The Jewellery, Watches and Silver Sale on 16th May is the perfect place for new collectors to find unusual and interesting watches at affordable prices to build their collection around.
Zodiac: A Stainless Steel Mystery Dial Automatic Calendar Astrographic SST Wristwatch, ref: 882.963, 1970s (estimate: £100-200 plus buyer’s premium)
One of the most visually dynamic watches in the sale is a Zodiac Stainless Steel Mystery Dial Astrographic SST Wristwatch (ref: 882.963), dating from the 1970s and offered with an estimate of £100-200 (all figures exclude buyer’s premium). Mystery dial watches, which appear to have float hands or no movement, were pioneered in the 19th century by the likes of French magician and watchmaker Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin who is known as the father of modern magic. Over the decades, mystery dial watches were made by leading companies such as Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Longines, but in 1969 the innovative Swiss watchmaker Zodiac created a striking example inspired by the Space Race – the Astrographic. Using space-age design, and clever gearing mechanisms, they created a watch with the hour, minute and second markers appearing to float, but which are actually printed on transparent discs turned by gears around the edge of the case. Indeed, the second hand is styled as a red dot, inspired by a moon orbiting around the edge of the watch. Mystery watches and clocks have long fascinated collectors, and this futuristic-looking example is no exception.
S&Co: A Rare and Early Silver Integrated "Telephone" Shrapnel Guard Wristwatch (estimate: £600-800 plus buyer’s premium)
During the First World War, numerous modifications to watches were made to provide officers with practical timepieces that could withstand the rigours of life in the trenches. One popular modification was the ‘Telephone’ shrapnel guard, which fitted over the top of the watch glass and had apertures for viewing numbers and hands, resembling a rotary telephone dial. The present example is a rare and very early example, bearing a London silver import mark on the case of 1908; the majority of such watches available on the market date from the First World War when demand was at its highest. Offered with an estimate of £600-800, this watch is stamped S & Co. for Stauffer Sons & Co., a Swiss watch manufacturer and importer who had a thriving London office that sold both watches made in their factory and watches made by other leading Swiss companies such as IWC.
Jaeger LeCoultre Club Wristwatch (estimate: £500-700 plus buyer’s premium)
During the Quartz Crisis in the 1960s and 1970s, when a vast number of good quality watches both from Switzerland and Japan flooded the market, high-end manufacturers struggled to maintain an economically viable presence. To counteract this, they introduced the Jaeger-LeCoultre Club in the 1960s as a more accessible but none the less precision luxury watch. In order to produce a more affordable watch, they sourced the calibre AS 1906 movement from specialist movement manufacturers A. Schild, which was the best mass-produced movement on the market at the time. The Jaeger LeCoultre Club Watch is still regarded as a fine watch for daily use and a good entry-level watch for collectors interested in the brand. The present example is offered with an estimate of £500-700.
