DALLAS, TEXAS.- The clock is ticking for those hoping to acquire a Patek Philippe watch from the coveted Nautilus series, a rare Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watch with a Paul Newman dial, or any of 55 lots in an important collection of vintage pocketwatches. Each is among the top attractions in Heritage Auctions’ Nov. 16 Watches & Fine Timepieces Signature® Auction.

A Patek Philippe, Nautilus, Ref. 5990/1A Very Fine Dual Time Flyback Chronograph With Date, circa 2018 (estimate: $175,000+) is from the Nautilus series, which is in exceptionally high demand throughout the collecting community. Housed in a 40.5 mm stainless steel case, it includes a striped gray dial with luminous indexes, local/home time and day/night apertures, date, 60-minute register, luminous baton hands and an open baton second time zone hand.

A Rolex Rare Stainless Cosmograph Daytona Watch with “Paul Newman” Dial. Ref: 6241. Box & Paper, Circa 1969 (estimate: $150,000+), from the estate of Robert Richard Porter, Jr., features the popular “reverse panda” dial, and is signed by the maker on the dial, case and movement. This exceptional watch is one of 149 by Rolex in this auction.

According to a statement released through his estate, Porter served in the Pacific Theater as a tail gunner, fighting in both WWII and the Korean War. He later joined the startup crew of a new refinery being built in Singapore, where he was joined by his wife and daughters, who recalled that it was in a jewelry shop off Orchard Road in Singapore that “Dad got the Rolex he always wanted!” At the time, it was expected that customers would bargain with shopkeepers. But according to his daughters, Porter wanted the watch so much that he knowingly overpaid for it.

An Omega, Very Fine And Rare, 18K, Apollo XI Speedmaster Professional Wristwatch. No. 167. Ref: 145.022. Circa 1969 (estimate: $80,000+) is an exceptional example, No. 167 of just 1,014 examples that were produced. Per Heritage Auctions’ previous auction of astronaut Michael Collins’ 145.022 presentation watch: According to Omega public relations, the first 30 Apollo XI commemorative gold Speedmaster watches were “created in tribute to the sensational exploit of Man’s first landing on the Moon.” The watches numbered 1 and 2 in the series, having been refused by their intended recipients (President Nixon and Vice-President Agnew) presently reside in the Omega museum. Numbers 3 through 28 were personalized and presented to the astronauts in NASA's space program. the lower numbers were reserved for those astronauts who had been with NASA the longest.

A Rolex, Very Rare Oyster Cosmograph With Tropical Sub Dials, Ref. 6265/6263, circa 1973 (estimate: $60,000+) includes a silver dial, marked T Swiss T, applied steel baton indexes, rich brown tropical subsidiary dials that have changed from black to a rich, deep, vibrant tobacco brown color, lume plots at the hours and steel baton hands, all housed in a 38 mm stainless steel case. Launched in 1962, the Rolex reference 6265 and 6263 were manufactured in steel, 18k and 14k gold.

A magnificent Patek Philippe Aquanaut Ref. 5167A-001, As New Circa 2022 Full Set (estimate: $40,000+) includes a black luminous dial with luminous hands, housed in a 40-1/2 mm stainless steel case. Signed on the dial, case, movement and strap/butterfly closure, it is accompanied by several additional items, including its original inner/outer box, inner box cloth and a leather bi-fold containing the Certificate of Origin.




Dr. Paul Williamson Pierce III Collection

The first 55 lots in the auction come from this important collection of pocket watches in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Dr. Pierce spent about 40 years adding to this extraordinary trove of timepieces, concentrating on those with complicated movements. Dr. Pierce did not just buy watches,” says Jim Wolf, Director of Watches & Fine Timepieces at Heritage Auctions. “He studied, analyzed, cataloged and researched as a dedicated horologist. His acute attention to detail is evident in the records he meticulously kept and the Extract ledgers he assembled for nearly every watch in his collection.

Highlights from his collection include, but are not limited to:

• A Patek Philippe & Co., Rare and Important Minute Repeating Gold Pocket Watch With Chronograph, Perpetual Calendar And Phases Of The Moon, circa 1889 (estimate: $150,000+).

• A Patek Philippe & Co., Rare And Very Fine Minute Repeating Pocket Watch With Perpetual Calendar And Moon Phases, circa 1922 (estimate: $50,000+)

• A Patek Philippe & Cie, Rare And Important Triple Perpetual Calendar With Moon-Phases, circa 1872 (estimate: $30,000+).

• A Vacheron & Constantin, Important And Rare Large Gold Minute Repeating Pocket Watch With Split Second Chronograph, Retailed By Casa L & E Fabre, Buenos Aires, circa 1890s (estimate: $10,000+).

• A Jules Jurgensen Copenhagen, Superior Quality Gold Minute Repeater With Split Seconds And Register, Bow Set, circa 1890 (estimate: $10,000+).