Watches & Watch accessories

‘Wristlets’ bridged the gap as pocket watches transitioned into the modern wristwatch during the Great War but had a significant design flaw in the hinged cover still in place.

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including the auction of a Roger Smith pocket watch.

Recent auction results in Germany and Switzerland give a snapshot of the market beyond wristwatches

This 1970 Heuer Autavia Chronograph was awarded to rally driver Doug Harris for finishing the 16,000-mile London to Mexico World Cup Rally in 1970.

Portable timekeepers full of collectable appeal need not be just those worn on the wrist

This Rolex Cosmograph Dayton is proof that some branded wristwatches have become an exceptional investment

Converse Auctions in Pennsylvania will be offering the clock collection of Willis R Michael (1894-1969) in its online auction on May 19.

Some exceptional pocket watches were offered for sale at Bonhams in Knightsbridge on May 11.

A 1963 Rolex Submariner 5513 that was featured on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow last year is to be offered for auction at TW Gaze in Diss on May 11.

The firm established in Switzerland nearly 140 years ago achieved many ‘firsts’ in chronograph production. ATG considers the market for some of the most famous references from the Navitimer to the ‘Thunderball’ Top Time

Over the years, the Navitimer has undergone a variety of cosmetic and mechanical changes. Pictured here are three iterations of the watch as it evolved across two decades.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,” comments Fellows’ watch specialist Kes Crockett. “Jaeger LeCoultre is the best watchmaker in the world. Rolex is without question the most well-known manufacturer and Patek Philippe has produced some of the most collectable watches on the market. However, JLC arguably has a richer and more important horological history than both.”

The Fifty Fathoms watch was born in the 1950s from the encounter between the Swiss firm Blancpain (by then using the legal trading name Rayville) and two French naval officers, Capt Robert Maloubier and Lt Claude Riffaud.

By the end of the First World War it has been estimated that over eight million horses had died.

English names from a defunct clock manufactory were used for familiarity in an export market

A ‘Russian’ tunic from Chanel’s famed Spring 1922 collection sold for €100,000 (£86,000) in Paris – a record for her early work.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

In his diary entry for August 12, 1950, the German writer and Nobel Prize recipient Thomas Mann described a meeting with his daughter-in-law Gret, who had married his youngest son Michael in 1939, and her 10-year-old son Frido in a café in Innsbruck.