, 90% platinum 10% iridium custom period case, leather strap, period custom silvered diamond dial, 18J 11.7mm x 22.1mm mvt in oblong form, s#200424, double signed; it is possible that an American importer purchased the mvt only from Patek in the 1920's, and went ahead with casing and dialing in the US; it is also possible that the diamond embellishments were later added to the dial; it is also possible that the mvt was taken from an original and exceedingly rare Patek driver's watch with dial of the oblong rectangular form, and was recased and redialed subsequently; one would need to research the Patek Philippe Archives to gain any further clues
Patek Philippe manual wind ref 1513, 35mm diameter x 42mm to lug tips, 18K original Patek case #661747, leather strap, original but cleaned silvered dial, 18J, s#967856, triple signed, with an Extract from the Archives showing manufacture and sale in 1951
Rolex "orange hand" Oyster Perpetual Date Explorer II ref 1655, 38mm bezel diameter x 47mm to lug tips, stainless steel original case, stainless steel Oyster bracelet with simple deployment buckle, original black dial with orange luminous 24 hour hand and luminous dot seconds hand (introduced in 1974), non-QS, acrylic crystal, 26J cal 1570, s#5348105, fully signed, with box & anchor, ca 1978; this watch was originally designed for speleologists, or cave explorers, for the high contrast 24-hour hand vital to long term exploration in the absence of light clues; more recently the watch has been variously called the "Freccione," or the "Steve McQueen," the latter term probably completely without foundation, as McQueen wore a Submariner in real life, and only a look-alike to the 1655 in the film that began this legendary association
Rolex 18K Oyster Perpetual Date Yachmaster ref 168628, mid-size, 34mm bezel diameter x 42mm to lug tips, 18K original case & Oyster bracelet, original white dial with black filled markers, fully jeweled original mvt, QS, sapphire crystal, s#P550707, fully signed, with mahogany Rolex box & outer box, original warrantee papers & booklets, sold in 2002
Rolex ca 1956 Oyster Perpetual Explorer ref 6610 with extremely rare original white dial, 35mm diameter x 44mm to lug tips, stainless steel original case, period Rolex USA C&I Oyster bracelet, original silvered dial in white finish with black graphics, the recesses for the numbers & markers now filled with luminous over the blacking beneath, 25J cal 1030, mvt s#690087, case #168639 (from the altered numbering period beginning in 1954), case internally dated for the 2nd quarter of 1956, fully signed, with period box; the watch is in very fine original condition throughout, well-conserved; the very rare white dial is among only a few examples of dials deviating from black, from a short period of experimentation by Rolex now dubbed by some collectors as "designer dials"
Rolex mid-size Yacht-Master Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified, ref 168623, 34mm bezel (35mm case) diameter x 42mm to lug tips, 18K & steel original case & Oyster bracelet, rotating 18K bezel, original silvered dial, fully jeweled current model, s#F748138, fully signed, with both boxes, warrantee papers and booklets, in nearly new condition with hologram sticker still on back
Hamilton grade 747 Piping Rock, 1948 issue, 28mm wide x 43mm to flex lug tips, 14K original Hamilton marked S&W case of more advanced design than 1928 issue with much stronger circular flex joint and mvt lifting out the front, GF bracelet, original silvered dial, 17J grade 747 adjusted, s#Y26481, triple signed

Waldan International 18K "Chronometre Chronographe" with day, date, month & moon phase indications as well as minute & hour registers (compte-tout) and 24 hour dial coaxial with the constant seconds, 38mm diameter x 45mm to lug tips, heavy 18K rose tone gold original water-resistant case with observation back and flush button for advancing the day, with the remaining functions set by the intermediate crown position, fine genuine crocodile strap with 18K buckle, original ivory white painted dial, Breguet hands, 25J ETA cal 7751, s#1224, case #181, limited production, new old stock condition, one of the more complicated mvts in production

Here are some of the Wristwatches: