Christie's almost folded.

Christie's has acted in the most unpredictable way. Last November certainly turned out to be catastrophic for this auction house. First, the largest British auction house canceled the Only Watch Auction. This meant that the program of main auctions needed urgent revision.

Then on the morning of November 6, the organizers of the Passion for Time sale found a new guarantor and signed a last-minute contract. This resulted in the auction being delayed by an hour. Half an hour or so before the sale, participants basically received printouts with new starting prices — estimates revised upwards.

As a result, many collectors decided to opt out of the event, and the auction was held in an atmosphere of confusion and tension. Either out of superstition or a sense of disappointment, Christie's decided to limit their sales this November in Geneva to an auction scheduled for November 11: Rare Watches Including Watches for ELA (European Leukodystrophy Association), which will raise funds for the named charity.

But before this sale, the auction house offered a range of very serious models at their Hong Kong online auction, or simply didn't try to convince consignors to save their watches for Geneva. They went straight to Important Watches: Featuring "The Collectibles". The watches that were hammered off included star lots such as a very rare version of one of the last Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 from 1953.

There was also a possibly unique five-year-old Patek Philippe Ref. 5074/1R-010 minute repeater, an extremely rare (one of five known) steel Rolex Deep Sea Special, and a unique white-gold Richard Mille RM-018 tourbillon launched four years ago to mark Boucheron's 150th anniversary... All of these watches had the potential to raise a few million dollars.

It really does look as if Christie's intended to limit the sale of Watches for ELA to a few dozen from the outset. Circumstantial evidence would be the fact that the auction catalog was published less than two weeks before the sales, which seems to be becoming an unkind tradition.

Christie's did manage to come up with something, mainly thanks to the American collector and former CEO of Continental Airlines Gordon Bethune. For example, Bethune has consigned a top hit at previous auctions: a rose-gold Rolex Ref. 6062 "Stelline" triple calendar model, which was only acquired this time last year at Christie's infamously scandalous Genevan Passion for Time auction for CHF 2,223,000.

This model from 1952 is described as one of the world's best-preserved "Stelline" examples. You may remember that the stellar "Stelline" watch gets its name from its eight five-point stars that mark its dial. It's worth noting that this model has already changed hands several times over the past twelve years.

Prices for this watch have risen up until now. That'll make it all the more interesting to see how it fares here. The organizers of the auctions have given it a cautious estimate of CHF 1,200,000 – CHF 2,200,000. The watch with the second-highest estimate is an extremely rare pink-gold tourbillon with with power reserve, remontoir d’egalite and brass movement: F.P. Journe Tourbillon Remontoir d'Égalité Ref. T, NO. 062/00T from 2000.

This was François-Paul Journe's first serially produced watch, and the world's first tourbillon with a constant-force mechanism based on the manually wound manufacture caliber 1498. Collectors will know that the "T" denotes the tourbillon complication. Only 20 pieces were made in the first-generation "Souscription" series.

Most of the early watches were housed in platinum cases. This specific example has a 38-mm pink-gold case and a white-gold dial. The model has been given a very cautious estimate: CHF 400,000 - 600,000. The organizers have weighed up the chances of another tourbillon by Journe: the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical "Black Label" (no. 122-TV) from 2022.

It's been given a slightly lower estimate at CHF 320,000 – CHF 500,000 — clearly lower than what they expect it could achieve. That could be because the watch has barely turned two. The Black Label collection from two years ago is generally considered ultra-exclusive. 

These watches were only sold to existing F.P. Journe watch owners through F. P. Journe boutiques. The great watchmaker only plans to make no more than two models annually over the next six years or so — François-Paul Journe doesn't like committing to overly demanding targets. After all, this is a complicated watch.

The tourbillon cage is mounted perpendicular to the movement. Journe believes that this is the optimal position for the tourbillon to effectively offset the effects of gravity on the balance mechanism and the mainspring, regardless of whether the watch is lying flat or facedown, and so it increases timekeeping accuracy.

This is a 30-second tourbillon, i.e., its titanium cage completes one full revolution every half minute, which also reduces the negative effects gravity has on timekeeping accuracy. In addition, the watch features the signature constant-force device which helps the balance wheel oscillate at a steady amplitude, regardless of how wound the mainspring is, as well as deadbeat seconds. A terrific watch with a bright future!

There are a few watches worth mentioning which share the same upper estimate of CHF 500,000. One of them is definitely another example of the same Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 from 1981, albeit a less rare version in yellow gold. There's also a historic and possibly unique prototype chronograph: the Patek Philippe Ref. 1491.

Historians and experts believe that this piece is the only surviving example. Ref. 1491 was produced from 1940 through to 1965, which saw around 400 pieces made, but the present example dates back to 1937, when the movement was manufactured.

It has a yellow-gold custom-made replacement case from 1942, created by a renowned contemporary Genevan case maker called François Markowsky. The case was a millimeter larger in diameter than the original case size. And here we can also see a unique dial with applied Roman numerals made of gold.

Another watch with the same upper estimate is the Patek Philippe Calatrava Ref. 3428G from 1963 (manufactured between 1960 and 1965) in a 36-mm case made of white gold: one of only approximately six known examples in the whole world.

The whereabouts of the remaining five pieces remain unknown, and the present example resurfaced unexpectedly. It's a thoroughly elegant piece with an enamel dial. Collectors are excited about it. The only remaining candidate with a chance of exceeding the million mark that's worth mentioning here is a piece by the British watchmaker Roger Smith.

It's ultimately the third piece in a limited series of five from 2010, housed in a white-gold case measuring 38 mm in diameter. The watch is a beautiful neoclassical example with small seconds and a hand indication for the power reserve.

A final piece that will stand out at Watches for ELA is a brand-new split-seconds chronograph by Richard Mille: Ref. RM65-01 FQ/3787 in a case crafted from yellow Quartz TPT®. The organizers have rated its potential at CHF 350,000-450,000.

Previously (part I), (part II)

Credits provided by: www.christies.com