What's been planned for the summer period while large auction houses put these events on hold?

Rolex: New Daytona for 24 Hours of Le Mans

Without any large auctions, watchmakers are mainly keeping collectors and investors engaged with watch debuts in limited edition launches. For example, Rolex has unveiled a collector's Cosmograph Daytona 126529LN special edition for the 100th anniversary of 24 Hours of Le Mans.

And this is a sensation in the brand's recent history, in so far as Rolex had never organized a première outside the trade shows in Basel or the ones more recently held in Geneva.

Paying tribute to the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans race, the Daytona has been equipped with a new automatic manufacture Caliber 4132 movement, which has a 24-hour counter instead of the traditional 12-hour counter at 9 o'clock.

But the watch's special dial has attracted no less attention from collectors, rendered in a vintage à la "Paul Newman" style. Rolex came up with a very effective solution for the 24-hour counter: the latest 32 mm caliber has replaced a transmission wheel used to turn the hand of the 12-hour counter with a gear reduction system, halving the rotational speed of the gear train.

As a result, this has allowed the watchmaker to divide the scale into 24 increments. Truth be told, this didn't bring down case height, it actually increased from 11.8 mm to 12.2 mm. Eagle-eyed experts can observe the innovation through the sapphire caseback, like the platinum model released this spring to celebrate Daytona's 60th anniversary.

The case measuring 40 mm in diameter is made of white gold and has a bezel made of the trademark ceramic alloy Cerachrom. And this is another draw for collectors, as the combination of a full white-gold Daytona and Cerachrom has never been seen before.

When it comes to the possible limit, no exact number has been set for this edition, which will be added to the permanent collection. Rolex is keeping quiet as per tradition. The model is referenced 126529LN with the official price is available upon request, but some open sources have already revealed the suggested retail price: CHF 49,000.

The center of attention among fans of the watchmaker was of course a watch called the Ref. 5308P-010 Quadruple Complication Limited Edition Tokyo 2023. This minute repeating perpetual calendar and split-seconds chronograph is one of the most complicated serially produced watches by Patek Philippe.

Patek Philippe: Exhibition Debuts

This great watchmaker is maintaining interest in the brand in an unconventionally ceremonial setting. Patek Philippe began by putting together a wonderful "Watch Art" grand exhibition and then took it to Tokyo, where it "suddenly" came to light that around half a dozen of its exhibits were global debuts.

The center of attention among fans of the watchmaker was of course a watch called the Ref. 5308P-010 Quadruple Complication Limited Edition Tokyo 2023. This minute repeating perpetual calendar and split-seconds chronograph is one of the most complicated serially produced watches by Patek Philippe.

Moreover, everyone has a good memory of how almost the exact same watch in titanium with a blue dial referenced 5208Т-010 sold at the Only Watch 2017 auction for CHF 6.2 million. The present model is housed in the very same 42-mm case, but now it's in platinum and measures 17.71 mm in height (the titanium edition was a couple of millimeters thinner).

The dial it sports is a rose-gilt opaline color — a shade that's been popular at Patek Philippe recently and something fans of the brand also consider sensational. The movement is technically the same automatic R CHR 27 PS QI.

However, it's fitted with a new system to isolate the split-seconds chronograph module from the watch movement. Now it's more durable and reliable, which has naturally resulted in a thicker caliber.  Patek Philippe is only releasing 15 of these pieces, each priced at CHF 1,1 million (excluding taxes). 

Another of their limited editions is a world time piece: Patek Philippe World Time Limited Edition Tokyo 2023 Ref. 5330G-10. Its unique features include the combination of world time with a date, its plum-colored dial, the inscription "TOKYO" in red on the 24-hour ring with names of different cities, and the rising-sun symbol borrowed from the Japanese national flag at 12 o'clock on the 24-hour scale.

The movement responsible for controlling these functions is the self-winding Caliber 240 HU C. The watchmaker plans to release just 300 of these pieces, which will be available exclusively in Japan, and priced at CHF 70,000 (excluding taxes) a pop.

Patek Philippe has actually provided some consolation for fans, as a similar watch based on a new movement will be released in some selected countries. The case measuring 40 mm in diameter and 11.57 mm in height is made of white gold.

But another minute repeating World Time watch has attracted far more attention from collectors: Ref. 5531R-014 Tokyo 2023. The case of this watch measuring 40.4 mm × 11.49 mm is made of rose gold.

The center of the dial uses cloisonné enamel to depict the historic central Chuo City ward in the Tokyo Metropolis, including the grounds of Imperial Palace on the upper left. The movement remains the same: the self-winding R 27 HU. Availability is limited to just 15 pieces. Each of them is priced at CHF 600,000 (excluding taxes).

The table and mantelpiece dome clocks from the Rare Handcrafts collection have attracted particular attention, which Patek Philippe never presents. But fans know that they can be purchased in the watchmaker's Genevan boutique, or they can arrange a visit to Patek Philippe's stand at Watch & Wonders in Geneva (previously shown at Baselworld).

In Tokyo, 8 dome table clocks were unveiled. This time however, the secretive Rare Handcrafts collection welcomed 9 pocket watches and 18 wristwatches. In total, 40 Rare Handcrafts timepieces were unveiled, each with a unique dial, as the artist couldn't repeat the exact same painting even if she really wanted to.

In this case, we're not talking about some abstract artist, we're talking about work by Anita Porchet, who has long and deservedly been considered the world's best miniature enamel artist.

School for Clients

The auction houses are actually in no rush to get away for a summer break. That's because the team at Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo have come up with a very interesting initiative this year. Specialists have set out on a worldwide tour of sorts called the Watches Summer 2023 Valuation Tour.

The tour will take experts from the auction house to the world's largest cities, where they'll meet with collectors and investors who are embarking on their first forays into the pre-owned watch market. These meetings will discuss the timeless value of sought-after pieces at auctions, trends and potential star lots in the near future.

They'll also be providing complimentary estimates for collections presented by those in attendance with straightforward explanations as to why exactly one appraisal has been given as opposed to another. They've already begun some of the four seminars in Japan (Osaka, Nagoya, and two in Tokyo), Seoul & Busan (July 4-7), and Jakarta (July 9-10).