RECOMMENDED READING: 14 lessons from Christies’ watch auction expert

Nick Kenyon

To work at one of the largest international auction houses in the world, you need to know your stuff, which makes you very good at evaluating the world’s rarest watches and also passing that knowledge onto collectors and enthusiasts. One such watch auction expert is Dr Andrew Hildreth, who is responsible for presenting and writing Christie’s online course, “History of Watches: 1700 to Now”, a comprehensive overview of just about everything you might need to know about the last 300 years of horological history.

watch auction expert — Patek Philippe. An exceptional, highly attractive, historically important and certainly unique platinum chromometer wristwatch with Guillaume balance, Bulletin d’Observatoire, additional diamond-set dial and platinum bracelet, 1952. 36 mm diameter. Sold for CHF 3,779,000 on 12 November 2012 at Christie’s in Geneva. Image: christies.com

The man seriously knows what he’s talking about, with his favorite vintage watch being a unique Patek Philippe ref. 2458 that was commissioned by the American lawyer J.B. Champion in 1952, and his grail modern watch is a Greubel Forsey Quantum Perpetual (“because it solves all the problems that have plagued the perpetual calendar complication”). In an interview with Christie’s, Dr Hildreth reveals the truth about who really invented the balance spring, why Fidel Castro was such a Rolex fanboy, and the seriously collectible vintage watches he believes aren’t on everyone’s radar yet. Find the link to the full article on Christie’s site here.