The July sales in Monaco were fairly low-key, but November promises to be positive.
 

This summer has been a real off-season for the pre-owned watch market. The only Vintage Timepieces sale organized by Monaco Legend Auctions was a flop, and other auction houses didn't even auction a single watch, so collectors and investors are cautiously welcoming fall.

Is It All Bad?

One of the key negative symptoms is the fact that not one of the major auction houses has prepared a catalog ahead of the most important November auctions in Geneva or the warm-up online auctions. By August, auction houses would usually be actively promoting the sales to conclude 2024.

The absence of catalogs implies that the auction houses still haven't managed to put together decent portfolios, presumably because the majority of rarity owners want to hold onto their watches for now in the hope that the situation will pick up in the foreseeable future.

Phillips held a charity auction that didn't auction off a single watch on September 1 during the Geneva Watch Days. What does that say?

They offered jerseys owned by lesser-known basketball players, miniature F1 pilot's helmets, guitars, sketches of watch models, pencil sharpeners and other miscellaneous items that have little or nothing to do with haute horlogerie. All the proceeds went towards the famous Geneva Watchmaking School.

The only more or less interesting event for collectors and investors was an evening organized by Philllips on August 29, where Felix Baumgartner of Urwerk, Rexhep Rexhepi of Akrivia and SJX founder Su Jia Xian discussed the topic "What is Soul in Independent Watchmaking?"

Again, it only aroused proximal and tentative interest about the possibility of meeting the billed watchmakers in person, perhaps among those hoping to get their names closer to the top than the bottom of a waiting list for one of their upcoming models.

Misunderstanding in Monaco

Could you call Vintage Timepieces held by Monaco Legend Auctions an epic failure? It's more of a yes than a no. Draw your own conclusions: the organizers were hoping to raise a sales total of a few million euro.

With this aim in mind, they did away with reserve prices, eased registration and lowered the buyer’s premium to 24 percent (now already including VAT) — all in the hope of attracting as many potential buyers as possible. In the end, almost all of the 120 lots were sold, and 97.5 percent is a very good result by today's standards.

But the sales total was only EUR 388,368. The most expensive lot was a Gubelin pocket minute repeater from the 1920s in a 43-mm platinum case, sold for EUR 15,000, and ultimately EUR 18,600 if you include the buyer's premium.

The watch in second place was a Universal Geneve military-style chronograph made in 1942 featuring a 30-minute counter, 12-hour counter, and a tachymeter scale (EUR 11,904 with premium). Third place was secured by a poorly preserved steel Rolex Ref. 4500 chronograph made in 1945 (EUR 11,656 with premium).

Two timepieces were just shy of the result achieved by the watch in third place: a Longines doctor's chronograph from the early 1930s with an enamel dial, housed in a 33-mm yellow-gold case (EUR 10,644 with premium). 

And an excellently preserved ultra-thin automatic Audemars Piguet Ref. 5557 perpetual calendar in a 36-mm case on a yellow-gold bracelet from the early 1980s (EUR 10,168 with premium). Broadly speaking, these aren't the kind of results you'd expect from an auction held in Monaco.

But Monégasques haven't lost heart and are hoping that the Exclusive Timepieces sales in October will bring in no less than the April auctions, which generated EUR 22.6 million. After all, the organizers have already found a major rarity to hammer off: a slender Patek Philippe Ref. 2438/1 sweep center-seconds perpetual calendar.

Like the iconic Ref. 2499 (a perpetual calendar chronograph), there was a time when this model was one of only three perpetual calendars available on the market, and it was considered one of the most prestigious watches in the middle of the 20th century.

The watchmaker's own advertisements for this watch at the time emphasized its normal size, comfortable wear, and the multifunctionality of the perpetual calendar. And it had another less subtle but important marketing appeal: "Only a few can own this Patek-Philippe — because only a few are made."

The watch was powered by a Patek Philippe manually wound 27 SC movement. A total of 50 pieces were made in yellow-gold cases, while just 15 of these perpetual calendars were made in pink gold. Only 29 known yellow-gold examples and just seven in pink gold have survived.

Why is the present example described as "unknown"? That's because it's more than a rare resurface of a pink-gold edition, it also has a track marked in Arabic numerals, and there's not even any mention of this dial option for original watches in Patek Philippe's own archives.

