Patek Philippe - Graves Pieces Auctioned by Sotheby's
Following the stock market crash of 1929, industrialists Henry Graves, Jr. (1868-1953) and James Ward Packard entered into a now-legendary, friendly competition with each other to see who could order the more complicated and expensive watch by Patek Philippe. The Supercomplication, as it became known, was sold to Graves in 1933 - the most complicated watch in the world right up into the age of the mechanical renaissance. Sotheby's auctioned this watch for a record price of more than $11 million in 1999. It can now be viewed as a standing exhibit in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.
Following the recent death of Graves's grandson Reginald Fullerton, Jr., who went by the name of Pete, Sotheby's is set to auction another thirteen of his Patek Philippe pieces on Thursday. Up to his death, Fullerton had collected about 40 extraordinary pieces made by the Genevan brand, some of which he commissioned himself. These have to date never been seen by the public.
Fullerton, who inherited the majority of Graves' original collection through his mother (Graves' daughter), was also a passionate watch collector. Forty-two of his own timepieces will be included in the auction, which were made by Patek Philippe as well as other brands such as Breguet, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Rolex.
Thirteen of the Patek Philippe timepieces in this auction were originally owned by Henry Graves, Jr. and inherited by Fullerton. You can see all thirteen of them in our gallery of images.