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Marking Time: Collecting Watches and Thinking about Time
Marking Time Collecting Watches and Thinking about Time Author:Michael Korda Watches are not just workaday products of human ingenuity: the finest can be both intricate feats of engineering and breathaking works of art. Not surprisingly, all sorts of people have collected them, paying a fortune for something truly unique (a 1933 Patek Philippe pocket watch with twenty-four "complications" has sold for over $11 million) o... more »r only a few dollars for a new model from a favorite contemporary maker. Whatever the object, DESIRE is at the heart of collecting.
A longtime collector of vintage pocket watches, Michael Korda shares his passion in this lively excursion into the realm of timekeeping and timepieces. MARKING TIME is filled with history, anecdotes, and practical information about watches and watch collecting: how timekeeping became standardized, how historical and cultural change led to innovations and refinements in the timepieces themselves, and how the premier watchmakers (Breguet, Patek Philippe, and Cartier, for example) turned a craft into an art and an industry. Along the way, he introduces some extraordinary collectors and their even more unusual custom-made watches.
For would-be collectors, Korda offers useful advice--things to consider before you even begin: choosing an appropriate area or theme, the "vintage" versus the "collectible" market, learning from auction catalogs, dealing with dealers, trends to be aware of and traps to beware of, how experienced watch collectors decide what (and what not) to buy, makes and models of watches that may be underappreciated and the watch as an investment and as a fashion accessory. He also includes tips on wearing and caring for a vintage watch.« less