Do you know someone who is a watch aficionado and you’re seeking the perfect gift to give them for the holidays? Well, Assouline has the answer for you. The luxury book publisher has just released the second edition of The Impossible Collection of Watches by Nicholas Foulkes. Originally published in 2014, author, British historian, and journalist Nicholas Foulkes has selected for this update the 100 breakthrough timepieces developed since the advent of the twentieth century. Foulkes, according to Assouline, “weighs the virtues of rarity, costliness, innovative functions, historical importance, grand provenance and pleasing design” of these timepieces in this new volume.
There’s no question that watches are a reflection of the amazing technological advances experienced during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Foulkes explores how events such as the invention of the airplane, the effects of two world wars, the impact of space exploration, and the advent of the digital age have influenced watch design and functions. The 100 timepieces covered include new additions like the 1925 Patek Philippe Ref. 97975, the earliest known perpetual calendar wristwatch, the 2014 Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight Planétarium, and the 2022 Jacob & Co. Opera Godfather Musical Watch. These join such eminent names as Audemars Piguet, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Richard Mille, Rolex, and Vacheron Constantin.
The handcrafted Impossible Collection of Watches – The 100 Most Important Timepieces Of The Modern Era features hand-tipped images and is presented in a luxury rubber clamshell case with a metal plaque. With text by Nicholas Foulkes, this coffee table book measures 16 x 19 inches, contains 168 pages, and has 150 illustrations. The volume is priced at $995.
Check out another fascinating volume from Assouline – Louis Vuitton: Virgil Abloh by Anders Christian Madsen.