Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland sadly passed away last week. We at The Watch Collectors’ Club offer our deepest condolences to her family and we want to add our deepest respect and admiration for her legacy and hard work over a lifetime of service.
Her Majesty the Queen was rarely seen without a watch on her wrist. On both formal occasions and on daily outings throughout her life, she was known for wearing some very fine timepieces. Today’s Blog Post will look at some of her most famous watches.
A Famous portrait of the Queen from 1992 by Terry Owens, in which she wears an Omega Ladymatic watch.
Her Majesty’s Watch Collection
The Coronation Watch
This watch is not just interesting because it was worn for Her Majesty’s coronation in 1953, but also because it is a technological masterpiece. Created by Jaeger LeCoultre in 1929, it was for a long time the smallest mechanical movement ever made for a watch. It measures just 14mm long, 4.8mm wide and 3.4mm high. It is hand wound and despite it’s tiny size has a power reserve of 33 hours.
Her Majesty’s example is a fabulous example that highlights the watch’s incredible thinness by matching it with an elegant gold bracelet with applied round diamonds. Queen Elizabeth wore this watch on her coronation day as the white diamonds complimented her regalia (and the crown once it was on her head!), and she wanted to keep an eye on the time. Presumably this was because the coronation day schedule was so long!
A version of the watch worn by the Queen for her coronation. Note the tiny watch face, powered by the world’s smallest watch calibre, the Jaeger LeCoultre 101. It is believed that this watch has been lost from Her Majesty’s collection.
The Modern version of the Calibre 101 in White Gold and Diamonds. Jaeger LeCoultre gifted one of these watches to Her Majesty the Queen in Celebration of her Diamond Jubilee in 2012..
The Queen and Cartier
Over the years of her reign, the Queen has been pictured wearing Cartier watches on many occasions. Since they are often regular occasions such as visits to watch horse races, one of her favourite hobbies, or visits to various places around the country, good pictures are not easy to find. One recently rediscovered photo was of the queen wearing a fantastic Cartier Cintree Dual Time Zone in Gold, which is both a classic piece of 1980s jewellery and a Classic Cartier watch. She is also known to have worn various Cartier Tanks and gifted them to other family members.
The Queen is seen wearing a Cartier Cintree Dual Time in Gold
Patek Philippe and the Queens of England
Queen Victoria was one of the first Royal customers of Patek Philippe buying a fantastic blue enamelled pocket watch for herself at the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Queen Elizabeth is famous for wearing a pearl and diamond set Patek Wristwatch on many State occasions, as it suits the fine diamonds and white dresses she most often wore. This watch is the reference 4975/1G. Here is a fantastic image of it created by a friend of The Watch Collectors Club, InkDial, who can be found at www.inkdial.co.uk
The Patek Philippe Pocket Watch ordered by Queen Victoria in 1851, with a Gold Case in Blue Enamel and Diamond set flowers.
The Queen’s Diamond and Pearl Patek Ref. 4975/1G, as drawn by InkDial
Conclusion
Queen Elizabeth is famous for many things, and her outstanding watch collection befit her status and majesty. It will be interesting to see if the future King Charles is as adventurous as he begins his reign. We wish him all the best wishes and hope that you have enjoyed this Blog Post. If you know anyone else who might find it interesting, please send it to them.