Two key wound key set, including a Collins Paris silver open face, 46 mm, and a Deflan Dre, Hauffliaze, silver toned, porcelain dial, 50 mm; Rugby gold filled hunt case, 50 mm; A Rich Schmeisser parcel gilt silver open face, Groningen, 45 mm; A Patria watch Co., 17 jewels, gold filled hunt case, Swiss movement, #425789, 55 mm.
Provenance: From the Collection of Adam Wygnanski. Mr. Wygnanski, a Polish Jew born in Warsaw during WWI, was brought up to be ever vigilant and always ready to flee his home and community with little or no notice, and the advantage of wealth that could be stuffed into one’s pockets was ingrained from an early age. Jews like Adam Wygnanski came to believe in the importance of highly portable wealth more than ever during WWII and the Holocaust; entire families could be saved with a flashy diamond, a gorgeous trinket or a precious watch that did clever things. Mr. Wygnanski, his wife and child became refugees after the war, fleeing Poland for France before settling in French Canada. An educated and ambitious man, he had advanced degrees in chemical engineering and pursued careers both as an entrepreneur and an academic. At retirement, he began collecting the watches being sold today. “Fine watches held a very special place in the hearts of men of my Dad’s generation,” Wygnanski’s daughter, Rysia de Ravel, said, “Developing deep expertise in the intricacies of watches was a pleasurable intellectual pursuit and an expression of worldliness for my father, even as it tapped into values acquired in childhood.”

Collins dial is cracked with losses. Deflan dial with cracks. Schmeisser with broken hand. Patria missing crystal and with cracks to dial.