British-made timepiece clocks up world document with large £2.1million sale
A British-made pocket watch has been sold at auction for a world record £2.1 million.
The intricate timepiece, which features moon-phase tracking, an alarm and a built-in thermometer, has been described as ‘one of the world’s most complicated vintage pocket watches ever made’.
The piece, which was created in 1907 by Coventry watchmaker Joseph Player, had been expected to reach around £1 million when it went under the hammer in Geneva.
Instead, it far surpassed expectations, achieving 2,238,000 Swiss francs, the equivalent of £2,122,896, and leaving auction watchers stunned.
Among those in the room was Player’s great-great-grandson, Carl, who travelled to Switzerland to witness the sale firsthand.
He told the BBC: ‘The day before they invited us to the exhibition so I actually got to hold the watch.
‘Even though I didn’t meet my great-great-grandfather, by holding that watch, I felt a connection to him.’
The watch has been described as ‘one of the world’s most complicated vintage pocket watches ever made’
The intricate timepiece, which features moon-phase tracking, an alarm and a built-in thermometer
The historic sale at Phillips’ Decade One auction in Geneva set a world record for an antique British pocket watch.
Auctioneers said the J Player & Sons Hyper Complication Pocket Watch ‘demonstrated the incredible technical prowess of English watchmaking at the time’ and called it ‘one of the most complicated English timepieces ever made.’
The firm was founded in 1858 by Joseph Player who created the first keyless watch and made devices for the Royal Observatory.
In the 1900s, England was the home of watch-making before Switzerland.
The watch took four years to make and was kept by its previous owner, who remains anonymous, for 51 years.
The two-day sale drew 1,885 registered bidders across 72 countries and nearly 800 collectors and enthusiasts attended in person.
A spokesperson for the auctioneers said: ‘The atmosphere throughout the weekend reflected a sense of friendship and celebration.’
