The most expensive pocket watch sold at auction is the Henry Graves Jr Supercomplication, a gold, double-dialled watch crafted by hand between 1925 and 1932 by Patek Philippe of Switzerland. On 11 November 2014, the watch was sold for 23,237,000 Swiss Francs (£15,154,312; $24,073,532) at Sotheby’s in Geneva, Switzerland.
The watch measures 74 mm (2.91 in) in diameter (the same width as a typical smartphone) and is 37 mm (1.45 in) thick, including the domed glass covers on the front and rear faces. Despite its relatively compact size, it weighs 536 grams (1 lb 2.9 oz), which gives an idea of how densely packed the internal mechanisms are. It was sold in its original tulipwood box, inlaid with a mother-of-pearl panel featuring the arms of Henry Graves Jr (1868–1953) – the American banker who commissioned the piece in 1925.
The name of the piece is a reference to Graves’ desire to have the most “complicated” watch in the world. (In horogical terminology, a “complication” is any feature that a mechanical timepiece can perform in addition to telling the time. Common complications include calendars, phase-of-the-moon displays and stopwatch functions.)
The Supercomplication required three years of study in astronomy, mathematics and precision mechanics before a viable design could be finalized. The enormously elaborate mechanism uses 900 individual parts including 430 screws, 110 wheels, 120 various movable parts and 70 jeweled bearings. It took the artisans at Patek-Phillippe – assisted by several other prominent Swiss watchmakers acting as sub-contractors – more than five years to assemble the watch, finally delivering it to Graves on 19 Jan 1933.
The 24 “complications” of the watch include a star chart (calibrated to show the night sky over Graves’ Manhattan apartment on any given night) and a multi-year calendar that will be accurate until the year 2100, as well as various alarm and stopwatch functions. This number of complications remained unbeaten until 1989, when Patek-Philippe released the 33-complication “Calibre 89”. It remains, however, the most complicated watch to have been made without the assistance of computers.
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History of Auctioneering
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Damien Hirst (UK) made $200.8 million (£111 million) during a two-day auction on 15 and 16 September 2008. 167 of his works went on sale at Sotheby’s in London. Only three of the 167 items available failed to find buyers.
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eBay was founded as AuctionWeb in California on September 3, 1995 by Pierre Omidyar in September 1995. It has 132 million yearly active buyers worldwide and handled $73 billion in transactions in 2023, 48% of which was in the United States. In 2023, the company had a take rate (revenue as a percentage of volume) of 13.81%.
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In June 2000, eBay acquired Half.com for $312 million in stock.
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Pursuant to 24 Del. C. § 2901, “the practice of providing real estate services” is reserved for those “duly licensed under this chapter.” Section 2901 enumerates several exceptions to the licensing requirement for providing “real estate services,” including one for “auctioneers.” In its Complaint, Plaintiff Delaware Auctioneers Association challenges regulations promulgated by Defendant Delaware Real Estate Commission concerning the 24 Del. C. § 2901(e)(4) exception for “auctioneers.”3 Specifically, Plaintiff asserts that § 2901(e)(4) is a blanket exemption for “auctioneers,”4 and, therefore, Defendant does not have the authority to implement regulations which purport to clarify “the complete, clear unambiguous and blanket exemption provided to ‘auctioneers.’”
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The Idaho Association of Professional Auctioneers (IAPA) was organized in 1981 to promote professionalism and the auction method of marketing. All members are in good standing and subscribe to the code of ethics set forth by the IAPA. The Association offers leadership, support, information and assistance to its members through its various committees and services, and lobbies to protect and enhance auction interests in the State. Members in good standing in the Idaho Association of Professional Auctioneers abide by Idaho Auction Law, IAPA By-Laws and a strict Code of Ethics.
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Based on users, the largest auction website is eBay (USA), with an estimated 157 million active buyers worldwide as of 9 October 2015, according to Forbes.
eBay was launched on 4 September 1995 by Pierre Omidyar (France) and has its headquarters in San Jose, California, USA.
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“Jimson Weed: White Flower No. 1” by American Modernist Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986) became the most expensive painting by a female artist sold at auction, when it made $44.4 million (£28 million) at Sotheby’s in New York, USA, on 20 November 2014.
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The most expensive bottle of wine sold at auction is £192,000 ($304,375), which was paid for a bottle of 1947 French Cheval-Blanc, and sold at Christie’s, Geneva, Switzerland on 16 November 2010. The bottle was sold to a private collector smashing the previous estimates. The wine is of Bordeaux variety.
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The most expensive piece of wireless related equipment is a German Enigma coding (ciphering/enciphering) machine sold for £24,172.50 ($38,047.50) when it came to auction at Phillips Bond Street, London, UK, in April 1993. The above amounts are equivalent to £29,385.80; $45,355.26 in the year 2000.
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