Here's a very interesting interview with Stacy Perman, the author of "A Grand Complication: The Race to Build the World’s Most Legendary".

A great interview, focusing on the gentlemen who ordered these amazing watches. I have posted an excerpt below.

Jeff

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TIME: What made watches the target of collectors?

Perman: Initially, clocks and watches were playthings of the elite, royalty, the aristocracy, and later America’s industrial barons. The great watchmakers sought patronage of their grand clients—European royalty to the Ottoman Sultans and the Chinese Emperors. They tried to dazzle their patrons with their ingenuity. When Graves and Packard came on the scene most collectors were not just wealthy but had put together collections comprised of antiques. For instance, J.P. Morgan favored watches from the 16th and 17th centuries – which he later donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Packard and Graves changed the game in that they commissioned pieces designed to their whims and desires. For instance, in 1927 when musical alarms were incredibly rare, Packard asked Patek Philippe to create a musical alarm pocket watch that played the entire lullaby from his mother’s favorite opera, Godard’s Jocelyn. Each man had deep pockets and was determined to create an entire collection, not simply as trophies but for personal use.

TIME: Why would anyone care about mechanical watches today?

Perman: In the 1970s the mechanical watch industry nearly ticked its last tock. Cheap and accurate quartz watches dominated the market. But since the early 1990s mechanical watches have come roaring back into favor. It’s an interesting phenomenon tied to the rise in global wealth. In their heyday mechanical watches were the ultimate sign of luxury but in recent years luxury has become something of a commodity. Mechanical watches are truly bespoke objects and priced so that only the deepest pockets can purchase them. In a sense they’ve come full circle.

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: Sotheby's will be selling the Patek Philippe Supercomplication
: watch, this coming November. Here's the breaking news from
: Hodinkee .

: This will be interesting to watch, the run-up to the auction and
: the auction itself!!

: Jeff

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