Our first live auctions of fall 2024 season, PHILLIPS RELOADED: The Rebirth of Mechanical Watchmaking, 1980-1999, and the Geneva Watch Auction: XX, take place on November 8, 9, and 10, at the Hotel President, at Quai Wilson 47, in central Geneva. The auctions include more than 195 of the world's finest watches – and though we are loath to boast, we truly think they're some of the best catalogs we've ever put together. We'll be highlighting a number of the most interesting lots and stories featured in the sales over the next month, including the watches highlighted in this article.
– By Logan Baker
The Oval Pocket Watch, crafted by Derek Pratt, stands as a monumental achievement in the field of watchmaking.
Recognized as one of the most significant pieces of modern horological history, this one-of-a-kind timepiece reflects not only Pratt's technical brilliance but also his deep understanding of traditional watchmaking craftsmanship. Its widely regarded as Pratt’s magnum opus, symbolizing a career dedicated to the pursuit of mechanical perfection.
A contemporary and friend of George Daniels, Derek Pratt was a talented English watchmaker who shared the same guiding principles of precision and artisanal craftsmanship. Pratt was also known for his work restoring historically important pocket watches, especially those belonging to the renowned watch collector and expert Peter Baumberger.
His contribution to Urban Jürgensen & Sønner, a company owned by Baumberger, where he completed around 34 pocket watches, underscores his expertise in creating timepieces with extraordinary complications.
Of those watches, 20 were fitted with perpetual calendars paired with either a minute repeater or split-seconds chronograph – or, in some cases, all three complications combined. Pratt also crafted 12 pocket watches with a tourbillon, some of which included a remontoire constant-force mechanism, a highly advanced feature in watchmaking best known for its use by F.P. Journe.
Among this impressive body of work stands the Oval Pocket Watch, a piece whose complexity and craftsmanship make it an unparalleled object of interest.
As it makes its first-ever appearance at auction at Phillips RELOADED, on November 8, 2024, this extraordinary timepiece, which has long resided in the private collection of the esteemed Dr. Helmut Crott, a friend of Pratt's and Baumberger's, offers not just an opportunity to own a masterpiece, but a once-in-a-lifetime chance to acquire a cornerstone of modern horological history.
The Derek Pratt Oval Pocket Watch – officially the Detent Escapement Tourbillon with Remontoire in an oval case, but better known by its simplified moniker – represents the crowning achievement of Derek Pratt’s storied career, and indeed one of the greatest horological feats of the 20th century. This is not an overstatement. The Oval stands shoulder to shoulder with the Patek Philippe Graves Supercomplication and the Vacheron Constantin King Farouk as a defining creation of its era.
Yet unlike those legendary pieces, the Oval remained shrouded in a veil of mystery for much of its existence, more talked about than seen, more admired in the abstract than physically encountered.
This, however, is no mere mystery. It is a testament to the remarkable man behind it, Derek Pratt – a horologist whose legacy, though less publicized than some of his contemporaries, left an indelible mark on the field of precision watchmaking.
Derek Pratt
To understand the Oval, one must first understand the man behind it.
Derek Pratt was not just a brilliant watchmaker; he was a pioneer, a craftsman of unparalleled dedication, and an artist whose canvases happened to be movements and dials. Pratt’s career spanned several decades, during which he honed his skills to a level few could match. A contemporary of George Daniels, perhaps the greatest watchmaker of the 20th century, Pratt was Daniels’ peer in every sense, though he often worked quietly in the background.
The two men shared a deep friendship and respect, regularly engaging in Sunday telephone conversations where they would discuss the technical challenges of chronometry and the pursuit of precision. Although Daniels is perhaps more widely recognized, it is said that he frequently sought advice from Pratt, and Pratt even crafted components for some of Daniels’ innovations. Their relationship was one of mutual admiration, and while Daniels may have received more public accolades, Pratt’s influence on modern horology cannot be overstated.
Pratt’s technical prowess earned him numerous awards throughout his life. He was named a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in 1979 and a Liveryman in 1982. In 1992, he received the British Horological Institute’s silver medal, and in 1999, he was honored with the prestigious Prix Gaïa for artisanal creation, a fitting recognition for a man who elevated watchmaking to an art form. In 2005, just a year before his death, Pratt was awarded the Tompion Gold Medal by the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, solidifying his place among the giants of horological history.
Yet for all his achievements, Pratt never sought fame. His greatest works were produced under the auspices of Urban Jürgensen, where he served as technical director from 1982 until 2005. It was during this period that Pratt not only designed complications for the brand but also created some of its most iconic guilloché dials. However, his true passion lay elsewhere: in pocket watches and the pursuit of ultimate chronometry.
It was here, in the world of precision timekeeping and traditional watchmaking techniques, that Pratt truly excelled.
The Birth of the Oval
The story of the Derek Pratt Oval begins with a childhood fascination. In an interview published in the Horological Journal in April 1993, Pratt recalled how, as a boy, he had been captivated by the shape of oval tins. This seemingly innocuous interest planted a seed in his mind, one that would later grow into an ambition to create an oval watch – an ambition that crystallized when he encountered an oval pocket watch made by none other than Abraham-Louis Breguet, perhaps the greatest watchmaker of all time.
