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Record participation at Only Watch 2015
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Record participation at Only Watch 2015

Thursday, 24 September 2015
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Fabrice Eschmann
Freelance journalist

“Don't believe all the quotes you read online!”

“In life as in watchmaking, it takes many encounters to make a story.”

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3 min read

Presided for the first time by Aurel Bacs and in association with Phillips, no fewer than 44 one-off timepieces will be auctioned at Only Watch, in Geneva this coming November 7th.

Will the forthcoming Only Watch charity auction break its record of €5.066 million realised in 2013? There’s every reason to think so. After all, the sale – held every two years since 2005 by Association Monégasque Contre les Myopathies and the Monaco Yacht Show – has already set a new record for participation: 44 brands have donated a watch to raise funds for research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a degenerative disease that affects boys at birth. This sixth edition will be the first time the sale takes place outside Monaco, moving instead to Geneva on November 7th, and also the first time in its history that the lots will come under the hammer of Aurel Bacs, in association with Phillips auction house.

Ever faithful

The previous sale, two years ago, owes much of its success to the extraordinary result achieved by Patek Philippe, whose perpetual calendar split-seconds chronograph reference 5004, made especially for Only Watch in titanium, found a buyer at €2.95 million. This year the brand has chosen for its contribution reference 5016, which combines collectors’ three most sought-after complications: a tourbillon, a minute repeater and a perpetual calendar. And to make it unique, this is the first and only version in steel. Not to be outdone, Breguet is proposing its Type XXI 3813 pilot watch, a flyback chronograph with central minutes counter, in its first ever platinum guise. Carl F. Bucherer, meanwhile, has opted for white gold for its Manero Chrono Perpetual, whereas Girard-Perregaux prefers DLC titanium for its Vintage 1945.

Although one-off choices of case metal are always in demand, other brands have found more symbolic ways to distinguish their watch. Because Duchenne muscular dystrophy affects children, H. Moser & Cie came up with the original idea of asking its employees’ children to draw the 31 date numerals on its Endeavour Perpetual Calendar. The result is both charming and understated. In a similar spirit, Perrelet has swapped the blades on its Turbine for a gold-tipped black sheriff’s star. As for Bell & Ross’s patinated BR 01 Skull Bronze Tourbillon, it could easily be part of a pirate’s sunken treasure.

Artistic

A one-off timepiece can also resemble a work of art, which is the road taken by Chopard and by Hublot, whose watches are respectively signed by brand ambassador and champion racing driver Mark Webber, and by Brazilian artist Romero Britto. This Classic Fusion even comes with the painting that inspired it.

Making its Only Watch debut, F.P. Journe has produced a very special version of its Tourbillon Souverain whose impressive tantalum case encloses a blue chrome dial with mirror-like reflections. Nor is Journe the only watchmaker to have focused attention on the dial. Laurent Ferrier has opted for a “sectorial” dial, a typical feature of late 1930s watches, for its Galet Square. The decorative arts, meanwhile, take pride of place at Blancpain, Boucheron, Bovet Fleurier and Chronoswiss, with demonstrations of grand feu enamel, engine-turning, hand-engraving or miniature painting.

One prototype

The only prototype to come under the hammer, the RM 27-02 by Richard Mille, is the actual watch worn by Rafael Nadal during matches at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2015. This ultra-lightweight model in NTPT carbon and TPT® quartz withstands shocks up to 5,000G, and should appeal to wealthy tennis fans. All the more so as it will be sold with Rafa’s tennis kit, signed by the man himself.

Before being dispersed, this exceptional collection will set off on a world tour, during which it can be viewed in the following cities:

September 23-26, Monaco (Monaco Yacht Show)
October 2-5, Hong Kong (Phillips)
October 9-12, Beijing (Parkview Green – Salone Monaco)
October 17-20, New York (Phillips)
October 24-27, London (Phillips)
November 5-6, Geneva (Phillips)

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