Audemars Piguet’s 1914 “Big Piece” Set to Break Records at Sotheby’s Auction

In a market where rarity drives desire, few horological treasures capture the imagination quite like Audemars Piguet’s “Big Piece.” This extraordinary 1914 pocket watch—known officially as No. 16869—is poised to command up to $1 million at Sotheby’s New York this December, representing a new zenith for collectors of luxury watches with a taste for legacy, complication, and provenance.

For members of the One Percent, it is not simply about ownership, but acquiring artifacts of time that embody the peak of craftsmanship and cultural value. The “Big Piece” is exactly that: a mechanical marvel created over six years, hidden for decades, and now re-emerging as one of the most important pocket watches in private hands.

The Crown Jewel of Complication: 19 Reasons It Matters

Commissioned in 1914 by Smith & Sons of London for a South American elite, the double-dialed masterpiece contains 19 complications—a tour-de-force of technical ingenuity that includes:

A minute repeater
Tourbillon
Perpetual calendar
Chronograph
Moon phase
Dual sonnerie functions
Equation of time and sidereal time
Celestial chart with 315 stars and 18 constellations
Sunrise and sunset indicators

Crafted in 80mm of yellow gold, the “Big Piece” stands as one of only two watches of its kind from this era—the other, the Universelle, is secured inside the brand’s private museum in Le Brassus, Switzerland.

From Vault to Spotlight: A Collector’s Revelation

The “Big Piece” vanished from the public eye after its creation, residing quietly in the collection of Robert M. Olmsted, one of America’s most discerning watch collectors. First reintroduced to the world through a 1990 article by watch historian Gisbert L. Brunner, the piece was described as “the crowning achievement of Audemars Piguet’s founders.” Its December auction will mark the watch’s first public appearance in over a century since its initial unveiling at the Geneva Watch Exhibition in 1920.

For collectors and UHNWI watch connoisseurs, this sale represents a rare opportunity to own a historic luxury watch that has evaded the spotlight—and market—for more than 100 years.

Legacy Watches: The Emerging Asset Class for the One Percent

According to Knight Frank’s 2025 Wealth Report, watches now top the charts among luxury investments, with values appreciating 18 percent over the last decade. Meanwhile, the global population of Ultra High Net Worth Individuals continues to rise, reaching over 392,000 worldwide with $47.5 trillion in combined wealth. Many of these individuals are increasingly investing in rare, historically significant luxury watches as part of diversified alternative portfolios.

Reports from BCG x Altagamma show that 48 percent of UHNWI collectors now consider “iconic heritage” to be a primary driver in purchase decisions. The “Big Piece,” with its unmatched complexity and storied past, delivers on every front.

The Value of Complexity

While modern haute horlogerie continues to push boundaries, true mechanical complexity from the early 20th century carries unmatched cultural cachet. The “Big Piece” is not just a showcase of what was possible in 1914—it is a celebration of the obsessive pursuit of horological perfection, during a time when every detail was executed by hand, over years, by master watchmakers.

Its astronomical dial, in particular, is unique among known timepieces, showing a meticulously detailed celestial map of London’s night sky. With a functioning tourbillon and sidereal time readouts, it reflects an understanding of the universe as much as time itself.

Final Thought: More Than a Watch, It’s a Monument

At The One Percent, we believe true wealth whispers, it does not shout. The “Big Piece” is the ultimate whisper—an heirloom from another century, resurfacing just as the modern UHNWI begins to seek depth, authenticity, and artistry in their collections.

When the hammer falls this December at Sotheby’s, it won’t just mark the sale of a pocket watch. It will mark the transfer of a chapter in horological history, passed from one guardian of legacy to the next.

Because for the One Percent, time is not counted, it is curated.