Clocks, Watches & Jewellery

This Omega ‘Weems’ Royal Air Force pilot’s wristwatch below was one of the sought-after entries in a 311-lot auction of watches and jewellery at Miller & Miller (18/15% buyer’s premium) in New Hamburg, Ontario, on November 24.

Eclipsed in price by a £150,000 pearl (News, ATG No 2369), the c.1810 Swiss gold automaton pocket watch shown below was at least as eye-catching at the Roseberys (25% buyer’s premium) jewellery and watches auction on November 20.

Staged in the early days of the new year, The Mayfair Antiques & Fine Art Fair is a chance to do little personal shopping after a frantic season of gift buying.

A c.1900 gold and enamel Archibald Knox (1864-1933) necklace is among the items lent by Anthony Bernbaum of The Peartree Collection for an exhibition at the Manx Museum.

When Alan Wardle’s niece searched online for family history she uncovered his father’s long-lost First World War presentation pocket watch coming up at auction.

The London watchmaker John Ilbery, active from 1780-1839, is credited with the invention of the ‘montre chinoise’, highly ornate goldenamel watches made for the Chinese market.

A number of works designed by some of the biggest names in the Wiener Werkstatte association are to be offered in the Jugendstil auction at Dorotheum on December 12. Among them are two brooches designed by Josef Hoffmann.

Although ubiquitous for much of the 20th century, electrical masterclocks regulating other timepieces in schools, hospitals, government buildings and factories are as yet among the least researched aspects of horology.

By contrast to electrical rarities offered in Wiltshire also covered in this week's hammer highlights, the type of mid-19th century library clock shown below is probably the most popular item in the current horology market.

The range of choice in antique and vintage jewellery makes for ideal one-off special presents – try the dedicated 30-dealer jewellery fair pictured below, with baubles from the Georgian period onwards.

From c.1969-75, Charles de Temple (b.1929) – the son of the American film actor Tom Mix – created his series of ‘nervous jewels’, employing prickly cultural designs in two-coloured gold wire. This 18ct gold and beryl dress ring is a good example.

The exact history of this 200-year-old saltwater pearl is unknown but it is undoubtedly a gem of considerable merit.

Tiffany exhibited only gold jewellery at the 1878 Paris exposition, including a collection of ‘Japanesque’ pieces.

This 18ct two-colour gold and enamel Hebe brooch to a design by Georges Braque, c.1962, carries an estimate of $2500-3500 at Leslie Hindman’s Important Jewelry sale in Chicago on December 3.

In the end, it was diamonds, not cake, that triggered the tragic downfall of Marie-Antoinette (1755-93) and her family. Even though the doomed queen was innocent of conspiracy, it was the affair of a diamond necklace that lit the powder-keg of revolution.

Fontaine’s in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is holding one of its periodic horological auctions on November 17.

Among the many versions of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner, the reference 5508 with its James Bond association is perhaps the best known.