DALLAS – The clock is ticking for those hoping to acquire a Patek Philippe watch from the coveted Nautilus series, a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watch with a Paul Newman dial, or any of 55 lots in an important collection of vintage pocket watches. Each is among the top attractions in Heritage Auctions’ November 16 Watches & Fine Timepieces Signature® Auction. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

Among the choices is a circa-2018 Patek Philippe Nautilus, Ref. 5990/1A dual time flyback chronograph with date, estimated at $87,000-$1 million. Of course, it comes from the Nautilus series, which is in exceptionally high demand throughout the collecting community. Housed in a 40.5mm 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.

Another standout is a circa-1969 Rolex stainless Cosmograph Daytona watch with a Paul Newman dial. Ref: 6241. It has an estimate of $75,000-$1 million and comes from the estate of Robert Richard Porter, Jr. The watch features the popular reverse panda dial, and is signed by the maker on the dial, case and movement.

According to a statement released through his estate, Porter served in the Pacific Theater as a tail gunner, fighting in both World War II 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.

Also of note is a circa-1969 18K Omega Apollo XI Speedmaster Professional wristwatch, No. 167. Ref: 145.022, estimated at $40,000-$1 million, No. 167 of just 1,014 that were produced. Per the lot notes of Heritage Auctions’ previous sale 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.

Still another prize is a circa-1973 Rolex Oyster Cosmograph with tropical sub dials, Ref. 6265/6263, estimated at $36,000-$1 million. It 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; and lume plots at the hours and steel baton hands, all housed in a 38mm stainless steel case. Launched in 1962, the Rolex reference 6265 and 6263 were manufactured in steel, 18k and 14k gold.

Also on offer is an as-new circa-2022 Patek Philippe Aquanaut Ref. 5167A-001 full set, estimated at $31,000-$1 million, which 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 an important collection of pocket watches in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Dr. Paul Williamson Pierce III spent about 40 years adding to this extraordinary trove of timepieces, concentrating on those with complicated movements.

“Dr. Pierce did not just buy watches,” said Director of Watches & Fine Timepieces at Heritage Auctions, Jim Wolf, adding, “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 circa-1889 Patek Philippe & Co. minute repeating gold pocket watch with chronograph, perpetual calendar and phases of the moon, estimated at $75,000-$1 million.

A circa-1922 Patek Philippe & Co. minute repeating pocket watch with perpetual calendar and moon phases, estimated at $25,000-$1 million.

A circa-1890s Vacheron & Constantin gold minute repeating pocket watch with split second chronograph, retailed by Casa L & E Fabre, Buenos Aires, estimated at $5,000-$1 million.

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