The Boreal Arrow website is exclusively dedicated to vintage and collectable compasses and watches.

My interest in compasses started when I was five. It was really a magical instrument for me. Later I became interested in mechanical watches. I was fascinated to see all these small parts, sometimes even smaller than a piece of dust, assembled together to make a ticking watch, reliable and beautiful.

Compasses and watches are both about Time and Space. No one can deny that Time and Space are two elements that we are trying to master since the beginning of humanity. A compass or a watch is simply a humble instrument that allows us to position ourselves in Time or in Space. They are also an opportunity for us to make a link between these two elements since History is always associated with a location in Space. Each of these instruments has its own history across different places. The first texts referring to compasses date back to 1200 and some museums have pocket watches dating back to 1500.

I tried to be as precise as possible in the description of each featured item. In order to help you make your choice, clear pictures were taken of each item. You'll be able to assess its condition by simply looking at the pictures.

All featured compasses and watches are of fine quality. Presently, you will find pocket compasses dating from the late 1700s to the early 1900s. You will find only watches from 1800s and 1900s, with simple functions, but I'm thinking to include rare watches dating from 1600s and 1700s as well, and those with complicated movements and special functions like striking the hours and repeaters.

If you have any special request regarding a pocket compass or a watch, please feel free to contact us and we will try to help you find what you are looking for.

You may also have noticed that the watches list is smaller than the compass list. This is due to the fact that repairing a watch takes much more time than repairing a compass.

Happy tour ...