As we at HODINKEE like to do, I am thrilled to give you an early look at some of the highlights from the May 2016 auction season – here with a focus on our friends at Christie's. We already know that cross-town rival Phillips has a special, stainless-steel chronographs sale planned for the weekend of May 14th in Geneva, but that doesn't mean Christie's isn't going down without a fight. In fact, based on what you'll see here, it's fair to say we are in for an absolutely incredible weekend of watch sales. Let's get down to it.
The Earliest Patek Philippe 530 Oversized Chronograph In Steel, With A Sector Dial
Okay, we'll start with the most exciting watch to me. This thing is downright insanity, a true grail watch for me personally. What you're looking at is a reference 530 – the oversized Patek chronograph from the vintage era – considerably larger than the 1463, and certainly the 130/533, etc. The 530 is a remarkably special watch, and in yellow gold, they fetch prices into the 200ks and 300ks; for rose, double that; and for steel – well, you can imagine. And what makes this steel 530 so special is that first, it is in original and honest condition, belonging to the very same collector for the last 40 years! On top of that, it's a sector dial! And it's signed by Astrua, Torino – a retailer that, in my experience, ordered quite a few of these oversize chronographs (JC Biver's rose 530 is also signed by Astrua). Oh, by the way, this is the earliest known steel 530 now, dating all the way back to 1938! It even pre-dates the other sector steel 530 sold in the 175 sale.
I know I often regale you with horological hyperbole, but this is one of the most exciting watches I've seen in a while. The larger 36.5 mm size, the steel case, the sector dial, the four decades of uninterrupted ownership, and the honest nature of this watch make it a lifer for me – a true exit watch. Price is expected to be $520,000 to $820,000 – so it's safe to say this one won't be joining the Clymer collection any time soon. But damn, if I could, I really would.
1970s Breguet Triple Calendar Chronograph Wristwatch
Mid-century Breguet wristwatches fascinate me. The company was barely alive, with the vast majority of their output going into the Type XX's and the like – so when you see a really elegant watch come out of Breguet back then, it's exciting. This one is no exception for a few reasons. What we have here is a triple calendar chronograph, and while it has a killer 1950s look to it, it was actually made and sold in the early 1970s. I don't ever remember seeing a triple calendar chronograph Breguet like this, and archives indicate it was sold to a Mr. Belmondo – which Mr. Belmondo is up for debate, but we'll let your imagination take this one. A very rare, very high end, and very beautiful watch indeed. Price here is 40,000 to 60,000 Swiss.
A Tiffany-Signed Floating Cosmograph Daytona
With the release of the new Rolex Daytona, there has been an increased focus on the now discontinued self-winding watches, especially the early 16520s. This is a very early watch, dating to 1989 and featuring the sought after floating Cosmograph dial – but what makes it more interesting is that it is retailed and signed by Tiffany. Just a cool watch, if you're into the many lines of text. Estimate is $42-$82K USD.
A Unique And Historically Important Self-Winding, Quarter-Repeating Breguet Pocket Watch With Equation Of Time And Sectoral Power Reserve
To balance all the wristwatch hooplah, Christie's has been able to track down what can only be described as a phenomenally important and complicated wristwatch made by the hand of no less than Breguet himself. This watch, a 55 mm pocket watch dating to the year 1800, features a quarter repeater, equation of time display, calendar, and sectoral power reserve indicator. Most importantly, this is one of just 15 self-winding Breguets, and one of two with an equation of time mechanism – the other being the legendary reference 160, "Marie Antoinette" pocket watch. The watch has had several illustrious owners, including Jean Victor Marie Moreau, a French general that was at one point a close lieutenant of Napoleon, before being banished to the U.S. by his former friend for fear of competition. The watch has been published in several important Breguet texts, and George Daniels himself described the watch as one of the master's seminal watches. Some features include:
Illustrated and described in The Art of Breguet, George Daniels, 1975, p. 166, pl. 120a-c.
Illustrated in A. L. Breguet, Watchmaker of Kings, Professor Thomas Engel, 1994, p. 104-105.
Illustrated and described in Watches, Cecil Clutton and George Daniels, Viking Press, 1965, fig. 352-4.
When the watch sold in 1965, it was described as “probably the finest Breguet watch to be offered for sale since well before the war.” It sold to the famous Portuguese collector and art connoisseur Antonio Medeiros e Almeida for the then enormous sum of £8500. This event was sensational enough for the Daily Telegraph in London to report the story the next day under the heading “£8500 PAID FOR BREGUET LEVER WATCH.”
Obviously, the importance of this watch relative to just about any of the wristwatches featured in the sale are incomparable, though the estimate here is not much higher than many of the Patek wristwatches in the sale – which shows you how much times change. This superlative Breguet will be offered at an estimate of $620,000 to $1.2 million.
A Few More Mega Pateks
The Christie's May 2016 sale will also include an additional handful of high level Patek Philippes. Here is just a small sampling of what else will be offered.
Auction And Preview Details
The "Rare Watches" Sales will take place on May 16th, 2016, at 10 a.m. at the Four Seasons Geneva. The global previews for highlights of this sale will include the following:
1. Istanbul: April 5/7, Soho House
2. Hong Kong: April 18/19, Christie’s office
3. Taipei: April 21/22, Christie’s office
4. New York: May 4/6, Christie’s office
5. Geneva: May 13/15
The catalog for this sale is not yet online, but check back here next week and you should be able to see the entire sale. As I mentioned above, this is a very impressive selection of watches, and we are surely in for a great weekend of watch sales.
No comments:
Post a Comment