In the 17th century, around the time Charles the 5th introduced waistcoats, men began to wear watches in pockets instead of as pendants.

The time-keeping in these watches was the same mechanism used in clocks invented in the 13th century. One such pocket watch that raised eyebrows around the world at the time for both its complications and price was the "Patek Phillipe Henry Graves Supercomplication."

The Patek Phillipe Henry Graves Supercomplication is one of the most complicated mechanical watches ever created. This 18 karat gold watch was commissioned by Banker Henry Graves Junior after whom it is named.

Here are five interesting facts about the Patek !

• Banker Henry Graves Jr. commissioned Patek Phillipe to assemble a watch out of his desire to outdo the Grande Complication Pocketwatch of American automaker James Packard.
• It took 3 years to design and another 5 years to manufacture !
• It has a total of 24 functions, which include a perpetual calendar, sunrise and sunset times and the Westminster chimes.
• The watch comes with a celestial map of New York as seen from Graves' (the owners ) apartment on Fifth Avenue.
• It cost Graves $15,000 to commission, which would roughly convert to around $2,00,000 in today's times !

Theirry Stern, CEO, Patek Phillipe - 2009 to Present.

I have always enjoyed the style and old fashion that goes with a pocket-watch, and while smart watches and smartphones and computers get lighter ever year,a watch aficionado and collector, will first want to own one of these timepieces before he even considers being over awed by the technology of today!

Class at its finest!

Sothbeys Auction for the Patek Phillipe Henry Graves Supercomplication