The “Musique d’Amour” watch, believed to be crafted by Henry Capt, is one of a collection of 30 erotic timepieces Antiquorum is auctioning off in Geneva next week.

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Geneva—A unique collection of more than 30 erotic watches and system objects that are the property of a European collector are among the timepieces Antiquorum will offer on March 27 here as part of its “Important Modern and Vintage Timepieces” auction.
 
The highlight of this collection is a repeating musical watch with four actions and a concealed erotic automaton. Dubbed “Musique d’Amour” and made in 1810, the watch is believed to be the work of Genevan watchmaker Henry Capt.

The watch is one of the very few known watches with two automaton scenes and has a higher specification than most. It has three animations on the dial instead of the usual two: the scene featuring the musicians and birds on the dial plate and the concealed erotic scene, playing at will. The watch is expected to garner between about $77,500 and $99,600 at auction.

“Important Modern and Vintage Timepieces,” is scheduled to take place at the Mandarin Oriental Geneva beginning at 10 a.m. and will feature a total of 564 modern and vintage timepieces.

Headlining the auction is a platinum Patek Philippe Ref. 3939 HP, an extremely rare minute-repeating watch with one-minute tourbillon regulator and enamel Breguet dial. It is believed this is only the fifth watch of its kind to appear at auction and is estimated to fetch between $442,600 and $553,400.

Also up for sale is a 14-karat yellow gold Rolex “Oyster Perpetual” Ref. 6284 with cloisonné enamel dial by Marguerite Koch with a map of North and South America on it (below). Estimated sale price for this timepiece is about $143,900 to about $210,400.



Previews for will be held in Geneva on March 26 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Antiquorum Geneva Showroom.