On September 28, 2022, Aguttes, assisted by Geoffroy Ader, sold a major private collection of watches and portable clocks, tracing five centuries of watchmaking history.

According to Geoffroy Ader, each piece presented illustrated a significant period in the development of watchmaking. Having remained in the same family for over 60 years, these objects have benefited from constant additions by their owners. The sale attracted numerous international bidders, actively contributing to its success.

The Rochat Brothers’ singing bird watch case, the highlight of the session, reached €328,980. This piece demonstrates the collector’s interest in automaton and musical mechanisms. It came from the King Farouk Collections, sold during the iconic Koubbeh Palace sale in 1954—considered among the major auctions of the 20th century.

Table clocks, such as the tower clock, played a key role in the miniaturization and birth of watches five centuries ago; this piece, after intense competition among enthusiasts, sold for €197,552.

Its caseback is engraved with the coats of arms of Guillaume Bailly (1519–1582) and Madeleine Harel (1524–1579). The clock is believed to be the work of a member of the Plantard family, a famous dynasty in Abbeville, for whom Nicolas Plantard was a purveyor to Queen Mary Stuart.

Notable auction results include two watches intended for the Ottoman market, including an oval watch (lot 37), illustrating the ornamental richness and mechanical complexity of 17th-century Swiss pieces for this market.

Comprised of 85 lots (80 watches and 5 related lots), this collection reflected the evolution of tastes and collecting practices, as wristwatches were not yet highly sought after by collectors between the 1950s and 1970s.

Composed in the post-war period by a collector active in the Parisian market, particularly in sales directed by Etienne Ader, it was rigorously expanded until the late 1970s.