The watch in question, Breguet No. 1682/4761, was crafted in 1822 for Count Nikita Petrovich Panin, an influential Russian nobleman, and was later owned by the legendary pianist Arthur Rubinstein. Seeing this oval masterpiece was a revelation for Pratt. He was inspired not only by the shape but by the sheer audacity of creating a mechanical marvel in such an unconventional form. It was a homage to the giants of horology – Breguet, John Arnold, and Professor Alfred Helwig – that Pratt set out to create his own oval timepiece.
Work on the Oval began in 1982, a time when mechanical watches were facing an existential crisis brought on by the Quartz Revolution. Many traditional watchmakers were closing their doors, unable to compete with the affordability and accuracy of quartz timepieces. But for Pratt, this was not the time to capitulate to the tide of modernity. Instead, he doubled down on tradition, determined to create a timepiece that would not only stand the test of time but elevate mechanical watchmaking to new heights.
A Labor of Love
The Oval Pocket Watch, unlike most contemporary watches, was handmade entirely from scratch, with Pratt meticulously crafting every component using raw materials such as brass, steel, and gold. In contrast to modern watchmaking methods, which often rely on CNC machines, Pratt employed manually operated tools to shape and construct the components of this watch. The sheer dedication to creating a timepiece using traditional techniques elevates this watch beyond its technical attributes to a work of art.
The oval shape of the watch presented Pratt with numerous challenges, but it also allowed him to achieve a rare balance and harmony in both form and function. Pratt himself noted that the oval design creates a symmetry between the large flying barrel and the flying tourbillon cage, each aligned with the ellipse's focal points. The unconventional shape also made the dial more spacious, allowing for a larger and more elegant seconds scale. The unique ergonomics make the Oval Pocket Watch a pleasure to hold, fitting naturally into the palm while offering a view of its mechanical beauty.
The Movement
At the heart of the Derek Pratt Oval lies a movement that is nothing short of a technical masterpiece. It is a symphony of precision engineering, handcraftsmanship, and mechanical ingenuity. And like all great symphonies, it is composed of several distinct movements, each contributing to the whole.
The first and most prominent of these is the tourbillon. In a traditional watch, the escapement – the part of the movement that regulates the release of energy – is fixed in one position, which can result in timing errors caused by gravity’s effect on the balance wheel. The tourbillon, invented by Breguet in 1795, counters this by placing the escapement in a rotating cage, thus averaging out positional errors and improving accuracy.
In the case of the Oval, the tourbillon is visible through the back of the watch, a marvel of engineering that is as beautiful as it is functional.
But Pratt did not stop at a simple tourbillon. He incorporated a detent escapement, a rare and highly sought-after form of escapement typically found in marine chronometers. Developed in the 18th century, the detent escapement is renowned for its precision, as it allows the balance wheel to swing freely for most of its cycle, only receiving an impulse once per rotation. This reduces friction and minimizes the need for lubrication, making it one of the most precise escapements ever devised.
In addition to the detent escapement, Pratt integrated a remontoire into the tourbillon. A remontoire is a constant-force mechanism that ensures a steady flow of energy to the escapement, regardless of the state of wind of the mainspring. This not only improves accuracy but also ensures that the watch maintains its precision over the entire power reserve. As Pratt himself wrote in the Horological Journal in July 1991, “many remontoire mechanisms have been made over the last 300 hundred years or so, but, as far as I know, this watch is the first to have a remontoire incorporated in the carriage of a tourbillon and is, therefore, something new or innovative.”
The level of precision required to create such a mechanism is staggering.
Each component had to be crafted to incredibly tight tolerances, assembled with exacting care, and then regulated to perfection. It is no wonder that the watch took over two decades to complete, with Pratt working on it in fits and starts as other projects demanded his attention.
The gilt, oval movement within the watch is a compendium of technical mastery. It boasts a central minute-wheel bridge, a flying mainspring barrel, a one-minute tourbillon with a flying cage, and the notable remontoire constant-force mechanism, paired with an Earnshaw-style spring-detent escapement. Each element has been finely finished by hand, with various decorative techniques including graining, matting, flat-polishing, and damascening applied with meticulous precision.
The perlage pattern on the main plate, combined with the radiating, striped decoration focusing attention on the tourbillon, creates an aesthetically pleasing contrast between the polished and matte surfaces. Pratt’s finishing skills are displayed in every component, down to the handmade screws, which bear his signature craftsmanship with bevelled slots and polished heads.
Pratt dedicated over 23 years to perfecting this timepiece, with the Oval Pocket Watch first appearing in its unfinished form at the Basel Fair in 1993. Despite the watch’s long journey from inception to completion, Pratt’s persistence resulted in a timepiece that remains one of the most revered and sought-after by collectors today.
Dial and Case
If the movement is the beating heart of the Oval, then the dial is its face – a face that, like a great painting, reveals new layers of detail the longer one studies it. The dial is a masterpiece in its own right, a testament to Pratt’s skill as a guillocheur and his commitment to traditional handcraftsmanship.
