Vintage Jump Hours at Sotheby's

Those who know me well know of my fondness for alternative time displays, particularly direct read and jump hour watches. I don’t understand why they aren’t more popular, but a couple of interesting  jump hour pocket watches are coming up for auction at Sotheby's in the next two weeks, so I thought I’d share them and perhaps introduce non-watch folks to these time displays. Catalogue descriptions are taken directly from Sotheby's. My additional notes are in square brackets.

Important Watches

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (New Wing) 
7 Apr 2011, 10:00 AM & 2:00 PM | Sale HK0352

LOT 2174

ATTRIBUTED TO VACHERON CONSTANTIN - A YELLOW GOLD AND ENAMEL JUMP HOUR QUARTER REPEATING OPEN-FACED WATCH.  

CIRCA 1830.

Gilt movement with cylinder escapement, flat three-armed balance. Silvered engine-turned dial, aperture at 12 o'clock for jump hour display, subsidiary seconds. Yellow gold case, front and reverse decorated with black and white enamel foliate motif, with aperture for jump hour display at 12 o'clock on front case. Cuvette signed, case and cuvette numbered. Diameter 48 mm.

ESTIMATE 55,000 - 70,000 HKD

[Vacheron Constantin have a long history with this form of time telling, as this history of them by Alex Ghotbi shows]

LOT 38

SWISS.

A GOLD AND ENAMEL JUMP HOUR WATCH, MADE FOR THE TURKISH MARKET.

CIRCA 1840.

Cylinder movement, gold cuvette enhanced by flowering vines in gold and opaque powder blue enamel, against a guilloche ground with translucent peach enamel. White enamel dial with Turkish numerals, aperture for jumping hours, eccentric chapter ring, subsidiary seconds. Case with apertures displaying hours and seconds, each framed in lobed cartouches depicting bursts of spring flowers, the background with opaque blue enamel and flowering vines, the reverse with polychrome enamel painting of ships within a seascape in scalloped frame. Case and cuvette numbered. Diameter 48 mm.

ESTIMATE 8,000 - 12,000 USD

Important Watches and Clocks

New York | 13 Apr 2011, 10:00 AM | Sale N08739

LOT 55

TOUCHON - AN 18K WHITE GOLD OPEN-FACED JUMP HOUR WATCH.

CIRCA 1920.

Movement marked Extra, 19 jewels, silvered dial, Arabic minutes tracking, aperture for jump hour, subsidiary seconds, coin-edge band and pendant, monogram to case back. Case, dial and movement signed. Diameter 41 mm.

ESTIMATE 4,000 - 6,000 USD

[Touchon & Co. was established around 1907 and ceased in 1921 as an independent entity before being incorporated into Wittnauer. According to this site, Touchon mainly supplied watches (complete or otherwise) to other companies such as Tiffany & Co (their major client) or various American jewellers. As such, much of their work was unsigned]

LOT 60

CARTIER/ EUROPEAN WATCH & CLOCK CO., INC. - PLATINUM OPEN-FACED JUMP HOUR WATCH.

CIRCA 1920.

19 jewels, ssilvered guilloché dial, Arabic minute tracking, aperture for jump hour. Monogram to case back. Case with handstamped Cartier reference numbers, dial signed Cartier, movement signed European Watch & Clock Co., Inc. Diameter 45 mm

ESTIMATE 5,000 - 7,000 USD

If nothing takes your fancy amongst these, you can check out the rest of the items (including other vintage pocket watches) at both of these auctions via their online catalogues here and here.

[AP]