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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Dr. Crott’s 97th auction took place in Frankfurt on 12 May 2018, so the “upcoming” sale in the original headline is now a historical event. This retrospective covers ten lots selected in MONOCHROME Watches’ 5 October 2018 preview. Its euro figures are the preview’s pre-sale estimates—not hammer prices, realized results, or current valuations—and do not indicate that the lots remain available. Read the original preview; the Dr. Crott archive corroborates the sale date.
What the ten highlights show
The selection ranges from early pocket watches to twentieth-century wristwatches, with jumping-hour displays, striking mechanisms, independent seconds, a tourbillon, and the navigational design of the Lindbergh Hour Angle. The descriptions and estimates below are those reported by MONOCHROME Watches in 2018.
| Lot | Watch | Reported estimate | Feature detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | A. Lange & Söhne “Jubiläums Langematik” | €30,000–40,000 | 37 mm platinum wristwatch with enamel dial, red XII, and calibre L921.7 |
| 16 | A. Lange & Söhne quarter-repeater chronograph pocket watch | €25,000–40,000 | Reported 1A quality; box, papers, and 1887 invoice |
| 50 | A. Lange & Söhne Pallweber-style jumping-hours-and-minutes pocket watch | €35,000–60,000 | Second mainspring barrel supplies impulses to the numeral discs |
| 559 | IWC Pallweber System pocket watch | €3,500–6,000 | 1885 example with enamel dial and 18-karat gold case |
| 63 | Glashütte Spezimatic | €1,200–1,500 | Gold-plated watch with GUB 75 (06-26), box, and a reported 1976 service medal |
| 75 | Johan May pocket watch | €23,000–30,000 | Dated 1660; verge escapement, fusee, and calendar and lunar indications |
| 39 | Dürrstein & Co. pocket watch with independent jumping seconds | €2,600–3,800 | Separate gear train drives a central seconds hand in one-second jumps |
| 96 | Longines Lindbergh Hour Angle, circa 1940 | €25,000–40,000 | 47 mm steel case, calibre 37.9, rotating bezel and two-part dial |
| 492 | Longines Lindbergh Hour Angle reissue, 1991 | €1,900–2,500 | 47 mm steel case, manually wound movement, lacquer dial |
| 586 | Tourbillon pocket watch associated with James C. Pellaton | €26,000–50,000 | Likely made around 1950 by a Le Locle watchmaking-school student |
All estimates in the table are the 2018 preview figures reported by MONOCHROME Watches, not sale results or present-day market values. Source for the lot descriptions and estimates.
Three Lange lots, three very different mechanisms
Lot 6: Jubiläums Langematik
The wristwatch combines an enamel dial and red XII with a 37 mm platinum case. The preview identifies its calibre L921.7 as Lange’s first automatic-winding movement and reports a 500-piece limited edition manufactured from 2000 to 2004. Both the edition figure and production dates are claims in the 2018 feature.
Lot 16: quarter repeater and chronograph
This pocket watch pairs a quarter repeater with a chronograph. The preview reports 1A quality and lists an original box, papers, and an 1887 invoice. It also says Princess Amelie von Fürstenberg ordered the watch for a government official named Nussbaum. That provenance is the feature’s account, not an independently verified chain of ownership.
Lot 50: Pallweber-style jumping display
The hours and minutes appear through numeral apertures rather than conventional hands. As described in the preview, a second mainspring barrel powers impulses for the numeral discs. The article says experts count only six Lange “Pallweber-like” watches; it does not identify those experts or establish the figure through a cited primary record, so the scarcity claim should be treated as an attributed report.
Pocket-watch variety: display, seconds, and calendar
Lot 559: IWC Pallweber System
The 1885 example has an enamel dial with apertures for hours and minutes, an off-centre seconds subdial, and an 18-karat gold case. The preview reports that IWC made around 20,000 Pallweber pocket watches between 1884 and 1890. That production figure is the article’s report, not an independently confirmed total.
Lot 75: Johan May, dated 1660
The early pocket watch is described with a verge escapement, a balance without a balance spring, and a fusee. Its indications include the moon’s age and phases, weekday and regent, and a planetary symbol. The article attributes the watchmaker to Cölln an der Spree.
Lot 39: independent jumping seconds
Two mainspring barrels and gear trains divide the work. One powers ordinary timekeeping and small seconds; the other drives a central seconds hand that advances in one-second steps. This is a distinct mechanism from a standard seconds hand moving continuously around the dial.
Glashütte service watch and Longines navigation instruments
Lot 63: Glashütte Spezimatic
The gold-plated Spezimatic contains calibre GUB 75 (06-26) and was listed with its box and a 1976 service medal. The preview says the East German Ministry of the Interior reportedly presented the medal for 30 years of service; the circumstances are given as reported, not established independently here.
Lot 96: circa-1940 Lindbergh Hour Angle
The 47 mm steel watch is fitted with calibre 37.9. The article presents it as an updated version of the Weems watch: its rotating bezel and two-part dial were designed to support hour-angle and longitude calculations. Its appeal in this selection rests as much on that navigational purpose as on its size and period design.
Lot 492: 1991 Lindbergh Hour Angle reissue
The reissue keeps a 47 mm steel case and uses a manually wound movement, but the preview distinguishes its lacquer dial from the original’s enamel. It reports a 1,000-piece limited edition. As with the other production figures in the feature, that edition size is a 2018 article claim.
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Lot 586: a carefully qualified Pellaton association
The preview does not credit James C. Pellaton with making the complete tourbillon pocket watch. Its account suggests it was likely made around 1950 by a student at the Le Locle watchmaking school, attributes the movement to James’s father Albert Pellaton-Favre, and says James Pellaton may have contributed the tourbillon cage. These are qualified attributions, not a definitive maker identification.
Quick Recap
How to read this auction preview today
- Use the estimates in their historical context. The euro ranges describe pre-sale estimates published for the May 2018 auction. They are not hammer prices, realized prices, or current appraisals.
- Keep reported claims attributed. Edition sizes, production totals, scarcity, provenance, and service-medal history above are claims made in the 2018 feature, not independently validated records.
- Do not infer availability. The article is a retrospective on ten selected lots; it gives no evidence that any of them can still be bought.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
