A NEW BOOK EXPERTLY IDENTIFIES THE ORIGINS OF MODERN-DAY WATCHMAKING
Alexander Barter is on a mission to prove to watch fans that the world of pocket watches is not the fusty, antiquarian backwater they might imagine. In fact, you can’t truly understand how the thing ticking on your wrist came into being unless you know a bit of the 500-year story that preceded it — astory Barter maps out in a sumptuous new book, 500 Years, 100 Watches.
“Pocket watches can seem a bit ancient and geeky as a subject, but I wanted to brush the dust off,” says Barter, formerly of Sotheby’s, now a consultant and vintage watch dealer. (His own watch is a vintage Rolex Explorer 1016: “Simply one of the best dial designs ever made.”)
For the book, Barter and co-author Daryn Schnipper, global head of Sotheby’s watch department, selected 100 timepieces that trace the evolution of watches, from dazzling Elizabethan creations to the 20thcentury classics of Rolex, Omega et al, and up to artisanal maestros of today like Roger Smith and FP Journe. Along the way, there are oddities (a watch nestled in a gilt gunpowder flask), masterpieces made by all-time greats like Abraham-Louis Breguet and Patek Philippe, landmarks from history (Churchill’s “Victory” world-timer) and world-changing innovations. Each is presented with its own essay and detailed photography.
The point, Barter says, is that watches — whether of the pocket or wrist variety — have never just been for telling the time. “They’ve been gadgets, fashion accessories, symbols of wealth, work of arts, scientific instruments. You can’t ignore their impact on society and history.”
And that, surely, is a story worth telling.
‘500 Years, 100 Watches’ by Alexander Barter and Daryn Schnipper (Prestel Publishing), £49.99, is published on 7 Nove
