Inside the J.P. Morgan Family’s Horological Legacy

Few names in American history carry the weight of J.P. Morgan — a titan of finance whose influence reached far beyond Wall Street. Both he and his son, J.P. Morgan, Jr., were visionary collectors whose passion for watchmaking mirrored their power in banking.

Over a century later, two of their most significant timepieces return to the spotlight:
Lot 134: The first-ever Cartier Mystery Clock (Model A), built in 1912 and sold to J.P. Morgan, Jr. in 1913.

Lot 135: A Charles Frodsham split-seconds chronograph minute-repeating tourbillon pocket watch, commissioned by Morgan Jr. as a gift to a new partner at J.P. Morgan & Co.

These masterpieces resurface at Phillips’ Decade One (2015–2025) — a landmark Geneva auction celebrating ten years of Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, and a decade of record-breaking watch sales, discoveries, and scholarship.