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THE WATCHISMO TIMES WATCH BLOG A reliquary of obscure timepieces from bygone eras as well as the cutting-edge watch designs of today.

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You Dirty Dirty Horologist - Hardcore Erotic Automaton Pocket Watches 1800s-Today

You Dirty Dirty Horologist - Hardcore Erotic Automaton Pocket Watches 1800s-Today
Antiquorum has offered a wide array of antique erotic automaton pocket dating from past three centuries. If you haven't seen these before, you might be shocked at how graphic these animated depictions were for the time. For additional examples, see my previous post on the subject here--> "Debbie Does Switzerland - Victorian Porn"

"Outside the Abbey Walls" (above)

Outside the Abbey Walls Swiss, No. 1339. Made circa 1910. Fine and amusing, large, 18K pink gold and enamel, hunting-cased, keyless minute-repeating pocket watch with chronograph and painted on enamel concealed erotic automaton.

C. Four-body, “bassine et filet”, engine-turned covers with polished borders, the front cover with a black champleve enamel monogram, polished band, gold hinged cuvette with painted on enamel erotic scene depicting two monks enjoying local hospitality in the woods. D. White enamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minute track and Arabic five minute numerals, outermost fifths of a second divisions, subsidiary seconds. Gold stone-set hands. M. 49 mm (21'''), rhodium plated, fausses cotes decoration, 21 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, cut-bimetallic compensation balance with blued steel Breguet balance spring, index regulator, repeating on gongs activated by a slide in the band. Diam. 61 mm.

You Dirty Dirty Horologist - Hardcore Erotic Automaton Pocket Watches 1800s-Today

    Detail of "Outside the Abbey Walls"

Auctioned for 25,000 Swiss Francs

You Dirty Dirty Horologist - Hardcore Erotic Automaton Pocket Watches 1800s-Today
You Dirty Dirty Horologist - Hardcore Erotic Automaton Pocket Watches 1800s-TodayClose-up of Automaton Erotic Scene at 6 o'clock


You Dirty Dirty Horologist - Hardcore Erotic Automaton Pocket Watches 1800s-TodayAnd of course, the tradition continues to this day, watchmakers create these erotic scenes on the "backsides" of the watches allowing only the wearer to know what carnal mechanics are occurring "under his dial"

N° 01, "Sailing Dream" by Antoine Preziuso

"Sailing Dream" No. 01 of a limited edition series of 30 examples. Made in 1997. Very fine and rare, tonneau shaped, center seconds, water-resistant, 18K yellow gold gentleman's wristwatch with 42-hour autonomy and three color gold erotic automaton scene with an 18K yellow gold Antoine Peziuso buckle. Accompanied by a luxury fitted box.

C. Two-body, massive, polished, transparent case back secured by 8 screws, sapphire crystal. D. Satiné silver with painted radial Roman numerals, outer minute/seconds divisions; on the other side: a multicolor gold erotic scene animated by means of a mechanism hidden in the band and motioned by the winding-crown. Blued steel "feuille" hands. M. Cal. Based ETA 2801, rhodium-plated, "fausses côtes" decoration, 17 jewels, monometallic balance, shock absorber, self-compensating flat balance spring. The erotic automata and the engraved background are in 18K yellow, pink and white gold. Dial, case and movement signed. Dim. 34 x 41 mm. Thickness 10 mm.

You Dirty Dirty Horologist - Hardcore Erotic Automaton Pocket Watches 1800s-Today

Close-up of "Sailing Dream"

Sold in 2007 for 15,600 Swiss Francs

And if you thought this was a perverted subculture of watchmakers, think again, the most respected watchmaker of all time, Abraham Louis Bréguet, watchmaker to Louis XVI and Queen, Marie-Antoinette also produced their own erotica-horologica, like this past auction below, by the way, it sold for 1,500,000 Swiss Francs (about a million dollars at the time in 1990):

You Dirty Dirty Horologist - Hardcore Erotic Automaton Pocket Watches 1800s-TodaySwiss, bearing the signature Breguet A Paris, circa 1825. Fine 18 ct. pink gold quarter-repeating watch with erotic automaton.And here is one upcoming auction for a simple pocket watch with a little hidden door revealing the happy couple. It will be held October 3rd in Geneva Switzerland and the entire catalog can be seen here--> Antiquorum Auction Link

