Some of the finest names in watches come up for auction this November at Dreweatts.

James Bond author Ian Fleming declared that “a gentleman’s choice of timepiece says as much about him as does his Saville Row suit.”

Quite how that applies to the private collection going to auction at Dreweatts in November remains to be seen. Put together over 40 years by an anonymous collector, and kept in spectacular order, the vast collection features many of the leading luxury watch brands – Patek Philippe, Rolex, Omega, Panerai, etc – as well as some interesting watches picked up via kickstarter.com and even Swatch.

Patek Philippe, Gondolo, ref. 5200G, an 18 carat white gold wrist watch with 8 days power reserve, circa 2018

The majority of the watches in the collection have mechanical movements – even the watch, in fact – as, according to the collector “watches with mechanical movements are alive, with hearts that beat to time.”


Rolex, Submariner ‘Hulk’, ref. 116610LV, a stainless steel automatic bracelet watch, circa 2020

The watches will come to auction across two days. On November 24, there will be a physical live auction of the collection’s leading luxury names, including those listed above plus Tag Heuer, Jaeger Le Coultre, Grand Seiko and others.

The second part of the auction, a timed online sale on November 25, sees a combination of modern and vintage names, including Hamilton, Bulova, Seiko and Edox, plus REC, a particular enthusiasm of the collector, a modern brand that makes watches from recycled and innovative materials, including parts of classic Porsches.

Full details of the auction can, as ever, be found on the Dreweatts website

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