The Laings Journal
This month sees arguably the most important watch in history once more go under the hammer at Sotheby’s Important Watches sale in Geneva on November 11th 2014.
The Patek Philippe No.198.385 aka the Henry Graves Supercomplication has pre-auction estimates of between $15 and $20 million. So just what, exactly makes this one of a kind watch such a sought after piece?
The Supercomplication was commissioned in 1925 by American banker Henry Graves Jr. to outdo his watch collecting rival, automobile manufacturer, James Ward Packard for the title of owner of the world’s most complicated timepiece. Graves’ Supercomplication did indeed earn the title of the most complicated watch ever made by any watchmaker without the aid of computer technology. The watch was completed in 1932 and delivered on the 19th of January 1933 – taking an impressive 7 years to complete. It is perhaps, the knowledge of the amount of time and science devoted to the creation of this watch that makes it such a spectacular and respected piece.
The watch was eventually passed on to the Museum of Time near Chicago Illinois for safe-keeping from 1968 until it was sold at auction by Sotheby’s in December 1999 for a record-breaking $11 million. The watch has since been kept in the Patek Philippe museum in Geneva and is the single most expensive piece on display.
Henry Graves’ Supercomplication remained the most complicated watch in the world until 1989 when it was surpassed by another of Patek Philippe’s own creations – the Calibre 89 with 33 complications created to celebrate Patek Philippe’s 150th Anniversary. The fact that the Supercomplication remained the most complicated watch on the planet for over 50 years only adds to its appeal. So what exactly does a watch worth over $11 million entail?
The Henry Graves Supercomplication is a pocket watch with 74mm diameter, 36mm thick and weighs approximately 536 grams. The gold, double dialled, double open-faced timepiece features, among others, a minute repeating clockwatch with Westminster chimes, grande and petite sonnerie, split seconds chronograph, perpetual calendar accurate to the year 2100, moon-phases, equation of time, dual power reserve, central alarm, indications for times of sunrise/ sunset and a celestial chart for the night time sky of New York City at 40 degrees 41.0 minutes North latitude – the location of Graves’ 5th Avenue home. But that is not all, the watch is also accompanied by a tulipwood box with ebony and mother of pearl details and is engraved with the arms of Henry Graves Jr. there is also a Patek Philippe certificate of authenticity and an extract from the Patek Philippe archives.
Without a doubt this one-of-a-kind watch has captured the imagination of watch collectors and enthusiasts worldwide. Only time will tell exactly how much that one lucky person is willing to spend to own “The Most Important Watch in the World”.
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