Ratpack Watches of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. up for Auction

Antiquorum’s summer sale of “ Important Collectors’ Wristwatches Pocket Watch & Clocks” on June 11th auction will include timepieces from twentieth century icons President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Steve McQueen in addition to an exceptional selection of wristwatches from every major brand. The auction will be held at Antiquorum’s US headquarters on Madison Avenue. Clients will have the opportunity to view these exquisite, and in some cases unique, timepieces all over the world including Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and New York.

Amongst the items being auctioned are:

Ratpack Watches of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. up for Auction

Of interest for the Frank Sinatra fan is the legendary crooner’s Gruen watch and gold chain necklace. This timepiece is a fine and very thin14K pink gold wristwatch with a pink gold-plated brick link bracelet and is accompanied by a 49 cm gold-plated necklace with 12 letter-links spelling “Frank Sinatra.”

The watch was sold by the estate of Al Silvani who received it as a gift from Frank Sinatra, his close personal friend. Silvani spent a lot of time with Sinatra's Rat Pack and appeared in a number of his movies.Estimate: $ 10,000 - $ 15,000


Ratpack Watches of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. up for Auction
Sammy Davis Jr.’s Cartier Pasha in the June sale. It was given to him by his best friend Frank Sinatra in the late 1980’s, and is inscribed, “Sammy I Luv Ya F.A.S.” The Cartier, "Pasha Quartz - Two-Time-Zone," Ref. 0321 will be offered along with a 1990 People magazine celebrating the life of Sammy Davis and featuring him on the cover wearing the watch and a scrap book of Sammy Davis related news clippings from 1970 to 1973. The timepiece is a fine and rare, two-time-zone, water-resistant, 18K yellow gold quartz wristwatch with moon phases, day and date, produced in 1987.
Estimate: $10,000 - $ 20,000

Ratpack Watches of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. up for Auction
The 14K gold Movado watch retailed by Tiffany and Co. that was given to President Roosevelt on the occasion of his 63rd and last birthday by his son-in-law, Col. John Boettiger on January 30, 1945 will most certainly be of interest to FDR fans and Movado aficionados alike. This timepiece is a unique and historically important Movado Ref. 44776 with triple date calendar, produced in 1944 accompanied by correspondence authenticating FDR’s memorabilia.


President Roosevelt, known as FDR, was the celebrated 32nd President of the US and the only President in US history to serve four terms (1933-1945). Recognized as one of the greatest American Presidents of all time, his Presidency spanned the Depression of the 1930’s and World War II. The watch was worn by FDR during the last two months of his life, including perhaps to the Yalta Conference in February, 1945 and he may have been wearing this watch when he died on April 12, 1945 at Warm Springs, Georgia. In 2008, the Movado-Tiffany watch was part of a Presidential display for the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors timepiece collection. Antiquorum experts estimate this fine and historically important timepiece at $ 50,000 - $ 60,000.


Ratpack Watches of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. up for Auction
Fans of the legendary actor, Steve McQueen and race car enthusiasts will also be very interested in the upcoming June sale as it will include the iconic Heuer “Monaco” wristwatch previously owned by Steve McQueen and worn by him during the filming of the 1971 movie “Le Mans”. Steve presented the watch to his financial advisor upon his return home from filming in appreciation for financially restructuring both himself personally and his company, Solar Productions Inc.

The Monaco watch was originally launched by Heuer in 1969 in honor of the Monaco Grand Prix. The watch is a fine and unusual, square convex, water-resistant, stainless steel self-winding wristwatch with chronograph and date. Antiquorum Experts have placed a pre-sale estimate of $ 10,000 - $ 20,000.

View the entire Antiquorum Catalog for this auction.

Related Famous Watch Posts at The Watchismo Times;


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Joseph "Joey Bananas" Bonanno and Mahatma Gandhi Watch Auctions

Joseph The cast for the next Hollywood buddy film? I wish. Actually, these two polar opposites are being tied together with an upcoming auction of their timepieces.

