Christie’s Education, the learning division of the auction house, has just launched Behind the Curtain: Watchmaking Houses, a series of virtual classes catered to beginner enthusiasts that profile the most important watch brands – essentially the names that are typically the most sought after at watch auctions.

Conducted by Geneva-based watch expert Antoine Géraud, the weekly courses cover the history, important watches, and key personalities at Patek Phillipe, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Breguet, Vacheron Constantin, and Cartier. Each lecture is 75 minutes, and recordings of each session will be available for seven days after the class should participants wish to revisit.

The programme is essentially a crash course, making it ideal for beginners who want to learn more about key brands. And the length of the lectures seems ideal – punchy and brief, but enough to convey the necessary knowledge.

The Patek Philippe ref. 5101P 10 Day Tourbillon

Alongside the watch history classes is a separate programme covering the biggest names in jewellery, taught by historian Vanessa Cron.

Just like the watch classes, these will go into the stories behind names like Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co., Bulgari, and Cartier. With jewellers often being watchmakers as well, burgeoning watch enthusiasts might find the jewellery classes useful too.

An Audemars Piguet Grand Complication pocket watch that sold at Christie’s in 2019

The price of a single class is HK$1,200, or about US$150. The entire syllabus for each category, either watches or jewellery, is HK$7,200, or about US$930. Enrolling in both will set you back HK$12000, or US$1,550.

Participants can obtain a certificate of completion upon finishing the syllabus for either category. The watchmaking courses take place from now till April 27, and the jewellery programme until April 29.

For more, visit Christies.edu.