2. Rolex Unicorn wristwatch presented by aviation pioneer Charles Ulm, “the Lindbergh of the Pacific,” who vanished without a trace near Hawaii in 1934. 1930's Rolex Unicorn 9k rose gold watch with original “sunburst” champagne dial with luminous numbers. 15j unadjusted, undecorated lever escapement movement signed Rolex. Ulm joined the Australian expeditionary force (AIF) in September 1914 at the age of 15. He fought and was wounded at Gallipoli in 1915 and on the Western Front in 1918. After the war, he purchased a surplus Avro X aircraft from Australian National Airways and re-named it “Faith in Australia.” In this aircraft, Ulm flew from England to Australia in 1933 in 6 days, 17 hours and 56 minutes—a new speed record. In 1934, once again flying Faith in Australia, Ulm carried the first official airmail from New Zealand to Australia. That same year, Ulm founded Great Pacific Airways, intending to operate a San Francisco-Sydney air service.  Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. In December 1934, while piloting a heavily modified Envoy aircraft, Ulm and his flight crew disappeared over Hawaii in heavy weather. Despite an immediate search by more than 20 US Navy vessels, no trace of Ulm, his companions or his aircraft were ever found. The inscription on this watch “To A.B. from CTP Ulm Faith in Australia,” likely refers to Austin Byrne, Ulm’s friend, supporter and, later, biographer.

3. Special Edition Universal Geneve Polarouter Wristwatch. Stainless-steel, screw-back, anti-magnetic wristwatch, model 20217-6, fitted with Universal Genève caliber 138SS bumper automatic 17j movement. 36mm overall in diameter. Produced in 1954, the Polarouter (later Polerouter) was the first wristwatch styled by legendary industrial designer Gerald Genta. Created to commemorate SAS’s (Scandinavian Airlines Systems) first over-the-pole flights from Copenhagen to Los Angeles, Universal Genève produced a small number of these special edition watches, with the SAS logo on the dial, that were distributed to the pilots and crew on the first flights—as well as a number of dignitaries (including three prime ministers) who came along as passengers. Using the polar route as a shortcut on the Copenhagen-Los Angeles run cut the flight time from 36 to 22 hours. However, flying over the North Pole posed serious challenges.  For example, SAS had to develop an entirely new navigational system to compensate for the extreme magnetic fields found near the pole. The other issue was basic timekeeping—the magnetic fields also wreaked havoc with mechanical clocks, including the wristwatches worn by the pilots and crew. To address the latter issue, Universal Genève, which had a long history of producing specialist, anti-magnetic timepieces, created the Polarouter. In time, Universal Genève became the sole supplier of chronometer and anti-magnetic watches to SAS. The Polarouter, along with the Rolex Milgauss and Omega Railmaster, was one of a number of specially designed wristwatches that were produced in the mid-1950s expressly to address problems created by magnetic fields in a number of settings. Over time, advances in materials science made it much easier (and less expensive) to produce effective antimagnetic watches.

9. Dent Explorers Watch as used by the Royal Geographic Society. A fine and rare silver, open-face pocket watch. The case is signed “Dent, Watchmaker to the Queen, 33 Cockspur Street, Charring Cross, London.” Gilt-frosted three-quarter plate fully-jeweled movement, bimetallic balance, diamond capstones, silver cuvette, white enamel dial, Roman numerals, outer railway minute divisions, subsidiary seconds, large circular plain case, and hinged back. The case is numbered and stamped with the case-maker's mark. Dial and movement also signed and numbered. Such water-resistant "Explorers" watches were frequently commissioned by The Royal Geographic Society for use on expeditions to places where severe climate conditions might be expected. The sealed cases protected the movement against the incursion of dust and moisture. Its design is similar to the silver Longines underwater watch described below.

11. WW1 Hamilton Torpedo Boat Watch. Open-face pocket watch with extremely high grade 21j, pin-set, fully-capped lever escapement movement, with striped-pattern nickel damascene decoration, diamond cap-stones, Guillaume bimetallic balance and 56-hour power reserve. The watch is housed in a massive 69mm sterling silver Crescent Watch Co. case with silvered enamel double-sunk dial. The total weight of the assembled watch is over a half-pound. The total production run of this high-grade chronometer was a mere 970 units of which only a handful survive to this day. The first 500, like the present watch, were paired with the massive sterling silver CWC cases, while the final 470 watches were presented as boxed chronometers mounted in gimbaled chrome tubs within bespoke mahogany boxes. The engraving on the back of this example indicates that it was procured by the Emergency Fleet Corporation, established by the United States Shipping Board, at the outbreak of WW1. The USSB was set up to help expedite the expansion of the US fleet to protect shipping lanes during the war. In 1913, the US had a much smaller fleet than many of the principal European powers and the USSB was intended, through the procurement of ships and associated material, to close that gap as quickly as possible. And so it was that watches intended for civilian use were pressed into military service.