On the left, everyone's favorite non-violent resistor Mohatma Gandhi - To his right, the original gangster and supreme leader of the New York crime family, Joseph "Joey Bananas" Bonanno.

Impress your family and friends with the ultimate Yin and Yang of time. After making a killing with Albert Einstein's wristwatch, Antiquorum will be auctioning this "Godfather Clock" and "Pocket Peace" in early March, 2009.

Joseph
Giuseppe Bonanno Watch

A yellow gold Patek Philippe, Ref. 1516, that belonged to the late Giuseppe Bonanno, Sr. (the “Godfather” of the Bonanno crime family) is also included in Antiquorum’s upcoming auction. It is a fine, extremely rare and important, 18K yellow gold wristwatch, which is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from his daughter, Catherine Bonanno.

Mr. Bonanno was an original member of the “Commission,” founded in 1931, whose purpose was to establish rule by consensus among the crime families. Other members included the leaders of the Five New York Families: Charlie Luciano , Joseph Profaci , Gaetano Gagliano and Vincent Mangano. It is thought that the character of “Vito Corleone” in Mario Puzo’s novel, “The Godfather” was inspired by Bonanno. The watch was given to him by Charlie “Lucky” Luciano in 1957 in Sicily.

Estimate: $ 5,000-$ 8,000.

Joseph
Gandhi Pocket Watch

In addition, Mahatma Gandhi’s silver Zenith pocket watch (circa 1910-1915) is expected to attract significant interest. The pocket watch belonged to Gandhi, who later gave it to his grandniece, Abha Gandhi, his assistant of six years, and in whose arms he died. Also offered as part of the same lot are Gandhi’s sandals, glasses, bowl, plate, and letters of authenticity.

A beloved leader of India’s independence movement and one of history’s most widely-recognized and revered civil rights leaders, Gandhi pioneered non-violent civil disobedience and pacifism in response to tyranny.

Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000.

Auction-->
LINK

Also included is the "Kennedy Onassis" Watch, a waterproof Nastrix wristwatch owned by both President John Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis. Oh Jackie, that's so not cool...

See related;
Albert Einstein's Wristwatch Auction-->LINK


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Top Ten Haunted Horrorology - The Ghosts of Halloween Past

Top Ten Haunted Horrorology - The Ghosts of Halloween PastA Compendium of all the scariest posts on The Watchismo Times. Have the time of your life death!

Click each title for links to the original stories.
Top Ten Haunted Horrorology - The Ghosts of Halloween PastTop Ten Haunted Horrorology - The Ghosts of Halloween Past
Top Ten Haunted Horrorology - The Ghosts of Halloween PastTop Ten Haunted Horrorology - The Ghosts of Halloween PastTop Ten Haunted Horrorology - The Ghosts of Halloween PastTop Ten Haunted Horrorology - The Ghosts of Halloween PastTop Ten Haunted Horrorology - The Ghosts of Halloween Past

Top Ten Haunted Horrorology - The Ghosts of Halloween Past
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TIME IS RELATIVELY FOR SALE - ALBERT EINSTEIN'S WATCH UP FOR AUCTION!

TIME IS RELATIVELY FOR SALE - ALBERT EINSTEIN'S WATCH UP FOR AUCTION!Probably one of the more interesting objects you could own from Albert Einstein. Einstein once said, "the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one." Too bad we can't ask him what a real timepiece should look like...

And if you'd like to own his personal Longines wristwatch from 1930, here is your chance. Antiquorum is auctioning it off October 16th in New York City.

Valued between $25,000 and $35,000, I imagine it will go much higher. They will provide photos showing Einstein wearing the watch. Auction press release-->Link


TIME IS RELATIVELY FOR SALE - ALBERT EINSTEIN'S WATCH UP FOR AUCTION!
SEE ALSO;
All Watchismo Times Antique Timepiece Posts
All Vintage Watch Posts




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Ignatz Flying Pendulum Clocks of 1883 and 1965 - Powered by a Tetherball Escapement


Watch the video above to see the unusual way this watch powers itself (or this->link)


The original flying pendulum clock (shown above) was invented, and patented, by Christian Clausen of Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1883. Clausen described it as "the craziest clock in the world" due to the motion of the tetherball style escapement with a ball and string. It was originally sold by the New Haven Clock Company (under the Jerome & Co. name) for about a year (1884-1885). It is reported that these clocks were sold to Jewelry stores to display in their windows to attract the attention of passing shoppers.

