NEW YORK, 26 MAY 2016 – Sotheby’s spring sale of Important Watches in New York will be held on 8 June 2016, led by Swiss Mechanical Marvels Part II: a selection of automata meticulously engineered between 1800 and 1825. The sale also features watches crafted throughout the 20th and 21st Centuries by coveted brands including Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, A. Lange & Sőhne, Audemars Piguet, Gruebel Forsey and Richard Mille. Sotheby’s public exhibition of Important Watches opens on 4 June in New York.

SWISS MECHANICAL MARVELS PART II
The second and final selection of Swiss Mechanical Marvels comprises 20 enameled automata from the early 19th century. Showcasing the height of technological and artistic prowess, these works are the very definition of superb quality, rarity and provenance. The top lot of this group is the Magician Box (left, estimate $1.5–2.5 million), formerly in the collection of King Farouk of Egypt and Edouard Gélis of Paris. Beautifully decorated with four-colored gold flowers, the interior of the automaton showcases a magician, waving his wand while music plays in the background, providing answers to questions such as ‘what is one’s greatest desire’. Separate release available.

AN EXTREMELY RARE ‘EURASIA’ WORLD TIME WRISTWATCH BY PATEK PHILIPPE
Noteworthy for both its scarcity and complexity, Sotheby’s is delighted to offer an Extremely Rare Yellow Gold World Time Wristwatch with an Enamel Dial Depicting Eurasia by Patek Philippe (estimate $600,000–1.2 million). The present watch is one of only eight known examples of Patek’s Ref. 1415 with an enamel dial – in stunning condition – and one of only two with the enamel dial depicting Eurasia. A similar example has not appeared at auction in 15 years, with the present piece on offer for the first time at auction. Made in 1949, this beautiful watch features a sophisticated mechanism: invented by Louis Cottier, the wearer is able to set and view their home time by rotating the bezel while simultaneously reading the current time in 41 world cities.

FRESH TO THE MARKET: SEVEN MINUTE–REPEATING WRISTWATCHES BY PATEK PHILIPPE
The spring offering of Important Watches showcases a rare group of seven Patek Philippe wristwatches with minute repeaters – six of which are sealed. This selection of complicated watches is led by an Automatic Minute Repeating Perpetual Calendar Tonneau Wristwatch with Retrograde Date and Moon-Phases (estimate $300,000–400,000). Sold in its original packaging, this will be only the second time that a Ref. 5013 in white gold, launched in 1992 and distributed for only 9 years, goes up for auction. Another exceptional model of modern watchmaking is the Platinum Automatic Minute Repeating Wristwatch with Black Lacquer Dial (estimate $220,000–320,000), Understated, with its minute-repeating complication hidden in its case profile, the present Ref. 5078 is an elegant and rare example of the firm’s finest work.

STATE-OF-THE-ART CONTEMPORARY WRISTWATCHES
Starting in 2001, Harry Winston challenged contemporary watchmakers to take part in his Opus Challenge, a collaboration with modern watchmakers to pursue and push the boundaries of excellence. Vianney Halter, an independent French watchmaker, was one of the individuals selected to create an unorthodox yet exceptional watch. After seven years of painstaking effort, his resulting timepiece is this Unusual and Rare Limited Edition Platinum Wristwatch with Digital Time Display (estimate $100,000–150,000), which utilizes a dashboard-like display to show the time and date. One of only twenty-five pieces ever made, this Harry Winston-Vianney Halter creation, also known as the Opus 3, is, without a doubt, a collector’s item. Sotheby’s is pleased to offer three Double-Tourbillon Skeletonized Wristwatches with Four Fast-Rotating Co-Axial Barrels and 120-Hour Power Reserves by Greubel Forsey, a 12-year old company based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Available this June in three different metals (pink gold left, estimates ranging from $120,000 to 250,000), the purchasers of these wristwatches will be gifted special services. With an emphasis on creativity and craftsmanship, Greubel Forsey has won a number of awards in the last few years, including 1st place in the tourbillon category at the Concours International de Chronométrie 2011.

JEWELS FOR THE DESK: VINTAGE TIMEPIECES BY CARTIER & VACHERON CONSTANTIN
The sale offers a strong selection of vintage desk timepieces, decorated with enamel, gold, silver and precious stones. Of particular note is a Massive and Rare Gold Diamond- and Turquoise-Set Grande and Petite Sonnerie Repeating Desk Timepiece with Alarm (estimate $125,000–175,000), crafted in the 1940s with movement by Couaillet Frères, as well as A Very Fine and Rare Octagonal Mother-Of-Pearl, Jade, Onyx and Diamond-Set Desk Timepiece (estimate $30/60,000) circa 1925 – a previously unknown example of the collaborative works of Vacheron Constantin and Verger Frères.