The Unlikely Watch Collector: Albert Einstein

It is difficult to imagine someone who has not heard of Albert Einstein. His celebrity status is even more astounding when you consider that he became famous via the field of theoretical physics. His Special and General Theories of Relativity and his 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics led him to become not only a legend in the science community but also a household name. Even his equation E=mc2 holds celebrity status, despite the fact that most of us don’t remember exactly what it means or why it’s important!
 

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was born in Ulm, Germany, to Jewish parents, and was an interesting character. He had an aversion to authority and hated elegant clothing, much preferring to wear loose pants, baggy pullovers, and no socks. He kept his hair long and would purposely backcomb it before interviews to look disheveled and rakish.
 

He was fascinated by math and physics from a very young age, and his curiosity and pursuit of understanding were insatiable. He dates the genesis of his interest in science to the age of five when he received a compass from his father; he was mystified by the invisible forces that could move the needle. At the age of 12, he discovered a book on geometry, and it only served to further fuel his love for mathematics and science.
 

One year later, as planned, Einstein entered the Swiss Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich and graduated in 1900. He intended to find a teaching position after his degree but couldn’t find a single position. Einstein found out later that his aversion to authority had led his professors to take rather a dislike to him, resulting in unfavorable references. So, he spent the next two years working as a temporary teacher and private tutor.
 

Luckily, his good friend Marcel Grossmann managed to help him secure a post as a technical expert at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern. Einstein loved the job and was quick and efficient at his work, which left him ample time to work on theoretical physics. It was during this time that Einstein produced some of his most remarkable work.
 

The pocket watch came up for auction at Christie’s in 2016 and was sold for more than 13 times its original estimate, starting at £20,000 and selling for £266,500. Einstein didn’t place much importance on material possessions and owned very few items of value except for his watches, making these rare objects highly sought after at auction.

In 1919, the British physicist Arthur Eddington set out to test Einstein’s theory that gravity was able to bend light. This theory, known as the general theory of relativity, was a major refinement to Sir Isaac Newton's laws of universal gravitation, and thus, considered radical. To test this, Eddington’s team set out to a small African island to observe a total eclipse of the Sun. The results were conclusive. Einstein was right and he was catapulted into the limelight.
 

Unfortunately, at the time of his growing fame and success, Einstein was working out of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics in Berlin, Germany, meaning his sudden "World Famous" status coincided with the rise of the Nazi movement. So after different trips to the United States, Einstein decided to leave Germany and settle in the U.S. permanently.

It was during this time that a second timepiece makes an appearance. An elegant gold Longines wristwatch, it was made in 1930 and is engraved with the inscription: “Prof. Albert Einstein, Los Angeles, Feb. 16, 1931.” This 14-karat yellow gold, tonneau-shaped timepiece was presented to Einstein by Rabbi Edgar Magnin at a luncheon in Los Angeles on February 16th, 1931. A local Los Angeles newspaper article described the presentation as follows: "Einstein as a man and a Jew was the twin theme of an offering of tribute and praise which was tendered to Prof. Albert Einstein and Mrs. Einstein by the Jewish community of Los Angeles at a banquet in their honor."
 

During the late 1930s, physicists began to consider whether Einstein’s E=mc2 formula was the key to creating an atomic bomb possible. Einstein had initially dismissed the possibility but left the question open should a method be found to magnify the power of the atom. In 1938 and 1939, a group of physicists found that vast amounts of energy could be unleashed in the process of splitting a uranium atom.
 

Then in 1939, fellow physicist Leo Szilard convinced Einstein to send a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to develop an atomic bomb. It was a decision that he later regretted, saying, “The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking…the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker!”

The third timepiece known to have been owned by Einstein is a Longines pocket watch that is noted in the Swiss watch brand’s archives as having been finished on September 6th, 1943, at the Longines manufacture in Saint-Imier and invoiced to Stahel Jewelers in Zurich on January 29th, 1946.