It got the name "Ignatz" from Dr. Rowell (a noted clock collector) in 1935. Dr. Rowell felt this clock had the personality of Ignatz, the mouse in the old Krazy Kat comic strip. The name stuck as it is still called this today. The original New Haven Flying Pendulum clocks are quite rare. This reproduction was manufactured by the Horolovar Company between 1965 and 1975. The movement was made in Germany and was cased at Horolovar in Bronxville, NY.

Shots of the Horolvar reproductions of 1965-1975
(some of these can be found online for around $200-300)

The tetherball escapement




Videos of other flying pendulum clocks (above; an Italian reproduction - below; a homemade wood clock)



See also;
All Watchismo Times Clock Posts


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Ancient Nerds - History of Computing & The Earliest Calculating Devices

Neatorama.com has a fantastic overview of the history of computing with a special focus of early mechanical calculating devices-->LINK

Some examples from the feature;

Ancient Nerds - History of Computing & The Earliest Calculating DevicesThe 2000 year old Antikythera Mechanism, the worlds oldest computing device (and 1000 years more advanced than comparable mechanisms). Only discovered 100 years ago in a shipwreck.

Ancient Nerds - History of Computing & The Earliest Calculating DevicesWilhelm Schickard’s Calculating Clock (1632) that could add and subtract six-digit numbers (with a bell as an overflow alarm). This invention was used by his friend, astronomer Johannes Kepler, to calculate astronomical tables, which was a big leap for astronomy at the time. For this, Wilhelm Schickard was considered by some to be the "Father of Computer Age."

Ancient Nerds - History of Computing & The Earliest Calculating DevicesBlaise Pascal’s Pascaline (or Arithmetique) from 1645 - The basic mechanism of the Pascaline is a series of gears - when the first gear with ten teeth made one rotation (one to ten), it shifts a second gear until it rotated ten times (one hundred). The second gear shifted a third one (thousands) and so on. This mechanism is still in use today in car odometers, electricity meters and at the gas pumps.

Ancient Nerds - History of Computing & The Earliest Calculating DevicesGerman mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz' Stepped Reckoner of the 17th century was inspired by a steps-counting machine (pedometer) he saw to build his own calculator. Leibniz’s design used a special type of gear called the Stepped Drum or Leibniz wheel, a cylinder with nine bar-shaped teeth along its length.

Ancient Nerds - History of Computing & The Earliest Calculating DevicesCharles Babbage’s Difference Engine from 1822 was considered one of the first mechanical computers. Despite of its unwieldy design, his plan called for a basic architecture very similar to that of a modern computer.

Ancient Nerds - History of Computing & The Earliest Calculating DevicesDuring World War II, Nazi Germany used an electro-mechanical cipher machine called Enigma to encrypt and decrypt coded messages. It used rotors to substitute letters (for example, an "E" might be coded as "T"). The genius of the Enigma was that the machine used polyalphabetic cipher, where the rotation of the rotors allowed each subsequent letters to be encoded in a different manner. (For example, "EEE" might be become "TIF").

See the rest, including the dawn of digital computing here-->Link

via BoingBoing from Neatorama

See also;
All Watchmaking Posts
History of the First Digital Calculator Watches
1960s Juvenia Protractor Watch
Multi-Functional Watches
Slide Rule Wristwatches
Gadget Timepieces


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Killing Time - Horological Weaponry

Killing Time - Horological WeaponryI'm dying to tell you about this killer visual history detailing lethal miniaturized (spy) guns built inside everyday objects like pocket watches, rings, pens, locks, pipes, and even in a crucifix! The ultimate Memento Mori timepiece, the only watches that'll tell you when you're truly out of time...

