Horolonomics

Late last year the world lost Brigitte Bardot, a French acting and musical icon who could claim major career achievements in the 1950s and 1960s. Coming up on September 21, some items from Bardot's homes in Saint-Tropez and Paris will go up for auction at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris. There are four lots featuring timepieces and here we will explore those items.

Perhaps the most compelling items appear in lot 261: a pair of 1950s Jaeger alarm clocks in "gilt metal" and decorated with red and green lacquer.

The catalogue describes the dials for these clocks as "Memovox-like" and I agree. At six-o-clock the dial is marked "Fabrique en Suisse." Within this mark is an encircled eight, indicating that the clocks have an eight day power reserve. The catalogue cautions us "movement needs checking" and I would agree. One dial appears akilter, a potential sign that the clock may have been jolted and the dial feet may have become unsecured. Nevertheless, with a very accessible auction estimate of between 50 and 100 euros, alongside the Bardot provenance, we should see some enthusiastic bidding for this lot.

In lot 244 we find the most noteworthy wristwatches in the catalog.

They sit alongside eight other items, the group described as "Set of table clocks, alarm clocks, and wristwatches" which are sold "as-is." The most noteworthy here is a Universal Geneve wrist watch on leather strap customized with a cross "dangle." Here the case is C-shaped, there is a leather strap and the crown appears embellished with a cabochon. It is likely that this watch is a reference 542111 from the 1960s. With the recent relaunch of Universal Geneve, there should be some noteworthy interest in this timepiece.

Alongside the UG is a time-only watch from a lesser-known brand: Rexa.

Records suggest that Rexa was a French brand which used Swiss movements but I am not entirely confident. Here, the lugs are stepped (as is the case), the indices are applied and there is a small seconds subdial. This watch also features a leather strap and also likely dates to 1950s-1970s.

In my opinion, these two watches alone justify the auction estimate of €60-80. I'm only more confident given the fact that the watches are accompanied by a third (brand is very difficult to identify) as well as another desktop alarm clock with a triangular case. This attractive timepiece is likely a Junghans product.

The catalogue indicates the case is copper but I have found other examples online with other case metals.

There are two additional watch-related lots in the auction. In lot 94 we find a "Late 19th-century chatelaine with a pocket watch." The watch dial is branded "L. Leroy Et Cie," a well-known brand dating from the late 1700s. L. Leroy still produces watches to this day.

The lot estimate for this timepiece is €80 - 120.

Finally, the auction offers an interesting bit of horological ephemera in lot 251. Here we find a "decorative ball" of resin inlaid with pocket watches and pocket watch movements. The catalogue notes the piece is damaged and places an estimate of €20 - 40 on the lot.

In sum, those watch and clock collectors with an interest in Brigitte Bardot and all her accomplishments will find a number of opportunities in the upcoming auction.

Arguably, some of the timepieces in this catalogue belong in brand collections. I look forward to seeing the hammer prices for the lots described above.

My thanks to Millon for permission to use their catalogue photos in this post.

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