An interesting discovery in the sphere of watchmaking history has been made by the curators of the Science Museum in London. They found in the museum depositary one practically forgotten portrait purchased by the museum 33 years ago. The attention of the curators was attracted by the slightly notable stamp on the back of the canvas that shows the family emblem of the Medici, Italian aristocrat family.

The researchers believe that the painting depicts the famous Florentine duke Cosimo Medici. They also think that it was painted by the Renaissance painter Maso de San Friano (1560). This version is proved by the existence of one more portrait of the duke made in 1574 – the men on these two portraits look strikingly alike.

But the personality on the portrait is not the main thing that attracted the attention of the museum curators. The main interest for the researchers presents his right hand in which he holds a mechanical watch. The museum curator Rob Skitmore noted, that Cosimo Medici was a person of a very progressive mind whose interests extended to the various spheres of science. It is highly possible that the timepiece on the portrait belonged to the duke. The thing is that the first mechanical pendulum clock was made in Germany in circa 1500. So, Rob Skitmore believes that the painting shows the one of the first timepieces created in Southern Germany and the painting itself is the first one depicting a watch.

Currently the first “portrait� of a watch is exhibited in the Time gallery in the Science Museum in London.

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Luxury watchmaking from London, Geneva and later from the Neuchatel played a major role at the end of the 18th century and during the entire 19th century as a supplier of the Middle Kingdom. European watchmakers, goldsmiths, painters on enamel and engravers came together in order to create these true works of art intended to seduce the Chinese dignitaries.

But why these unique timekeepers, which are quite different, were produced in pairs and some of them by mirror image effect? To solve this mystery, come and discover the exceptional thematic exhibition The Mirror of Seduction at the Patek Philippe Museum, from 15th May to 16th October 2010.

The Patek Philippe Museum has always delighted visitors with rare and remarkable exhibits that justify its global stature as a uniquely reputable repository of horological treasures. The idea to organize an exhibition of watches produced for the Chinese market (and especially those made in pairs of sets) belongs to the curator Arnaud Tellier. The museum has the rare opportunity to present some forty pairs of “Chinese� watches. The collection of the Patek Philippe Museum includes more than one hundred timepieces that were crafted explicitly for the Chinese market from the mid-18th century until about 1850.

The global reputation of timepieces made in Geneva and of Switzerland’s watch trade with the Orient, particularly with China, had its roots at the court of Constantinople (Istanbul) with which Geneva had entertained close relationships since the early 17th century. Although Swiss watchmakers long relied on British affiliates to sell their products, they also gradually began to establish their own trade relations with China. Between 1736 and 1796 the Genevan luxury watchmaking industry played an important role and at the turn of the century evolved to become the preferred purveyor of timepieces for the Chinese Empire. Many Swiss watchmakers took up residence in China until trade relations collapsed with the eruption of the First Opium War, fought between 1839 and 1842.

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Recently the watch museum of the German watchmaking company Glashutte has opened a new exhibition under an unusual title “Wearing a Watch on Your Body…�. The exhibition is dedicated to the history of pocket and wristwatches. Beginning with the manufacture of the first mechanical watches in the 16th century and going on up to the coveted fashion accessory and status symbol of the modern era, the special exhibition is dedicated to the development of mobile timekeeping.

This special exhibition illuminates the thematic issues of “Time – Measurement of Time – Feeling for Time� on the basis of the portable watch, and exhibits treasures from the inventory of the foundation of the German Watch Museum Glashutte, the Glashutte Original manufactory, as well as loans from the Swatch Group AG and the Mathematical-Physical Salon of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.

The special exhibition can be viewed from 20th May – 29th August 2010 in the German Watch Museum Glashutte.

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Recently the well-known and reputable auction house of Antiquorum has finished its March auction event dedicated to the rare and important timepieces. The auction was held in the Grand Hotel Kempinski in Geneva on March 22, 2010, and fetched impressive sum of $ 6,636,422. Of the 466 lots offered at auction, 83% were sold representing 110% by value.

The auction enjoyed lively telephone and Internet bidding in addition to room bidding that came from across the globe including the United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Italy, China and Switzerland.

One of the highlights of the auction in Geneva (both in design and price) has become Patek Philippe Le Tour du Monde de Magellan clock (lot 231) named after the circumnavigation of the legendary discoverer Ferdinand Magellan. The clock was created by Patek Philippe in 1971 to commemorate the 450th anniversary of Magellan’s death day. The desk clock is an electronic-mechanical gadget that is powered by the solar batteries and decorated with enamel images showing the scenes from the Portuguese discoverer’s travel. The clock was bought by an anonym Asian collector for $ 164,445 by phone bidding.

The next Antiquorum auction dedicated to watches will be held on May 8 and 9, 2010, in Geneva.

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The renowned auction house of Antiquorum is glad to announce and interesting watch auction that will be held in New York on March 10-12, 2010. The event is dedicated to the unique collection of timepieces gathered by the French-American artist Pierre Fernandez Arman, one of the founders of the new realism trend in painting. Pierre Fernandez Arman has become widely known owing to his exhibitions where he was breaking, tearing, cutting and blowing with dynamite his works of art as well as to his objects of art made of polyester and plexiglass, massive sculptures and installations made of piles of identical objects. Arman was a very passionate collector – his collection includes not only timepieces but also radio sets, cars, pistols, African carving, Japanese armours, etc.

Among the highlight of the Antiquorum’s watch auction there are such timepieces as Patek Philippe Ref. 2459 Devil’s Horns, Minerva chronograph and 1940s Vacheron Constantin Ref. 3681 Black Mystery.

Patek Philippe Devil’s Horns is a real collector’s dream. The watch was produced in two different types of case decorated with “devil’s hornsâ€� with identical number. The watch is estimated for 25,000 – 35,000 USD. Minerva chronograph made in the 1930s and measuring 42-mm in diameter is estimated for 6,000 – 8,000USD. The last lot of the auction is a unique Vacheron Constantin Black Mystery watch made in the 1940s. The vintage watch features a rotary plate at the dial and measures 30 mm in diameter. This Vacheron Constantin vintage watch can become a perfect stylish accessory for ladies.

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