At the December 2025 Sotheby’s Important Watches auction in New York, the world of horology held its breath: a lost piece of Patek Philippe history went under the gavel, an explosive surprise which the Maison itself had barely had time to digest. Only two examples of desk clocks had been known to Patek Philippe until this point, but one member of the Sotheby’s team had kept the existence of a third specimen to herself for the past 15 years – the legendary Chairman Emeritus of the Sotheby’s International Watch Division, Daryn Schnipper.
“The discovery came about when I did the valuation of the private collection of Robert M. Olmstead,” Schnipper exclusively tells WorldTempus, on a call from a Catskills mountaintop. “I knew that the client had some very good watches, but I had no idea what I would find and to say that I was quite shocked to see the clock would be an understatement. Even at that point I knew there were only allegedly two clocks made: one for [Manhattan industrialists] James Ward Packard and the other for Henry Graves. I kept in touch with the client and his wife over the years. Unfortunately he passed away about a year and a half ago, and his wife called me shortly thereafter; the rest is history.”
The revelation of this long-hidden Patek Philippe desk clock, made for New York real estate tycoon Thomas Emery in 1928 and a piece previously unknown to the wider collecting world, electrified even the loftiest horological circles. This remarkable timepiece was presented as part of the Exceptional Discoveries: The Olmsted Complications Collection, the lifetime assemblage of the eponymous financier and collector, which Sotheby’s – and more specifically, Daryn Schnipper – brought to market. Olmsted acquired the clock in 1971, shortly after the original owner’s death, making him only its second owner since its original sale by Patek Philippe. However, it’s a piece that almost didn’t make it to sale at all, for the most sentimental of reasons.
“It was being used by Mr Olmstead as his bedside clock up until almost last year,” reveals Schnipper. “It was still at the bedside when I went back to the house to do the final valuation. Initially the client had agreed that she was going to sell everything except for that clock – she didn't care about the value, she cared that it was his bedside clock and she had quite a sentimental attachment to it. But when she came in to discuss the final sale, she said well, you know, I could be persuaded to add something else. And I told her the reasons why she should add this clock, and she recognised the significance and the opportunity. Not that she was ever in it for the money; she just wanted it as an homage to her husband.”
And what an homage it was. Extraordinary not just for its provenance but for its mechanics and beauty too, the Emery clock is a perpetual calendar ‘Presse-Papier’ desk timepiece featuring moon phases and 10-day up-down indication, housed in a lavishly engraved silver and gold case. It bears Emery’s monogram, and Patek Philippe records confirm its manufacture and sale.
“I called the director and curator at the Patek Philippe Museum, Dr Peter Friess, who is a good friend,” explains Schnipper. “And I said, Peter, have you ever heard of a third one? He said no, definitely not. So I decided, hey, let's wait a week, just for the fun of it. Then I called back and said, guess what? Remember that clock I asked you about? Well, I think I have the third one. At which point he wanted the numbers, and he wanted the clock to come to Switzerland, because it went along with the two other big discoveries.”
Olmstead’s incredible collection also housed two examples of double movements, a pair of Patek Philippe pocket watches with two sets of timekeeping hands and minute repeaters – a first, and apparently last, feature by the Maison. Commissioned by John Motley Morehead III of Union Carbide in the 1920s, their existence was yet another surprise for Patek Philippe, and there’s no documented explanation for their unusual double design. These three significant discoveries, once verified by Patek Philippe, went on tour around the world prior to their sale, stopping off in Hong Kong, London and Geneva before their display and final auction in New York on 8 December 2025.
These timepieces, while Swiss by birth, are New York City heirlooms through and through. “Thomas Emery’s clock was the third and last to be made,” explains Schnipper. “What I found really interesting was that he lived at No. 5 East 68th Street, just off Fifth Avenue, which was only four blocks away from Henry Graves’s residence. So I thought, isn't that fascinating? Because it's very likely he may have seen Henry Graves’s clock and ordered one for himself. He was already a very important patron for the Maison, because he had ordered the very first Perpetual Calendar housed in a wristwatch, that's now at the Patek Philippe Museum. And he had a host of other important watches, so he was a big deal.”
Schnipper is certainly an expert judge of whether a person, or especially a watch, is truly a big deal. She was pivotal in the sale of the legendary Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication which sold for US$11 million in 2014, a world record for any timepiece at auction, against a pre-sale estimate of US$3-US$5 million. The record held until the sale of the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A-010 in 2019. And as for the Thomas Emery Desk Clock? It was offered with a pre-sale estimate of US$500,000 – US$1 million and ultimately sold for US$2,734,000, far exceeding expectations and underscoring the market’s appetite for rare, historically important complications.
However, far from simply being relics of the past, there’s an interesting twist in the tale when it comes to Patek Philippe desk clocks – and one that certainly made Schnipper’s duty to stay quiet about her exciting discovery even more difficult. “Coincidentally, last April at the 2025 Watches and Wonders, Patek announced the launch of a reproduction of the two clocks they knew about, at that point,” smiles Schnipper. “The thing about the clock is that you don't have to hide it. You can keep it at your bedside, your desk, and have it there for everyone to see. You don't have to really worry about it the same way you might think twice about wearing that US$300,000 wristwatch when walking out in the middle of the street. And I think that it appeals to a wider audience of collectors, not just watch collectors. There’s a lot of interest out there.”
But of course, while a new timepiece certainly carries the heritage of Patek Philippe, it can’t boast the glamour and prowess of a clock born in a bygone age of power and progress. For decades, this regal piece sat outside public view and knowledge, unknown even to Patek Philippe’s own archives, until Sotheby’s scholarship, Schnipper’s delicate client relations and Olmsted’s meticulous notes and caretaking brought it into the light. An example distinguished by its condition and historical ownership, it’s now been purchased by another unknown private collector, and surely we won’t see its like again. Or will we? Certainly until last year Patek Philippe was sure there weren’t more than two in existence – so perhaps Schnipper has yet more surprises lurking in the wings? She’s staying tight-lipped – and only time will tell.