The dial of the Oval Pocket Watch is a testament to Pratt's skills in design and craftsmanship. Divided into three sections and engine-turned by hand, the dial features a moon phase at 12 o'clock, a precise hour chapter ring, and a large, overlapping seconds counter at 6 o'clock.
Derek Pratt’s attention to detail extended to the hand-made gold Breguet hands, each chamfered and polished to perfection. The case of the Oval Pocket Watch is equally impressive, consisting of four intricately crafted parts. Pratt initially made a silver case entirely by hand, later followed by platinum and red gold cases produced by Bruno Affolter between 2005 and 2006. Despite the aid of CNC machines in creating these later cases, the process still required immense skill due to the complexity of working with the brittle materials, particularly platinum.
Divided into three distinct sections, the dial is made entirely of solid silver, each section hand-engraved and engine-turned. The moon-phase display, situated at the top of the dial at 12 o’clock, is perhaps the most striking feature, with its intricate cutout meticulously sawn by hand and then reworked with a file to achieve the perfect shape. Below this, the hours and minutes are indicated by central hands, while a large sub-seconds dial occupies the lower half of the watch at six o’clock.
To the left of the dial is a power reserve indicator, showing how much energy remains in the mainspring, while to the right is a thermometer, a nod to the scientific instruments that early watchmakers often incorporated into their designs. Each of these complications is not only functional but adds to the overall balance and symmetry of the watch, a key consideration for Pratt as he designed the piece.
The shape of the Oval is, of course, its most defining feature. While oval cases are rare in horology, they present a unique set of challenges for the watchmaker. The most obvious is the difficulty of manufacturing a case that is not perfectly round, as the traditional methods used to create round cases do not easily adapt to other shapes. For Pratt, this was a challenge he relished.
The original case was made of silver, crafted entirely by hand by Pratt himself. However, in 2005, as the watch neared completion, it was recased in platinum, a metal known for its density and durability. A pink gold version was also produced, but it is the platinum case that houses the watch today.
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of the case was the crystal. Finding a company willing to produce an oval-shaped crystal proved nearly impossible, as most manufacturers were set up to produce round crystals en masse. Undeterred, Pratt took matters into his own hands, crafting the crystals himself. The caseback crystal presented an additional challenge, as it needed to accommodate two holes – one for winding and one for setting the time.
The Final Touch: Kari Voutilainen’s Finishing
By 2004, after over two decades of painstaking work, Pratt’s health was beginning to decline. Realizing that he might not be able to complete the Oval himself, he entrusted the finishing touches to Kari Voutilainen, one of the most talented watchmakers of the modern era and a former colleague from Urban Jürgensen.
Voutilainen, who had already earned a reputation for his superlative finishing, applied the final decoration to the movement, including the underdial, ensuring that every surface was immaculately finished to the highest possible standard. His work not only preserved Pratt’s legacy but enhanced it, bringing the watch to a level of refinement that is rarely seen even in the world of haute horlogerie.
A Legacy for the Ages
The Derek Pratt Oval is more than just a watch; it is a statement of what is possible when one dedicates a lifetime to the pursuit of perfection. From its innovative movement to its beautifully crafted dial and case, every aspect of the Oval reflects Pratt’s unwavering commitment to traditional watchmaking techniques and his relentless quest for precision.
Since its completion in 2005, the Oval has been in the private collection of Dr. Helmut Crott, one of the world’s most respected collectors and scholars of horology. Its upcoming appearance at auction marks the first time it has been offered for sale, and it is unlikely that such an opportunity will present itself again for many years – if ever. For the collector who acquires it, the Oval will not only be a crown jewel but a piece of living horological history.
In a world where mass production and digital technology reign supreme, the Derek Pratt Oval stands as a reminder of the beauty and artistry that can only be achieved through the hands of a true master. The watch stands as a kinetic sculpture, a term Pratt himself used to describe his creation. Its beauty lies not just in the complex interplay of its mechanical components but also in the way these components are harmonized into a singular aesthetic vision. Pratt’s devotion to every detail – from the unique shape of the case to the intricate design of the tourbillon – has ensured that the Oval Pocket Watch is not only a masterpiece of modern horology but also a timeless work of art.
In every sense, it is Derek Pratt’s magnum opus and would be a crown jewel in any serious collection.
You can learn more, place a bid, and view the entire Phillips RELOADED catalog right here.
About Phillips In Association With Bacs & Russo
The team of specialists at PHILLIPS Watches is dedicated to an uncompromised approach to quality, transparency, and client service. Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo holds the world record for the most successful watch auction, with its Geneva Watch Auction: XIV having realized $74.5 million in 2021. Over the course of 2021 and 2022, the company sold 100% of the watches offered, a first in the industry, resulting in the highest annual total in history across all the auction houses at $227 million.
About Logan Baker
Logan has spent the past decade reporting on every aspect of the watch business. He joined Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo at the start of 2023 as the department's Senior Editorial Manager. He splits his time between New York and Geneva.
Recommended Reading
An In-Depth Collectors’ Guide To The Patek Philippe Chronograph Ref. 5070
Patek Philippe’s TV-Shaped Ref. 5020 Is A Genuine ‘90s Deep-Cut