Dorotheum: A pocket watch sells for millions
A sensational million-dollar price at the watch auction on May 22, 2026, at the Dorotheum.
The exquisite pocket watch by Professor Thomas Engel—inventor, watchmaker, and honorary member of the English Clockmakers’ Company—sold for 1.025 million euros. This is the highest price ever paid for a watch at an auction in Austria, achieved at the Dorotheum auction house.
Thomas Engel (1927–2015) had been a passionate collector of watches since the 1950s—particularly Breguet watches. Driven by his passion, he began teaching himself to craft individual pocket watches. The result is a collection of exquisite masterpieces of exceptional precision. As a special feature, the one-of-a-kind pocket watch sold at auction includes, among other things, an integrated thermometer.
The pocket watch from 1979, which has now been auctioned off for millions, is equipped with a tourbillon, a jumping hour mechanism, and—as an additional special feature—a thermometer.
