Watch specialist John Reardon joins Sotheby’s for an unexpected encounter with five timepieces absent from literature, archives, and the historical record. Examining a dual-time Patek Philippe wristwatch, a 1933 desk clock, and other works that surfaced after generations in private hands, he reflects on how the unknown tests expertise, how rarity reframes scholarship, and how rediscovery can shift the understanding of an entire collecting field.
The session unfolds ahead of Sotheby’s Luxury Week, presented by EDITION Hotels, where these pieces will appear at auction for the first time. Their emergence highlights a moment when horology’s past becomes newly legible, and when long-hidden craftsmanship reenters the cultural conversation. For collectors, historians, and enthusiasts alike, the encounter underscores how the rare and the unexpected continue to shape the world of fine watches.
