Clocks, Watches & Jewellery

Woolley & Wallis is currently selling across a number of sales a cache of items from the family of HG Murphy (1884-1939), whose Falcon Studio produced some of the finest English silver of the inter-war era.

Legend has it that, while on safari in Africa with her lover and employer Louis Cartier, Jeanne Toussaint spotted a panther and immediately exclaimed: “Onyx, diamonds, emeralds – a brooch!” The Cartier range of feline jewels was born.

This red coral necklace had formed part of The International Fisheries Exhibition staged at the Royal Horticultural Society grounds in South Kensington in 1883.

A selection of wristwatch previews.

As the market develops, some of the ‘secondary’ niche Swiss brands have entered the mainstream collecting arena. The Bonhams (25% buyer’s premium) Fine Watches and Wristwatches sale on June 20 offered a range of 46 Heuers from a single-owner private collection.

This Egyptian revival gold, enamel and gem-set collar necklace below established a new record for the jewellery of Marie Zimmermann (1879-1972) at Rago in Lambertville, New Jersey (25% buyer’s premium) on June 10.

A selection of wristwatch previews.

Unmistakably the work of the Viennese avant-garde, this gem-set silver plated table clock sold for €205,000 (£186,000) at a recent sale held by the Rotterdam auctioneer Vendu Notarishuis.

For Paul Nunn, founder of antique clocks and barometers dealership Olde Time, the virtues of fairs and the internet have always been secondary to that of the physical shop.

Designer Vicki Ambery-Smith is regularly selected to show at the prestigious annual Goldsmiths Fair at Goldsmiths Hall in London.

A pocket watch worn by Lord Nelson during the Battle of Trafalgar and probably given to him after his triumph at the Battle of the Nile is to be offered at auction next month.

A forthcoming exhibition of two private collections spotlights both the genius of 17th century clockmaking and the remarkable objects the market has yielded across a generation.

A late 17th century ebony veneered table clock with a pull quarter repeat took a mid-estimate £17,500 at Chiswick Auctions on June 6.

As a showpiece for horology, the 'Masterpiece' fair lives up to its name. For all its welcome focus on the cool of 21st century collecting, at its core the 'Masterpiece' fair is a high-quality antiques show in the tradition of the Grosvenor House fair it replaced.

By 1677, the great English clockmaker Thomas Tompion (1639-1713) was subletting part of his famous London premises – The Dial and Three Crowns at Water Lane – to one Jasper Braem or Bream (fl.1677-96).

Ken Hose, who has published three books on Australian clockmakers, has been fascinated by clocks and their mechanics since he was a teenager.