Watches : Eye on the Time

Just over ten years ago, at Sotheby's New York salesroom, the hammer fell on Lot 7, an 18-karat gold pocket watch crafted in 1933 by the famed Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe for New York banker.

It had just fetched an astonishing price of $11,002,500.

Ten years later, its record price has yet to be broken.

Watches are more than miniature marvels of engineering; indeed, they are more than just collectibles: they are items of jewellery that command huge prices and make fashion statements about the wearers. As individual as other accessories such as handbags and shoes, they have been a focus of attention ever since they reached a larger market.

In Watches: Eye on the Time, designer Tessa Paul examines the history of the watch concentrating on the last half of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries. Each of the ten chapters includes spreads on major watchmakers or recognized high-end retailers - Rolex, Tissot, Tag-Heuer, Cartier, Swatch - as well as many images of watches throughout the decades.

An ever popular fashion piece, Watches: Eye on the Time will appeal to all fashionistas.