The Watch Seller: hand-carved wood automaton by Tim Donald

Here's a new hand-carved wood automaton by artist Tim Donald. The piece depicts a somewhat suspicious street seller. When the handle is turned, the seller figure looks around to see if the coast is clear, then opens his suitcase to give you a glimpse of the "top brand" watches he's selling for a mysteriously low price. That the seller has his fingers crossed behind his back may indicate that these are not the high quality time pieces they are made out to be.

I love the details on the figure and the suitcase. The choice to put the figure in an enclosure suggests he might be tucked into some urban alleyway.

I wonder if I can get a good deal on a Vacheron Constantin Skeleton Minute Repeater (normally about $623,000 USD) or better yet a watch by Jaquet Droz himself?

See more automata by Tim Donald on his web site.

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