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The Resource A grand complication : the race to build the world's most legendary watch, Stacy Perman

A grand complication : the race to build the world's most legendary watch, Stacy Perman

Creator
Summary
"New York Times bestselling author Stacy Perman chronicles the thrilling pursuit between two ambitious men in the early 1900s to possess the most complicated timepiece in history. In 1999, at a monumental auction held at Sotheby's in New York City, an eighteen-carat gold pocket watch delivered in 1933 shattered all known records when it was sold for $11 million. Secretly commissioned by the wealthy financier Henry Graves, Jr., the timepiece contained twenty-four "complications," including a celestial chart over Manhattan. Considered the Mona Lisa of timepieces, it had been the coveted victor in a collecting duel that spanned three decades. In A Grand Complication, Stacy Perman takes us back to the early twentieth century to tell the incredible story of horological rivals: Wall Street and high society figure Henry Graves, Jr., and James Ward Packard, the brilliant inventor and automobile tycoon behind the elegant Packard Motorcar. These archetypes of American success went head to head, driving the finest watchmakers to push the boundaries of mathematics, astronomy, craftsmanship, and technology, all to win a personal race against time. With fascinating historical details that recreate the rich lives of these players and their families, Perman transports us from the clubby world of New York high society to the birth of the American auto industry and its apogee of style in the Packard line, and into the ateliers of the greatest Swiss watchmakers. Theirs is the story of consuming passion, money-fueled epochs and economic collapse, the obsessive world of watches, and how it influenced the expression of wealth and luxury through gadgets and toys that have become symbols of status"--
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
pages cm
Isbn
9781439190081
Instance
Label
A grand complication : the race to build the world's most legendary watch
Title
A grand complication
Title remainder
the race to build the world's most legendary watch
Statement of responsibility
Stacy Perman
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
"New York Times bestselling author Stacy Perman chronicles the thrilling pursuit between two ambitious men in the early 1900s to possess the most complicated timepiece in history. In 1999, at a monumental auction held at Sotheby's in New York City, an eighteen-carat gold pocket watch delivered in 1933 shattered all known records when it was sold for $11 million. Secretly commissioned by the wealthy financier Henry Graves, Jr., the timepiece contained twenty-four "complications," including a celestial chart over Manhattan. Considered the Mona Lisa of timepieces, it had been the coveted victor in a collecting duel that spanned three decades. In A Grand Complication, Stacy Perman takes us back to the early twentieth century to tell the incredible story of horological rivals: Wall Street and high society figure Henry Graves, Jr., and James Ward Packard, the brilliant inventor and automobile tycoon behind the elegant Packard Motorcar. These archetypes of American success went head to head, driving the finest watchmakers to push the boundaries of mathematics, astronomy, craftsmanship, and technology, all to win a personal race against time. With fascinating historical details that recreate the rich lives of these players and their families, Perman transports us from the clubby world of New York high society to the birth of the American auto industry and its apogee of style in the Packard line, and into the ateliers of the greatest Swiss watchmakers. Theirs is the story of consuming passion, money-fueled epochs and economic collapse, the obsessive world of watches, and how it influenced the expression of wealth and luxury through gadgets and toys that have become symbols of status"--
Assigning source
Provided by publisher
Biography type
contains biographical information
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Perman, Stacy
Dewey number
  • 338.092
  • B
Index
index present
LC call number
TS543.U6
LC item number
P47 2013
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Packard, James Ward
  • Graves, Henry
  • Pocket watches
  • Clocks and watches
  • Industrialists
  • HISTORY / United States / 20th Century
  • BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Rich & Famous
  • TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / History
  • United States
Label
A grand complication : the race to build the world's most legendary watch, Stacy Perman
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Control code
ocm800031224
Extent
pages cm
Isbn
9781439190081
Lccn
2012034555
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
System control number
  • (OCoLC)800031224
  • (Sirsi) a1164662
Label
A grand complication : the race to build the world's most legendary watch, Stacy Perman
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Control code
ocm800031224
Extent
pages cm
Isbn
9781439190081
Lccn
2012034555
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
System control number
  • (OCoLC)800031224
  • (Sirsi) a1164662

Subject

Genre

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      29.759431 -95.369953

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