Sotheby's Auction Sets World Record For American Watch By Waltham

At the Sotheby's Important Watches auction on October 17th, a complicated pocket watch by the Waltham Watch Co. sold for $266,500, soaring to five times the pre-sale estimate. The figure set a strong new world record for an American timepiece, and a record sale price for a Waltham watch.  The gold quarter-repeating pocket watch, which incorporates both a chronograph and a perpetual calendar with moonphase indicator was formerly part of the extensive collection of the Time Museum in Rockford, Illinois.  

Also fetching notable prices at the sale were two exceptional modern Breguet watches, and a historic Persian astrolabe from 1780, which dropped the hammer at $206,500.  In all, Sotheby's took in over $4.1 million.

Regarding both the excellent sale results, and the great response to the Time Museum offerings, Aaron Rich of Sotheby's Watch Department said, “We saw strong interest from American, Asian and European private clients throughout the sale.”