The Museum For Islamic Art, Sir David Solomons Watch Collection

91040 Jerusalem, Israel

Visitors to Jerusalem's L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art are privileged to view one of the foremost collections of Islamic art and Antique Watches & Clocks.

In Search of Lost Time

There is a very European enclave in the Museum for Islamic Art, a gallery devoted to the genius of time-keeping. It contains a spectacular collection of rare watches and clocks, one of the world’s most important, assembled by Sir David Lionel Salomons in the early 20th century. His daughter and heir, Vera Bryce Salomons, decided to exhibit the collection in the museum she founded in Jerusalem.

David Lionel Salomons was not just a collector, however: he was an amateur scientist and an enthusiastic horologist. Most of the timepieces on display were crafted in the 18th and 19th centuries, and reflect Salomons’ interest in complex watches built on sophisticated mechanical principles, and his extensive knowledge of every aspect of watch-making.

Watches and clocks of different kinds grace the collection, from simple examples to musical clocks that are the epitome of mechanical and aesthetic thinking. Among them are self-winding (“perpétuelle”) watches, portable clocks, longcase clocks, scientific devices, music boxes, and painted enamel boxes equipped with intricate miniature mechanisms. What distinguishes this magnificent collection is the exquisite taste of its owners, and the exceptional feel Salomons had for discovering such treasures – the “gadgets” and fashion accessories that delighted the royalty and nobility of the Old World.  

At the heart of the 200-item collection are fifty-five watches and clocks made by the famous Parisian watchmaker, Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823). Sir David wrote in the original catalogue of the collection: “To carry a fine Breguet watch is to feel that you have the brains of a genius in your pocket.” Of his generation, Breguet was the only expert in the science of measuring time. He introduced the self-winding watch, which he refined to perfection over time.

Apart from their accuracy, Breguet’s watches were notable for their elegance and charm. It is no wonder that Marie Antoinette was one of his first famous customers, and that he made watches and clocks for kings, princes and aristocrats in England, Russia, and across Europe.

• Imprint
• Privacy
• Terms of Use
• Copyright
• FAQ

• About Radiomuseum.org
• Contact
• Press
• Logos
• send2friend