I tend not to wear wrist watches, perhaps it’s because I’ve demolished more than one inside the engine bay of whichever car or truck I was dealing with at the time. I prefer pocket watches but I like them to have some history or character. So I have a Coronation pocket watch from my grandfather and a hunter’s watch from my father as mementos which I sometimes carry. There are three interesting watches amongst the offerings in the coming Bonhams “Transportation History Sale”.
This Max Bill from Junghans has such exquisite elegance I think it’s one I would actually wear. The effect is almost Spartan but with a gentle refinement that eschews ornamentation. Everything, right down to the typography on the face speaks of elegant restraint.
The second watch carries the Auburn name and is by Elgin. It is from the nineteen twenties and exudes the character of the period and the Auburn motor cars.
The last watch is also a gold pocket watch, this time with the Peerless name on it from 1915. A perfect item to have sitting beside the humidor whilst you enjoy a quiet Cuban cigar as you enjoy just admiring your Peerless motorcycle – you do have a Peerless in your garage don’t you?
Each of these watches has a particular character of it’s own, each has a character that expensive shop bought designer watches somehow just can’t match. Perhaps that’s also why the last one is called Peerless.
Jon Branch is the founder and senior editor of Revivaler and has written a significant number of articles for various publications including official Buying Guides for eBay, classic car articles for Hagerty, magazine articles for both the Australian Shooters Journal and the Australian Shooter, and he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome.
Jon has done radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China and Hong Kong. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges.