13. Patek Philippe pocket watch attributed to Countess Marie Larisch that recalls her involvement in secret and scandalous events that helped precipitate World War I.  An early 18K gold half-hunter case keyless lever escapement pocket watch signed Patek, Philippe & Co., Geneva, manufactured in 1879 and lavishly engraved with Larisch’s initials and coronet – possibly a 21st birthday present from her aunt, the Empress, based on information in the Patek archive records.  The watch is fitted with a Cal. 15 gilt-finished jeweled lever movement with wolf's tooth winding, gold cuvette, white enamel dial, Roman numerals, subsidiary seconds, engine-turned case, raised Roman numeral chapters to the front lid surrounding the aperture, cuvette signed, 30mm diameter. The Mayerling incident concerns events surrounding the alleged murder–suicide on 30 January 1889 of Elisabeth’s son, Crown Prince Rudolf, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his lover, Baroness Mary Vetsera. Countess Marie, a close confidante of the Empress, served as the go-between for Rudolf and Mary, facilitating their affair.  The death of the Crown Prince interrupted the direct line of the Habsburg dynasty. As Rudolf had no son, the line of succession passed to Franz Joseph's brother, Archduke Karl Ludwig, and his eldest son, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This destabilization impeded the growing reconciliation between the Austrian and Hungarian factions of the empire. This fissure ultimately led to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie by Gavrilo Princip, a Yugoslav nationalist, at Sarajevo in June 1914, and the July Crisis that led to the start of the First World War. This watch provides a fascinating link to these momentous events.

14. Vacheron Chossat chiming pocket watch from a little-known chapter in Vacheron’s history. 18K yellow gold quarter repeating (15 minutes intervals) pocket watch with musical chimes, 42mm diameter, circa 1816. Abraham Vacheron took a partner in 1786, Barthélémy Girod, and the company thereafter became Vacheron Girod. When Girod retired in 1816, Charles-François Chossat stepped briefly into his shoes. However, by 1819, Chossat had retired as well—replaced by François Constantin, whose name the firm still bears more than 200 years later. Consequently, the dial signature here—Vacheron Chossat—is quite uncommon. This particular watch features musical chimes, a Vacheron specialty. It is quite an early example, produced just ten years after Vacheron produced its first musical chiming watch in 1806. The repeating mechanism—which allows the approximate time to be heard—was no mere technical flourish. At a time when convenient sources of artificial lighting did not exist, people often had to rely on senses other than vision.

15. Vacheron Constantin 18K gold pocket watch with decoration by legendary enamel artist, Carlo Poluzzi. Yellow gold cased 17j lever escapement pocket watch with exquisitely enameled case by a true master of the craft. Indeed, Carlo Poluzzi is widely considered to be one of the greatest enamel artist of the 20th century. This watch bears Poluzzi’s recreation of Adrien Brouwer’s masterpiece, Le Fumeur of 1637. Brouwer was a significant figure in the field of so-called “genre” painting, often depicting the lower classes engaged in stereotypical pursuits: drinking, gambling, smoking, dancing, fighting, etc. His portraits—typically either just the face or the head & shoulders, were filled with extraordinary detail, making them a particularly difficult subject matter for duplication in enamel. Poluzzi, however, has done an admirable job here, producing an interpretation of Brouwer’s painting that preserves much of the wonderful character of the 17th century original.

18. Certina DS2 underwater wristwatch worn by scientist and record-setting undersea explorer John Vanderwalker during the Tektite mission.  Stainless steel diving watch in oversized tonneau-shaped case with elapsed time bezel rated to a depth of 3,300ft/1000m.  Circa 1969, fitted with caliber 25-651 27j automatic movement.  Overall diameter 44.5mm.  Hands and indices painted with luminous material for underwater legibility.  Between 28 January and 12 February 1969, a detachment of US Navy divers from Amphibious Construction Battalion 2, augmented by an additional 17 Seabee divers from the US Navy Atlantic and Pacific fleets, installed the Tektite habitat in Great Lameshur Bay in the U. S. Virgin Islands.  On 15 February 1969, four U.S. Department of Interior scientists – Ed Clifton, Conrad Mahnken, Richard Waller and John VanDerwalker – descended to the ocean floor to begin the ambitious diving project dubbed "Tektite I.”  By March 18, 1969, the four aquanauts had established a new world's record for saturation diving by a single team.  On April 15, 1969, the aquanaut team returned to the surface with over 58 days of marine scientific studies.  More than 19 hours of decompression time were needed to accommodate the scientists' return to the surface.  This watch, supplied as a prototype to the Tektite team, was worn by Vanderwalker during the Tektite mission – as can be seen in the previously unpublished mission photographs with which the watch is presented.

