This pair of singing bird pistols recently fetched a staggering $5.8 million at Christie’s International Important Watches Sale in Hong Kong. Why so much? First of all, because it is the only matching pair of such pistol that is known to have survived. There are only four other single pistols that are publicly known at the moment, each one well kept in important museums in the world.
Another thing that explains the steep price is the fact that they boast an exquisite craftsmanship from 1820. They are made of gold and then beautifully ornamented with red and blue enamel, pearls and diamonds. The sides of the pistols show small decorative gold plaques depicting a stag and a lion.
The pistols are attributed to famous craftsmen Frères Rochat and even though they don’t tell the time, these intricate machineries of great precision are truly fascinating. It’s no wonder they were the most expensive lot sold at the auction. Another highlight at the event was a pink gold Patek Philippe moon phase wristwatch with a manually-wound chronograph, which sold for $1.21 million to a collector from Asia. This was the most expensive conventional watch at the sale. Also worth mentioning is the very rare manually-wound double dialed platinum watch with 12 complications, which went for $1.16 million.
