London – An exceptional silver Breguet hump-backed carriage clock commissioned by Ettore Bugatti, the Italian-born French car designer and manufacturer, was the star at Bonhams Fine Clock Sale on 29 November. Following competitive phone bidding, the clock achieved more than £216,000. The 109-lot sale achieved £655,198 and sold 98% by value.

James Stratton, Bonhams Director of Clocks comments, "The clock would have been a constant companion to Bugatti as he steered the company over the following years, producing some of the most powerful and beautiful cars of the 20th century. This really was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire an object steeped in both automotive and horological history and I'm delighted with the result."

Ettore Bugatti transformed the world of motoring, founding the eponymous firm which was to become one of the most celebrated marques on the world stage. Like many car aficionados, Bugatti also had a love for clocks, and it was only natural that he went to the equally driven firm of clockmakers, Breguet of Paris, in 1931, the year of his 50th birthday, to purchase one of the most complex domestic timepieces of the period.

Clock No. 759 took three years to complete and its remarkable movement, housed in a silver case and protected by a secret opening mechanism, has a perpetual calendar that accounts for leap days every four years. It retains the original velvet lined travel case and original keys along with its certificate, No 3278.

Other highlights in the sale include:

• A late 17th century olivewood, boxwood and ebonised parquetry and oyster inlaid longcase clock with 10-inch dial. Sold for £114, 700, over three times its pre-sale estimate of £20,000-30,000.

• A late 17th century walnut veneered table clock, Joseph Knibb, Londini Fecit sold for £28,160 (pre-sale estimate £20,000-30,000).

• A very fine and small second quarter of the 18th century brass-bound ebonised quarter repeating table clock, James Snelling, London sold for £20,480 (pre-sale estimate: £10,000-15,000).

• A fine and rare 19th century brass inlaid mahogany floor standing organ clock playing twelve tunes, together with two additional barrels. John Moore & Sons, Clerkenwell, London sold for £19,200 (pre-sale estimate £10,000-15,000).

• A rare opusculum signed by Wilde's son Vyvyan Holland sold for £960 over three times its estimate (pre-sale estimate £200-300). It was part of a collection, offered in the sale, of unique annotated books and ephemera which had belonged to Rupert Gould, the extraordinary polymath, broadcaster, and horologist.

6 December 2023