La pièce principale de cette vente est une Patek Philippe astronomique, dévoilant la rotation des étoiles sur fond de ciel nocturne.
Sotheby's Watch Department will conclude a successful season of global sales with their London auction on Thursday 18 December 2008. It will feature a number of important Patek and Rolex watches as well as a very rare white gold George Daniels timepiece. 
Sotheby's are delighted to build on our long association with George Daniels to offer the first white gold wristwatch ever to appear at auction from Daniels, one of the greatest watchmakers of the 20th Century, which was produced as part of the historic Millennium edition.”
The George Daniels White Gold Millennium Watch is another major highlight of the sale (Lot 102, Est. £50,000 – 80,000, pictured right). Daniels made the majority of his Millennium edition watches in yellow gold and it is believed that there are fewer than 10 timepieces in this white gold format. This sale is the first time a white gold Daniels watch has appeared at auction and therefore represents a rare opportunity to acquire this piece of watch history. All the Millennium edition models were hand made and each is unique, having slight variations in the case metal, hands or decorative finishes.
Patek Philippe
As well as the rare and unusual astronomical watch there are a number of other superb Patek timepieces in the sale. A Fine Yellow Gold Automatic Watch with moon phases from 1968, reference 3448J is from the first edition of automatic perpetual calendar watches made by any watchmaker (Lot 113, Est. £50,000 – 80,000, pictured left). This model marks an important change in watch design away from the traditional rounded cases towards more angular designs; it is therefore a bridge between vintage perpetual calendar wristwatches and more modern examples that followed it. The sale also includes a very rare yellow gold automatic perpetual calendar wristwatch without moon phases, the watch is again from the 3448 reference but is one of only seven featuring ‘Senza Luna' dials. This exceptional dial gives superb clarity and creates a perfect symmetry of design, making a timepiece that is both beautiful and practical.
Rolex
The sale has a number of top Rolex wristwatches, the highlight of which is a Very Rare Stainless Steel Comex Diver's Watch from 1977 (Lot 38, Est. £40,000 – 60,000). It was developed in association with Comex and is offered for sale by a former Comex diver who used the watch on the majority of his dives after joining the company in 1981 (pictured right). The watch incorporates the one way valve system that was developed to solve the problem of pressure build up that was causing damage to watch mechanisms when used at depth by divers. This patented system allows helium gas to escape from a valve beside the 9 o'clock dial. Another Rolex with a maritime connection is a Rare Stainless Steel Watch that was made in 1974 for the Royal Navy (Lot 34, Est. £30,000 -50,000). It incorporates many functional features designed for use by sailors whilst at sea – the strap bars have been soldered in place for greater robustness and to allow a non-reflective cloth strap to be fitted; the smaller dial incorporates a ‘T' allowing luminous material to be used and a hacking feature allows easy synchronisation of time for troops on operations.
The auction will take place on Thursday 18 December 2008 at 2pm at Sotheby's, 34 – 35 New Bond Street, London, W1A
2AA. The watches will be on exhibition on the following dates –
Friday 12 December, 9am – 4.30pm
Sunday 14 December, 12noon – 4pm
Monday 15 December, 9am – 4.30pm
Tuesday 16 December, 9am – 4.30pm
Wednesday 17 December, 9am – 4.30pm
Sotheby's are delighted to build on our long association with George Daniels to offer the first white gold wristwatch ever to appear at auction from Daniels, one of the greatest watchmakers of the 20th Century, which was produced as part of the historic Millennium edition.”
The George Daniels White Gold Millennium Watch is another major highlight of the sale (Lot 102, Est. £50,000 – 80,000, pictured right). Daniels made the majority of his Millennium edition watches in yellow gold and it is believed that there are fewer than 10 timepieces in this white gold format. This sale is the first time a white gold Daniels watch has appeared at auction and therefore represents a rare opportunity to acquire this piece of watch history. All the Millennium edition models were hand made and each is unique, having slight variations in the case metal, hands or decorative finishes.
Patek Philippe
As well as the rare and unusual astronomical watch there are a number of other superb Patek timepieces in the sale. A Fine Yellow Gold Automatic Watch with moon phases from 1968, reference 3448J is from the first edition of automatic perpetual calendar watches made by any watchmaker (Lot 113, Est. £50,000 – 80,000, pictured left). This model marks an important change in watch design away from the traditional rounded cases towards more angular designs; it is therefore a bridge between vintage perpetual calendar wristwatches and more modern examples that followed it. The sale also includes a very rare yellow gold automatic perpetual calendar wristwatch without moon phases, the watch is again from the 3448 reference but is one of only seven featuring ‘Senza Luna' dials. This exceptional dial gives superb clarity and creates a perfect symmetry of design, making a timepiece that is both beautiful and practical.
Rolex
The sale has a number of top Rolex wristwatches, the highlight of which is a Very Rare Stainless Steel Comex Diver's Watch from 1977 (Lot 38, Est. £40,000 – 60,000). It was developed in association with Comex and is offered for sale by a former Comex diver who used the watch on the majority of his dives after joining the company in 1981 (pictured right). The watch incorporates the one way valve system that was developed to solve the problem of pressure build up that was causing damage to watch mechanisms when used at depth by divers. This patented system allows helium gas to escape from a valve beside the 9 o'clock dial. Another Rolex with a maritime connection is a Rare Stainless Steel Watch that was made in 1974 for the Royal Navy (Lot 34, Est. £30,000 -50,000). It incorporates many functional features designed for use by sailors whilst at sea – the strap bars have been soldered in place for greater robustness and to allow a non-reflective cloth strap to be fitted; the smaller dial incorporates a ‘T' allowing luminous material to be used and a hacking feature allows easy synchronisation of time for troops on operations.
The auction will take place on Thursday 18 December 2008 at 2pm at Sotheby's, 34 – 35 New Bond Street, London, W1A
2AA. The watches will be on exhibition on the following dates –
Friday 12 December, 9am – 4.30pm
Sunday 14 December, 12noon – 4pm
Monday 15 December, 9am – 4.30pm
Tuesday 16 December, 9am – 4.30pm
Wednesday 17 December, 9am – 4.30pm
Press release
Marques
