WHAT: When a pocket watch sells for more than 12 times the high estimate at auction, thatβs news. It happened last month in Geneva when four bidders fought over a rare 18K rose gold pocket watch, the βThe Krusensternβ chronometer. In the end two bidders, one in house and the other on the phone, duked it out. It went to the buyer in house, identified as a prominent collector of high-end watches.
MORE: Made in 1812 by Danish watchmaker Urban Jurgensen, the pocket chronometer with Arnold spring detent chronometer escapement is finely made, and has multiple complications. The oversize timepiece is 60 mm wide and 25 mm thick.
SMART COLLECTORS KNOW: Chinese and Hong Kong buyers now influence the fine watch market in a big way. Bidders comb world-wide auctions for rare examples of timepieces, from wrist and pocket watches to table and mantel clocks. At any major sale with clocks or watches, youβll see them pre-sale examining lots with loupes in hand.
HOT TIP: The pocket chronometer was ordered by the Danish king as a royal gift to the Russian naval officer and geographer, Barron Krusenstern.
BOTTOM LINE: Founded in Denmark as a business in 1773, the Jurgensen family of watchmakers later became a Swiss dynasty. Second generation son Urban Jurgensen is honored for having created a number of horological innovations.
