— THOMAS PERAZZI

you’ll see—the quality, it’s exceptional,” Perazzi says.

As Schnipper points out, “With wristwatches, they’re modern and generally in plentiful supply. Take a [Rolex] ‘Paul Newman’ Daytona—they weren’t rare. They obviously were not made in the millions but when you compare it to a pocket watch in the shape of a rose with an automaton … now, that’s rare.” These singular pocket watches are, Schnipper says, “miniature works of art. The Swiss enamellers were painting these amazing scenes with a brush that had one bristle. How did they do it? The scenes that they were able to paint, you can’t reproduce them.”

Though certainly far rarer than the aforementioned steel Rolex chronograph, Chinese-market pocket watches don’t present anywhere near the opportunity for swift, exponential profit as their wrist-worn kin. In terms of value growth, “I think it’s a more gentle curve than the wristwatch,” Schnipper opines. “You’ve got to figure that everybody is a potential client for a wristwatch. But it’s a smaller subset of the population that is interested in pocket watches.” The kind of individual who’s drawn to this area is, she says, “the true collector”—a knowledgeable connoisseur.

The cost of entering these refined ranks is surprisingly forgiving. According to Schnipper, you can begin collecting for around the cost of a new Daytona. “A collector might want to start out with Chinese-market pocket watches by Bovet, many of which have back lids covered in a polychrome enamel with a burst of flowers. That’s very, very typical. That’s the entry level,” she says. “They’re not so expensive. They made them in two grades: silver gilt and gold. Today, silver gilt is in the US$20,000 range, whereas the gold starts at about US$40,000.”

Of course, the sky is the limit. Price and appeal ascend depending upon the complexity of the design, especially ones with automatons, singing birds in particular. Other factors include the quality and condition of the decoration, whether the watch possesses exceptional provenance (being the former property of the Kangxi or Qianlong emperors helps a great deal), and whether the movement is signed. Schnipper suggests seeking out watches made by Jaquet Droz.“they’re among the rarest,” she says. Other makers include Piguet and Meylan, Vaucher, Henry Capt, Piguet and Capt, Ilbery, James Cox and Bovet. However, she counsels, there are many outstanding pieces that are not signed where the value is “more a matter of quality than attribution”.

“Quality is paramount,” asserts Perazzi. “Buying intact watches that have not been restored or had parts replaced is fundamental.”

Schnipper similarly advises avoiding watches with enamel restoration, but adds a caveat: “You have to be a little bit forgiving, I think.” She says as collectors become more seasoned,“they gain knowledge and educate themselves or have a trusted advisor—in addition to an auction house, of course—and they might steer away from things that have issues. But then, once they’ve gained even more knowledge, they realise it’s actually rare to find something in totally unrestored condition. Ultimately, the defining factor is how unusual and important the piece is.”

“If you have the chance to hold one in your hand, you’ll see— the quality, it’s exceptional”