Fellows Auctioneers hosted their first Watches sale of the year on 8th February. The auction was well followed with 603 people registered to bid via Fellows, with a further 303 bidding through the saleroom.com online platform. In total 278 lots were up for sale.
The top two highest value sold lots in the auction went to watches fitted with Tourbillon complications.
Limited-edition Breitling Premier B21 Chronograph Tourbillon watch. Sold for £28,600 including buyer’s premium. © Photo courtesy of Fellows Auctioneers.
First spot went to a modern limited-edition Breitling Premier B21 Chronograph Tourbillon watch. The distinctive green dial has been cut away at 12 o’clock to display the tourbillion complication. Numbered one of 25 the watch case is made from 18K rose gold with an exhibition case back. Sized at 42mm the watch reference is RB2120 and the calibre is a B21 with tourbillion complication. The watch came with its box and papers. Estimated at £25,000 - £30,000 the watch made £28,600 including buyer’s premium.
Rare Jacob & Co limited edition Quenttin Tourbillon watch. Featuring a magnesium and carbon fibre case and a vertically placed tourbillon. Sold for £22,750 including buyer’s premium. © Photo courtesy of Fellows Auctioneers.
Second spot went to a very striking and rare Jacob & Co limited edition Quenttin Tourbillon watch. Featuring a modern high-tech magnesium and carbon fibre case with an exhibition case back. Overall the case width is 44mm. The skeletonised dial displays the impressively placed vertical tourbillon. Interestingly the watch has a manual wind calibre 5 movement with a thirty-one-day power reserve. Estimated at £14,000 - £20,000 the watch sold for £22,750 including buyer’s premium.
Fine quality Cartier watches continue to be popular at auction
Vintage Cartier Tank Jumbo watch with 18K yellow gold case. The watch exceeded its estimate of £1,800 - £2,400 to sell at £7,670 including buyer’s premium. © Photo courtesy of Fellows Auctioneers.
Commenting about the sale of a vintage Cartier Tank Jumbo watch, Lot 37, that exceeded its top end estimate Fellows’ Head of Watches, Kain Holroyd, said:
“We had some fantastic, unexpected results from the Cartier lots. Lot 37 outperformed itself hammering at £7,670 including buyer’s premium which is more than double its high estimate, we believe the Tank Jumbo was a lot older than initially thought and due to the dial being in excellent condition this all created the perfect storm between a number of bidders.
The Cartier Tank Jumbo watch, referenced in Kain Holroyd quote, has an 18K yellow gold case measuring 25x25mm. The watch is fitted with a signed automatic calibre 2670. With its white dial and roman numeral hour markers plus a jewelled winding crown the watch is classically Cartier in style. Estimated at £1,800 - £2,400 the watch sold well achieving £7,670 including buyer’s premium.
Omega SAS, Lemania, and a Seiko Nuclear Submarine chronograph
The auction offered a good selection of military watches for collectors of this category. Watches of note included an Omega SAS Seamaster Planet Ocean, a Lemania British military issue chronograph, and a rare Seiko Nuclear Submarine military issue quartz chronograph.
Omega, limited-edition SAS Seamaster Professional Planet Ocean Co-Axial chronometer. Sold for £14,300 including buyer’s premium. © Photo courtesy of Fellows Auctioneers.
The Omega is a limited-edition SAS Seamaster Professional Planet Ocean Co-Axial chronometer. Reference 22230462101006. The stainless-steel case has one of its sides inscribed 'Always a little further'. The case back is engraved with SAS insignia. Powered by a calibre 8500 and sized at 45mm diameter the watch came complete with its box and papers. Estimated at £8,000 - £12,000 the lot sold for £14,300 including buyer’s premium.
Lemania British military issue 'Series 3' single pusher chronograph watch with case back stamped with the British Broad Arrow. Sold for £2,730 including buyer’s premium. © Photo courtesy of Fellows Auctioneers.
Also up for auction was a Lemania British military issue 'Series 3' single pusher chronograph watch. The 38mm sized stainless-steel case is stamped with the British Broad Arrow. The movement is manual wind and fitted with a calibre 2220. The dial is black with Arabic numeral hour markers. Estimated at £1,800 - £2,400 the watch got away at £2,730 including buyer’s premium.
Rare Seiko Nuclear Submarine military issue quartz chronograph watch issued between 1993 and 2000 for personnel working on the British Trident Submarine Fleet. Sold for £1,560 including buyer’s premium. © Photo courtesy of Fellows Auctioneers.
While not an expensive piece, per se, a rare Seiko Nuclear Submarine military issue quartz chronograph watch was interesting to see in the auction. Sized at 37mm the stainless-steel case is stamped with the British Broad Arrow. Fellows noted that only an estimated 2,400 of these watches were ever issued between 1993 and 2000. This watch is dated 1993, the first year of issue. Further the watches were only issued to military personnel working on the Trident Submarine Fleet. The watch has a non-luminous dial and hands as required by the specification for these watches. The estimate was £800 - £1,200 with the watch selling for £1,560 including buyer’s premium.