The model clearly acquired its current appearance as a result of its first owner's wishes — a German businessman called Otto Gerhard Friedrich Bovensiepen, whose name is engraved on the caseback.

He regularly sent his watch to be serviced, when he'd request one revision or another to make it easier to tell the time (enlarged indexes, brighter and more contrasting hands).

His son Bernhard Bovensiepen inherited the watch. Bernhard knew it was a valuable watch, and continued to have it serviced regularly at the Patek Philippe manufacture. The last letter of request to Patek Philippe is dated July, 2021.

Despite this model's squeaky-clean, flawless history, the experts at Monaco Legend Group are in no hurry to give the star lot at their Exclusive Timepieces auction in October a pre-sale estimate.

Maybe they still haven't got over July's disappointment, or maybe the significant divergence from the original look of the Patek Philippe Ref. 2438/1 has raised a discussion.

Every Little Helps: Auction Appeal

Without any catalogs, you have to rely on the brands to learn about the most interesting lots at the November auctions in Geneva. And from these tidbits of information, you can already tell that the auction house with the most interesting lineup will probably be Phillips In Association With Bacs & Russo.

It's taking place on November 8 at the Hotel President Geneva and has a rather intriguing title — Reloaded: The Rebirth of Mechanical Watchmaking, 1980 – 1999. Let's run through the watches that we think will be the most interesting.

F.P. Journe 1993 Tourbillon à Remontoir d’Egalité Prototype

This is the second wristwatch François-Paul Journe made. It's almost identical to his first, which is kept in the watchmaker's museum, and Journe also made this one entirely by hand.

The movement's mainplate doubles up as the dial for this remarkable watch, which is engraved with the numbers for the timepiece and year "15/93." The hours and minutes are indicated in an off-center subdial, which is decorated with the Clous de Paris guilloché pattern.

There's no official estimate yet, but we're sure that the final sales price will definitely surpass the mark of CHF 2 million, although it probably won't exceed CHF 5 million.  

First-Ever "Rainbow" Daytona Ref. 16599

The first "Rainbow" version of the Rolex Daytona chronograph, i.e., with a bezel and case encrusted with multicolored precious stones, is generally believed to have been officially unveiled in Basel in 2012. And that's true if you're talking about the official unveiling. But its first unofficial appearance was in the mid-1990s as a piece privately commissioned for a client.

That's why this piece still runs on caliber 4030 based on the Zenith El Primero 400. And this one-of-a-kind Rolex Daytona Zenith Rainbow has been put up for auction for the first time. The case is encrusted with sapphires, while the dial is diamond-set with sapphire hour markers.

Sooner or later, an auction catalog will be published, where we might get to see the name of its previous owner and learn where they got the idea to decorate this iconic chronograph with precious stones. Everything that has to do with Rolex is very serious. That's why we expect the final sales price to fall somewhere within the range of CHF 4-6 million. 

A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down "Hampton Court Edition"

The Saxons are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their wristwatch chronograph this year by launching one unusual model after another. After presenting the limited edition Datograph Up/Down Handwerkskunst (German for "Craftsmanship"), the manufacture in Glashütte announced the launch of the unique Datograph Up/Down "Hampton Court Edition" model.

It's named after the British royal family's palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and dedicated to the UK-based Prince's Trust charity, which helps disadvantaged young people get their lives on track. All the proceeds from the sale of this model will be donated to the charity.

It has an "officer's watch" hinged caseback, and the 41-mm watch is worn on a white-gold bracelet. The dial is a graphite-gray color and its 30-minute and second counters are jet black. The A. Lange & Söhne Datograph is certainly still nowhere near as highly sought-after as Rolex Daytona watches on the pre-owned watch market, and is far off their prices.

That's why we think that its final sales price will be in and around CHF 200,000. By the way, this isn't the first unique model. This A. Lange & Söhne Datograph was preceded by the launch of the 1815 Chronograph "Hampton Court Edition." The new watch is already set to be hammered off in Geneva by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo on 6 November.

Credits provided by: www.gva-watch-days.com, www.watchesbysjx.com, www.monacolegendauctions.com, www.phillips.com, www.alange-soehne.com