Henry Graves Jr. Collection reveals 13 'new' watches at Sotheby's

Sotheby's is to offer the collections of Henry Graves Jr. and Reginald H Fullerton in a landmark sale

The legendary Henry Graves Jr. Collection of watches is to be sold at Sotheby's in June, it has been announced.

The Graves Family coat of arms

The American son of a banker, Henry Graves Jr. inherited his love of watches from his father, who famously competed with James Ward Packard to become the owner of the most complicated timepiece in existence.

The result of their frivolous engagement was the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication, which made a stunning $11m at a Sotheby's auction in 1999. It also set a record for the highest price ever paid for a watch at auction.

The collection has been combined with that of his grandson, Reginald H. Fullerton, who followed in his grandfather's footsteps to become a renowned connoisseur. The combined assemblage is set to draw huge bids from collectors eager to not let the timepieces slip away.

The June 14 auction will showcase 13 new Patek Philippe watches from the collection which have not been published or sold before.

"It's like finding a dozen Picassos from the finest Picasso collector sitting in a closet," said John Reardon, Sotheby's head of watches in New York.

The top lot of the sale is expected to be the Henry Graves Jr. yellow gold tonneau minute repeating wristwatch from Patek Philippe. Noted as the only example made in yellow gold, it is engraved with the Graves family coat of arms and motto, which has become legendary to horologists. The sublime item has an estimate of $600,000-800,000.

A beautiful open-faced Patek Philippe pocket watch is also sure to excite bidders. The 18k Yellow Gold watch was presented to Reginald Fullerton's father on the day of his marriage to Henry Graves' daughter. Providing a superb example with great importance to collectors, Paul Fraser Collectibles expects this item to exceed its $40,000-60,000 estimate.

You can see our Top Five Patek Philippe watches article here. We also have a classic Olympic Series piece from luxury Swiss watchmakers, Longines.

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Images: Sotheby's