For thematic purposes, here are the pocket watch guns... See the rest of the collection at Dark Roasted Blend-->Link

Killing Time - Horological WeaponryA very rare English 0.3 Caliber Pocket Watch Pistol

Killing Time - Horological Weaponry
Killing Time - Horological WeaponryI think one of these were found on the grassy knoll outside Ford's Theatre

Killing Time - Horological Weaponry
Killing Time - Horological Weaponry

Killing Time - Horological WeaponryA ladies timepiece wasn't an obvious choice
So a Pistol Ring "Femme Fatale" was made.
circa 1870 & Packing a .6 Caliber six-shooter

Killing Time - Horological Weaponry
From-->Dark Roasted Blend (via Core77) & thanks to Greg @ Genuine Ideas

Many More Related Posts at The Watchismo Times...

See Weapon Related Watch Posts;
Sicura Knife Watch
Wristwatches of War
1941 Panerai Commando Set
Gunpowder Flask Watch
The Defenseband - Choking Watch Strap
Movado Seduction Weapon


See Subminiature & Hidden Watch Posts;
Shoot To Kilfitt - Subminiature Camera-Watch

Subminiature Camera Watches
Steinheil Camera Watch
Victorian Camera Pocket Watch
1950s Minifon Spy Recorder Watch
Victorian Wrist Horn
Rolex Lipstick Watch
Omega Ring Watch
Rolex Ring Watch

Walking Stick Watches
James Bond Movie Gadget Watches
1947 Wrist Lighter

See Memento Mori Watch/Clock Posts;
Time of your Life and Death - Mr. Jones Watches
Time of your Life - Mr. Jones Watches
Wake Up...Time To Die Clock
1610 Screaming Skull Clock
Mary Queen of Scots Skull Watch
Rock Crystal 1710 Skull Watch
Rolling Eyeball Skull Clocks
Painfully Real Cuckoo Clock
19th Century Bone Watches
Arthropodal Watchworks

All Memento Mori Posts



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A Century of Rolex Watches - Antiquorum Thematic Auction

A Century of Rolex Watches - Antiquorum Thematic Auction
Antiquorum celebrates a century of Rolex watches with a thematic sale.

The year 2008 marks the 100th anniversary of Rolex. Antiquorum Auctioneers, the world’s leading auction house for timepieces, will celebrate this important event with the exceptional sale “Revolution: The Evolution of the Rolex Sport Watch” on April 17th at Antiquorum’s US headquarters located at 595 Madison Avenue in New York City.

See highlights of the auction here-->LINK


(Featured above)
Rolex “Space Dweller” Ref. 1016
Extremely rare, first introduced to the Japanese market in 1963, just after a visit to Japan by the Mercury astronauts.
Estimate: $20,000 -$30,000 (US)


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Use Your Phonograph as an Alarm Clock - Popular Science 1932

Use Your Phonograph as an Alarm Clock - Popular Science 1932
USE PHONOGRAPH AS AN ALARM CLOCK

"A novel attachment for the phonograph by which a heavy sleeper may be aroused at any hour he wishes by soft music, was recently shown in London, England. The alarm-clock device is set at the desired hour, and wound. A brake on the turntable of the phonograph is released at the set hour by a slight pull from the alarm key of the clock."


Use Your Phonograph as an Alarm Clock - Popular Science 19321932 Issue of Popular Science

Via Modern Mechanix

See also;
All Modern Mechanix Posts at Watchismo
All Clock Posts


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You Dirty Dirty Horologist - Hardcore Erotic Automaton Pocket Watches 1800s-TodayJoseph "Joey Bananas" Bonanno and Mahatma Gandhi Watch AuctionsTop Ten Haunted Horrorology - The Ghosts of Halloween PastTIME IS RELATIVELY FOR SALE - ALBERT EINSTEIN'S WATCH UP FOR AUCTION!Ignatz Flying Pendulum Clocks of 1883 and 1965 - Powered by a Tetherball EscapementAncient Nerds - History of Computing & The Earliest Calculating DevicesKilling Time - Horological WeaponryA Century of Rolex Watches - Antiquorum Thematic AuctionUse Your Phonograph as an Alarm Clock - Popular Science 1932

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