19. Omega Speedmaster Wristwatch owned and worn by celebrated Australian adventurer Denis Bartell OAM during his solo walk across the Simpson Desert. Stainless steel Omega wristwatch reference #145.022-69ST fitted with manual winding 17j chronograph caliber 861 movement. Overall 42 mm diameter.   The Omega reference 145.022-69 is the last “Pre-Moon” iteration as it was designed before the first moon landing in July 1969, but only launched in December 1969 and in production until around 1971. The first models were produced with the instantly recognizable Hippocampus logo and brand name on the back, while subsequent versions made reference to the moon landing. The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in South Australia and Queensland. It is the fourth-largest Australian desert, with an area of 70,000 square miles. In 1984, using this watch for navigational purposes, Dennis Bartel became the first non-aboriginal man to walk solo and unsupported across the Simpson Desert – a total of 390 km in 24 days. Bartell relied on a network of old Aboriginal wells for water. Bartell’s career as a desert explorer is chronicled in numerous books and documentaries including the 1985 film Desert Walker. More strongly associated with space travel—the Omega Speedmaster was worn by the astronauts of NASA’s Apollo XI, Bartell’s Speedmaster was apparently equally well-suited to the rigors of the Australian desert.

WATCH THE DESERT WALKER HERE

20. Smiths wristwatch belonging to famed British mountaineer George Sutton. An early – 1952 or 1953 – 15j lever escapement Smiths watch in a chromed 33.5 mm second-execution Dennison “Aquatite” water-resisting case, featuring correct second-type slotted dust-cover to permit visual inspection of the movement. The case shows significant wear consistent with the long-term rugged use to which this timepiece was subjected by one of Britain’s most famous mountaineers. Original factory 18mm strap appears to be present. This watch was supplied directly by the manufacturer to the expedition in 1953, and worn by Sutton throughout his historic 1954-1955 expedition to South Georgia, including his historic assault on Mt. Paget. Sutton’s wristwatch, factory engraved with the expedition name and dates, is referenced at multiple points (see e.g. p. 165) in his book, Glacier Island (London, 1957), including among the official list of provisions donated to the expedition (Appendix II, p. 219). A rare artefact of Britain’s historic climbing legacy. Alongside the watch are previously unknown original expedition photographs and correspondence.

21. Hafis wristwatch worn by Murray Douglas as part of the New Zealand contingent of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition OF 1956-1957 led by Sir Edmund Hilary. Murray was an expert dog handler and mountain guide much favored by Hilary. According to one colorful account, “Douglas had originally been assigned as a member of the summer party only for the 1956-57 season. However, Hillary had seen the need for an extra person to help out with the dogs and decided that Douglas should remain for the coming year. Hillary had not gained Ross Sea Committee approval for this change and towards the end of the summer season, rather than make a formal request, he decided to send Douglas on an extended sledging journey to ensure that Endeavour would have sailed north by the time he returned to Scott Base. The RSC were not amused calling Hillary’s gambit “a somewhat high-handed action.” With no practical alternative, the RSC was forced to acquiesce and allow Douglas to remain.” Mount Douglas (1750m) on the Fry Glacier is named for Murray Douglas.

22. Extremely Early Rolex Calendar/Centre Seconds Officer’s Watch. 1913 Rolex “trench” style watch, silver case with Birmingham hallmarks, 15j lever escapement movement, unadjusted, with original central (sweep) seconds and retrograde date complication. Movement, case and high-fired original enamel dial all signed Rolex (with dial signature applied before firing). Blued steel hands with rose gold original onion crown. Wristwatches with date indication and a sweep second hand became standard in the watch industry by the 1940s. In 1913, however, it was quite rare to find a sweep second wristwatch of any kind—most displayed the seconds in a small, inset subsidiary dial. It is all but unheard of to find a sweep second watch combined with a date indicator from that period. Indeed, this wristwatch is one of the earliest known embodiments of these two soon-to-be ubiquitous features—and it is almost certainly the first with a retrograde indicator (i.e. the date indicator runs counter-clockwise whilst all of the other hands run clockwise). This is a rare and important wristwatch that prefigured what would become the world’s most ubiquitous wristwatch format.