Only Watch comes to us – Style
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This year is an odd numbered year, which means that in November, connoisseurs will be treated to one of the main events in the watch world – the Only Watch auction. It was first held in 2005, so the upcoming auction will be the tenth anniversary. It features unique, that is, one-of-a-kind watches (this year – 62 pieces), provided free of charge by 73 manufacturers (this year, more than ever, there are many watches created in collaboration between brands), and all funds received go to the Association Monegasque contre les Myopathies is a non-profit organization developing medications to treat a rare (affects 1 in 3,500 male births) genetic disease – Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The auction is patronized by Prince Albert II of Monaco, who is personally present at the auction. Based on the results of nine auctions, 100 million Swiss francs were transferred to doctors; the 2019 auction was especially successful, the proceeds of which exceeded 38.5 million francs.
The importance of the Only Watch in the watch community is evidenced by the fact that it was the one that set the world record for the price ever paid for a watch – this was the very complicated Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime in a steel case, sold for an astronomical 31 million francs. In general, as experts, including auctioneers, say, the charitable status of the event contributes to high prices: if at commercial auctions a double excess of the estimate (preliminary assessment of the lot) is always an event, then at Only Watch a 4-5-fold excess of the hammer price over the estimate is usual business (more impressive proportions also happen). Here, rather, the question is in the established estimate, and on Only Watch it is always low, approximately corresponding to serial models, which, however, should not inspire excessive hopes for new traders. By the way, the auctioneer (lately Christie’s) also works pro bono, that is, without a commission from the buyer, which in the case of regular auctions can increase the price by 10-20%.
Below I have selected 11 interesting specimens from those announced for auction on November 5 (listed in alphabetical order). In addition to the official estimate, I share my own forecasts of the final price of the lots.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Openworked Only Watch Edition, Lot No. 6
Watches provided by this manufactory have consistently been among the top three most expensive Only Watch lots in recent years. The white ceramic case and bracelet are paired with a bright blue skeletonized automatic movement with a flying tourbillon.
Estimate: 300-350 thousand francs.
My prediction: given the extremely high authority of the brand, they will fly away with a bang for a million with a big tail.
Biver Catharsis, lot No. 10
A very important debut for the brand of its own name, founded this year by watch guru Jean-Claude Biver. A storehouse of rare materials: meteorite, sapphires, obsidian, opal. Don’t ask how to tell the time (the spoiler is the only hour hand on the inside of the case), but the mechanism is very complex: it is equipped with a triple (carillon) minute repeater and a tourbillon, and it is automatically wound by a micro-rotor.
Estimate: 500-700 thousand francs, one of the most expensive lots at the auction.
My forecast: they’ll spend a million and a half, that’s interesting.
Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Marble, lot no. 15
A “flying” ultra-thin tourbillon in a titanium case and on a titanium bracelet, carefully covered with thin (from 0.4 to 0.6 mm in thickness) plates of natural green Verde di Alpi marble. Not a clock, but a Moscow metro station from Stalin’s times. Well, they cost about the same.
Estimate: 150-250 thousand francs
My forecast: 3-4 estimates from the lower limit.
F. P. Journe Chronometre Bleu Furtif, lot no. 21
After Only Watch “arrived in the chat,” watches of this brand consistently rank second in price after the fetish of all times (that is, “Pateka”). Tantalum case, blue enamel dial with laser-engraved markers, rose gold three-hand movement.
Estimate: 200-400 thousand francs.
My forecast: 2 million are guaranteed, but they will definitely not reach the manufactory’s record for OnLу Watch-2021 of 4.5 million.
Gerald Genta Only Watch 2023, lot No. 25
The greatest watch designer of the 20th century adapted the Mickey Mouse foot for the retrograde (jumping back to the beginning of the scale) minute hand, which is why his watches are incredibly popular in the homeland of the mouse. The revived Gerald Genta brand has now been transferred from Bvlgari to the main brand of the LVMH corporation – Louis Vuitton. Thanks to the efforts of the excellent Swiss manufactory La Fabrique du Temps, which was assigned to its owners, a new mechanism with a “jumping” hour and an octagonal, according to Genta’s precepts, case made of white gold were sculpted.
Estimate: 350-500 thousand francs.
My forecast: despite the frantic fights of American buyers, they will sell for 700 thousand.
