What is the rarest clock?

Question

1stDibs Expert · Answer

What the rarest clock is today will owe to a particular model's presence on the market. The rarest and most sought-after clocks in the world include those created by Patek Philippe, Waltham Watch Company, Cartier, Hermle, E. Howard & Co. and Thomas Tompion.

If a given model designed by one of these manufacturers is scarce, this attribute will be critical to determining its value providing there is demand for it. While other factors are at play when it comes to value, scarcity is important in the world of collectibles.

Clocks designed in recent decades may be worth more than their older counterparts if fewer of the former are on the market. For example, an antique clock manufactured in a large quantity, even if it is an exceptionally decorative object adorned with gilt bronze flowers and tortoiseshell elements, may be worth far less than a one-of-a-kind vintage clock owing entirely to rarity and demand.

A table clock designed by prestigious English clockmaker Thomas Tompion for Queen Mary in 1693 was sold at auction for more than $2 million in 2019, while a clock named the Duc d'Orléans Breguet Sympathique, designed by the Swiss house of Breguet in the 1830s, fetched $6.8 million at auction in 2012. There are an estimated 12 Sympathiques in existence.

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