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TIME for a New Home Scavenger Hunt!
WRIST WATCHES & POCKET WATCHES
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Watches are Timeless!
Whether one-of-a-kind Faberge or plastic Swatch watches, someone collects it! We'll "hand" you a few classics and "tick" off a few collectors' favorites.
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THE TANK WATCH by Cartier
The Tank watch was created by the grandson of the brand’s founder, Louis Cartier during WWI in 1917. Its design was inspired by a bird's eye view of the newly introduced boxy Renault FT-17 tanks. The Tank watch has a square case with lugs that protrude in all four corners—a nod to the tread on the Renault tanks. The prototype was presented to General John Pershing. Now, over 100 years later, the Tank watch remains a sought after classic.
It was a hit from day one. Rudolph Valentino famously refused to take his Tank off while filming 1926’s 'Son of the Sheik". Andy Warhol said. “I don’t wear a Tank to tell the time, in fact, I never wind it. I wear a Tank watch because it’s the watch to wear.” Princess Diana, Truman Capote, Fred Astaire, Gary Cooper, and Clark Gable were all Tank devotees. Jacqueline Kennedy wore a Tank; that one was purchased by Kim Kardashian for $379,500 at auction in 2017.
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ROLEX
It all began in London in 1905 with a 24 year old visionary named Hans Wilsdorf. He sold clocks at a time when wristwatches weren’t very precise. He dreamed of watches that were elegant and reliable, and made that dream a reality by incorporating new precise movements made by a Swiss company into his wristwatches.
That accomplished, he just needed a name that was short, easy to say in any language, and looked good. He tried countless combinations, but none felt quite right until one morning in 1908, while riding on the upper deck of a horse-drawn omnibus, “a genie whispered ‘Rolex’ in his ear.”
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Other watches such as Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet are equally sublime, but far beyond mere timekeeping, a Rolex watch, is an object of desire and aspiration, a gratifying luxury indulgence, and a symbol of achievement and success. Rolex watches have been worn by global personalities from all walks of life. Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Elle Macpherson, Winston Churchill, Dr Martin Luther King, Che Guevara, John F. Kennedy, Marlon Brando, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Victoria Beckham are just a few of the Rolex owners.
The most expensive Rolex sold at auction? The Paul Newman Daytona (shown above) was purchased for $17.8 million during an auction in October 2017.
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SWATCH- Plastic but Priceless
Swatch was founded by Nicolas Hayek in 1983. The name ‘Swatch’ is a contraction of ‘Second Watch’ was adopted for its fun and casual sound, just like the watches it produced.
The Swatch Kiki Picasso is the most expensive Swatch with a collector’s price of around $22,600. It was launched as part of the 1985 Spring Summer Collection with only 120 pieces being made for the limited-edition series.
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Funky Swatch Keith Haring Special Edition
The Swatch Special Edition by Keith Haring were released in 1985 and recently sold for around $4,600 at an auction. The dial of these watches bore the typical Keith Haring signature style with bright colors, cartoonish figures, and the designer’s signature.
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Waltham, Elgin, Hamilton, Illinois Watch Company...
These are some of the American pocket watch company names you are looking for when when you open up that old cigar box during your Home Scavenger Hunt, Some names are shown on the dials and some only show up engraved on the movement inside. Most American pocket watches can be purchased at auction for between $500-$2000, so start collecting!
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Hamilton Railroad Pocket Watch
In 1893, the Hamilton Watch Company of Lancaster, Pa. began producing railroad-grade pocket watches that met strict accuracy guidelines. These watches had 42-hours between windings, with 17 jewels in their isochronous movements. They were large and had easy-to-read numerals. Perfect for railroad employees. These watches were so highly regarded that the 1893 Broadway Limited model was named the official timepiece of all U.S. Expeditionary Forces. In World War I, Hamilton made a wristwatch version for the troops and General Pershing himself.
A 14K open face version of this classic American pocket watch is available at auction for under $1,000!
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Elgin 18K Hunter Case
You may have heard the term "Hunter Case". This means a watch with a spring-hinged metal cover, that closes over the dial and crystal, protecting them from dust, scratches and other damage.
The Elgin Watch Company was founded 1864 near Chicago and originally named National Watch Company. They streamlined the watchmaking process and introduced interchangeable parts to their watches to facilitate repairs- well ahead of their time! By the time the factory closed in 1968, the Elgin Watch company was responsible for roughly half of all of the watches worn in the United States.
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What's the most expensive Pocket Watch, you ask?
$5 Million Patek Philippe Supercomplication!
The Patek Philippe Supercomplication is one of the most important and most desirable timepieces in the world. It took 3 years to design and another 5 to make, has two dials, 24 complications, more than 900 parts and a weight of over 1 pound, this 18K gold pocket watch pushed the limits of mechanical complexity way beyond any other watch ever produced before. Among other complications, it features a perpetual calendar, a minute repeater with Westminster Chimes, sidereal time, and a celestial chart with a mapping of the sky over Manhattan.
It was commissioned by banker Henry Graves in order to outdo his watch collecting rival, automaker James Packard, and was delivered January 19, 1933.
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So whether you find a Rolex or a Timex, Converse wants to see it!
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