Hublot MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Only Watch, lot no. 30
A bezel in the shape of a 12-sided flower made by a Japanese designer made of natural sapphires, crowned with a transparent case made of sapphire glass, a “floating” tourbillon with a rare central arrangement – what else does an extravagant watch collector need to meet old age with dignity?
Estimate: 350-400 thousand francs.
My forecast: they won’t reach a million, but it’s beautiful, damn it. I wish I was that collector.
Jaquet Droz The Rolling Stones Automaton – Only Watch 2023, lot No. 32
This is what I didn’t expect from the super classic Swatch Group brand. One protruding tongue, the symbol of the Rolling Stones, is worth it, and there are also relief images of musical instruments and a rotating disk with a psychedelic 6-color color, thanks to which the watch deserves the high title of “automaton.”
Estimate: 250-300 thousand francs.
My forecast: clearly above the upper estimate, but not by much. Watch collectors do not favor the Swatch Group.
Konstantin Chaykin Stargazer Only Watch 2023 Piece Unique, lot No. 33
Our national “everything”. Jokes aside, Konstantin is one of two watchmakers of non-Swiss origin who have been consistently (since 2017) allowed to participate in Only Watch. This year he is exhibiting the most complex movement in the more than 20-year history of his manufacture (16 complications, including a tourbillon, and 11 astronomical functions, in particular the equation of time – between local and mean time, calculated from the Sun) in a 42-mm damask case become.
Estimate: 150-220 thousand francs.
My forecast: I’ll keep my fingers crossed, I hope for at least 450 thousand.
Louis Vuitton Tambour Einstein Automata – Only Watch 2023, lot No. 39
A very unusual watch in a steel case, the sponsor of which was supposed to be Google or Rosatom (Knowledge Corporation, as we know from TV). The embossed silver-plated Einstein can stick out his tongue (it’s an automaton), the minutes are indicated on a retrograde scale with a diamond at the base at 7 o’clock, and which comes with a chest (aka case)! An absolutely unique thing made for Only Watch, which will definitely not be repeated under any circumstances.
Estimate: 340-440 thousand francs.
My prediction: being a watch purist, I’ll bet on 700-800 thousand.
Richard Mille Talisman Origine, lot No. 51
The brand, which previously showed the second price result after Patek Philippe on Only Watch, has lost some weight after the arrival of F. P. Journe and Audemars Piguet. A couple of times, the favorite watch brand of multimillionaires ignored the event, but then returned. This year she is exhibiting a rather strange specimen on a pendant made of briar wood, gold, titanium and rhodonite. Hanging on a “chain” is a women’s watch with a tourbillon in a barrel-shaped gold case with complex ethnic engraving.
Estimate: 600-800 thousand francs.
My prediction: there aren’t any more multimillionaires yet, so they’ll pay a million and a half for Richard Mille’s fantasy.
Tudor Prince Chronograph One, lot no. 58
A rather democratic brand has no place in this review, but there is one circumstance: Tudor is the second brand of the Rolex group, and the first brand never participates in any general workshop events. As such, Tudor’s presence on Only Watch is a rare opportunity for collectors to get their hands on a major horological shrine, resulting in record hammer prices for any timepieces it offers. For example, at the 2021 auction, unique Tudors were sold at a price exceeding the estimate by 80-160 times (depending on which limit you count from), which became an absolute auction record. This year, a prototype of a vintage chronograph with a 42 mm case and a yellow gold bracelet is up for auction, which the world watch press is already comparing to the iconic Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona of the 60s (they haven’t been made for a long time).
Estimate: 25-35 thousand francs.
My forecast: half a million, out of the blue.
Well, one last thing. An attentive reader may have noticed that the review is missing the main favorite of the upcoming auction – Patek Philippe (lot No. 44, multimillion-dollar fees guaranteed). This is not an oversight by the author, but company policy. The manufactory is still interesting and – the only one of all the participants – did not show images of the unique watches intended for sale. What is known: they will be the first in a series of 30 copies dedicated to the upcoming 80th birthday of Philipp Stern, who served as the head of state for 16 years at the turn of the century. head of a family brand. On this occasion, the manufacture offers to admire a joint portrait of father and son – Philippe and Thierry (the current head of Patek Philippe) Stern.
“Kommersant Style” will talk about the results of Only Watch-2023 in November and I will be happy to confirm or refute my predictions.
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