NEW YORK, NY.- This December in New York, as part of its flagship Important and Fine Watches auctions – and marking the inaugural sale season at its new home in the iconic Breuer Building – Sotheby’s is proud to present Exceptional Discoveries: The Olmsted Complications Collection, a landmark assemblage of horological masterpieces quietly curated by one of America’s most discerning and meticulous watch collectors. Spanning the golden age of watchmaking from the early 19th to the early 20th century, and showcasing masterworks from the great European centers of horology, this remarkable collection of over 80 long-unseen timepieces offers collectors and connoisseurs a rare opportunity to acquire watches of exceptional historical and technical importance — many of which are appearing on the market for the very first time.
Assembled over the past 60 years, the Robert M. Olmsted collection tells the story of precision and time by way of many of the most important, revolutionary and rare complications and chronometers ever created. A collector of extraordinary rigor and taste, Olmsted began acquiring rare and complex timepieces as a young adult while still a student at Princeton in the early 1960s. By 1971, his collection had grown into one of exceptional caliber, boasting around 75 rare watches known for their mechanical sophistication, and impeccable condition and provenance. The roster of represented watchmakers in the collection features many of the most revered names in the history of international horology, including Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Abraham Louis Breguet, Dent, Charles Frodsham, S. Smith & Sons, Henry Capt, and A. Lange & Söhne, as well as the twentieth century horological legend, Rolex.
Among the most sensational highlights of the collection are two never-before-seen Patek Philippe pocket watches, each crafted with double movements and dual sets of hour and minute hands and seconds hands - a design so rare that no other examples are known to exist. One incorporates a minute repeater, while the other combines a minute repeater with a split-seconds chronograph. Also of note is a large group of English watches by Charles Frodsham including several tourbillions, capped by an exceptional 73mm pocket watch – one of only two examples ever produced – and their most complicated watch among its grand complications (est. $300,000–$500,000).
While watches undoubtedly represent the core of the collection, Robert Olmsted’s interest in the history and science of timekeeping also led him to acquire an important group of Dent carriage clocks – one of which is believed to have been made for the Paris exhibition of 1867 (est. $50,000 - 70,000) – and each of which feature the watchmaker’s patented 'staple' balance.
Estimated to achieve in excess of $4 million, Exceptional Discoveries: The Olmsted Complications Collection will be offered across two Sotheby’s sales, Important Watches on December 8 and Fine Watches through November 26 - December 10. Before the auctions, the collection will embark on a global tour with stops in Hong Kong, London and Geneva, before going on public display at the historic Breuer building in New York from 5 - 7 December*.
“Robert Olmsted assembled this collection with an insightful eye and encyclopedic knowledge, driven by a lifelong passion to tell the story of precision and time. Fascinated from an early age by the mechanical intricacies of clocks and watches – beginning when he first took apart one of his grandmother’s clocks – he devoted his life to collecting pocket watches and clocks. Monday evenings were a ritual, when he reliably wound every timepiece in his apartment, a testament to his dedication and care. What truly sets this collection apart is not only its depth and quality, but also its provenance. Robert acquired pieces exclusively from the most respected dealers or directly from the brands themselves. As a result, the majority – if not all – of these remarkable timepieces have never before appeared on the auction market. This collection is a true tour de force of horological ingenuity and rarity, and working on it has been a deeply rewarding journey filled with discoveries and wonder.” Daryn Schnipper, Sotheby’s Chairman Emeritus, International Watch Division
A First Look at the Collection: Previously Unknown Patek Philippe Timepieces Emerge
At the heart of this historic offering is the John Motley Morehead Double Movement Split Seconds Minute Repeating Watch from 1924 (estimate: $500,000 - $1 million) – a previously undocumented marvel, recorded only in the Patek Philippe archives. Originally commissioned by John Motley Morehead III, an American industrialist, scientist, politician, and philanthropist, this watch was acquired by Robert Olmsted in 1965 through legendary New York dealer Ephraim Greenberg. Olmsted’s fastidious records indicate that he was likely only the second owner of this rare horological masterpiece.
This exceptional timepiece stands as one of only two known watches ever crafted by Patek Philippe or any other maker to date featuring two independent movements, connected solely by a shared winding mechanism. It is equipped with a dual-function crown that winds one movement clockwise and the other counterclockwise. Once both movements are fully wound, the crown locks, preventing any further rotation. Beyond its technical innovation, the watch embodies Morehead’s lifelong dedication to science and astronomy, a passion also evident in his founding of the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. While some have speculated that the double movements serve to display dual time zones, a compelling alternative theory suggests the second movement tracks sidereal time, a timekeeping system used by astronomers in celestial navigation. Sidereal time, which measures Earth's rotation relative to distant stars rather than the Sun, has played a crucial role in the early years of space exploration.1 Given Morehead’s profound dedication to astronomy and the pivotal role of celestial navigation in the space program, it is highly plausible that this extraordinary watch was purposefully engineered to track sidereal time.
Although it lacks one complication compared to its counterpart, this circa 1921 Patek Philippe open- faced minute repeater with a double movement is equally rare and highly prized (est. $300,000 - $500,000). Remarkably thin for housing a double movement, this extraordinary timepiece was the second watch commissioned by John Motley Morehead from the prestigious maker. Both movements are wound via the crown at the top of the case, which, when turned clockwise, winds both mechanisms simultaneously. Each set of hands displays a different time zone: the gold hands indicate sidereal time, while the blue hands show a standard 24-hour day.
Before the emergence of the two Morehead watches, no double-movement timepiece of any kind was publicly known to exist, either in the market or in horological literature.
Another outstanding piece is a silver Patek Philippe paper weight clock, movement no. 198.159 and case no. 292.119, dating to circa 1927 (est. $500,000 - $1 million). This rare clock is one of only three known examples, alongside those made for the legendary collectors James Ward Packard and Henry Graves Jr., both of which now reside in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. Before its emergence at auction, the existence of this clock was previously unknown.
Originally commissioned for Thomas Emery, a prominent American patron of Patek Philippe, the paper weight clock was acquired by Olmsted in 1976. Its inclusion in this sale is impeccably timed: in April 2025, Patek Philippe reissued these historic paper weight clocks to widespread acclaim at Watches & Wonders Geneva, with all 25 units selling out instantly at $1.25 million each.
Further Highlights
Also featured in the collection is a rare and historically significant yellow gold Patek Philippe open- faced keyless watch with power reserve indication, created for the legendary American collector Henry Graves Jr. (est. $150,000–250,000). This exceptional timepiece was awarded First Prize at the prestigious Geneva Astronomical Timing Contest of 1926–27 — a testament to its extraordinary precision and craftsmanship. The case back bears an engraving of Graves’ personal motto, ‘Esse Quam Verde’ (‘To Be, Rather than to Seem’), a timeless reminder of the beauty and power of being true to oneself. Between 1922 and 1951, Graves commissioned 30 watches from Patek Philippe; only 15 are known to survive today, most held in the revered Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. His most famous commission, the Henry Graves Jr. Supercomplication, was completed by Patek Philippe in 1933 after five years of work and sold at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2014 for a record-breaking $24 million. Featuring 24 complications, it was the world’s most complicated watch until Patek Philippe created the Calibre 89 in 1989 for its 150th anniversary, and remains a landmark in horological history.
1 NASA astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab programs all received celestial navigation training at the Morehead Planetarium. There, under the planetarium’s dome, they learned to identify stars, constellations, and other celestial bodies from mission-specific viewpoints they would encounter during flight. This training proved crucial during the Apollo 13 mission, when an oxygen tank explosion forced the crew to shut down their onboard navigation systems to conserve power. Thanks to their preparation at Morehead, Commander James A. Lovell and his crew were equipped to rely on celestial navigation, a skill that helped guide them safely back to Earth. In total, 11 of the 12 astronauts who walked on the Moon trained at the Morehead Planetarium.
