It’s Complicated: 10 Hot Lots From Ineichen’s Date & Calendar Watch Themed Auction

Ineichen Auctioneers is at it again. The innovative Zurich-based auction house, known for its “no buyer’s premium” policy, is getting ready to hold its second horological complications-themed auction. And this time the focus is on rare date and calendar watches!

Following the success of its Complications: Skeletons & Tourbillons sale in October, Ineichen is once again putting a mouth-watering selection of hard-to-find, complicated timepieces under the hammer at its Complications: Dates & Calendars auction this weekend. With pre-bidding on Ineichen’s website already underway, the live auction will kick off this Saturday, December 3rd at 14:00 CET both online and in Zurich.
 

What’s more, Ineichen will add a “Fixed Price” option at the auction, giving bidders the chance to skip the bidding process and buy their desired lot directly, for a fixed sum. This option has until now only been available at the auctioneer’s Timed Pieces and Art sales, but is now set to be a feature of all Ineichen auctions.

While date displays and calendar complications first appeared in pocket watches in the early 19th century, their integration into mechanical wristwatches only began in earnest just over a hundred years ago. Indeed, the first date wristwatch – featuring a pointer display – was patented in 1915. Over the next few decades, date-window, triple calendar, and perpetual calendar wristwatches followed, with the annual calendar wristwatch a more recent invention: The first was Patek Philippe’s Ref. 5035 released in 1996.
 

Ineichen has now chosen to honor the date and calendar wristwatch for its themed sale this weekend. Given the promising results of October’s Complications: Skeletons & Tourbillons auction where all but one of the 50 lots sold for higher than their upper estimate, this Saturday’s date and calendar-focused sale auction will definitely be one to watch.
 

All the more so because, once again, Ineichen has assembled an incredible catalog featuring pieces by top historical brands and acclaimed independent watchmakers. Below is my selection of the top ten lots. Whittling down all the lots to just ten was a veritable challenge for a watch lover like me, but in the end, it was a case of “mission accomplished.”

Skeleton versions of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar (Ref. 25829) have been highly sought after at recent watch auctions, reflected in some impressive hammer prices. While not skeletonized, this Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in platinum with stunning mother-of-pearl dial – believed to belong to the early period of reference 25820, from the late 1990s/early 2000s – is one of the most hard-to-find Royal Oak iterations. The tussle between bidders for it promises to be an intense one as this unicorn is unlikely to be seen at auction again any time soon. With a starting price of CHF 120,000, pre-bidding is already hotting up nicely, with over 28 bids so far ensuring this one won’t hammer for anything less than CHF 255,000.
 

Launched in 1994, the Vacheron Constantin Ref. 47052 52 is a triple calendar wristwatch with day, date, moonphase and 52-week indicator on the periphery of the dial. As the trend for oversized watches wanes and collectors embrace smaller sizes again, this 36mm yellow-gold Ref. 47052 should definitely hold plenty of appeal for bidders. As original as it is refined, this piece – carrying a starting price of CHF 8,000 – is a hidden gem just asking to be snapped up.
 

When hosting a major complication, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso always offers a unique playground for movement constructors as they can display functions and reveal mechanical wonders on both sides of the watch. Carrying an upper estimate of CHF 20,000, this Ref. 240.6.90 features big date, power reserve and day-and-night indicators. Launched in 2002 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Reverso, it was part of a limited edition of 500 pieces in platinum. There is a before-its-time quality about the gray, engine-turned dial, which lends this piece a modernity which still holds up two decades after its release.
 

Among Daniel Roth’s phenomenal creations, his perpetual calendars are some of the most memorable and desirable. This Master’s Calendar (Ref. 118.L.60.011) displays perpetual calendar, moonphase and leap year functions in a thoroughly unique configuration, on a linearly guilloched dial framed by Roth’s signature double ellipse-shaped Ellipsocurvex case, here in white gold. Carrying an upper estimate of CHF 25,000, this example gives collectors a chance to snaffle a rare bird: It is thought that only a handful of these have been made so, understandably, they seldom appear at auction.
 

Introduced in the mid-2000s, this Parmigiani Fleurier beauty hosts the gorgeous caliber 332, an automatic retrograde perpetual calendar with leap year indicator. It is very much in keeping with Michel Parmiginani’s vision of watchmaking, nurtured by his own journey as a restorer of innovative pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries. Its Toric case in rose gold – a Parmigiani signature design – is inspired by classic pocket watches. Carrying an estimate of CHF 15,000 to CHF 20,000, this one should be seriously considered by bidders at Saturday’s auction.
 

The beauty of Ineichen’s themed auctions is their laser-like focus that allows collectors and investors to fully digest each gem up for grabs. Ineichen’s format entails a relatively small catalog of timepieces, chosen according to a clear theme. In this way, each watch can be properly highlighted, rather than becoming lost in a sea of hundreds of disparate pieces, as can happen at two-day auctions.

Ineichen Auctioneer’s “Complications: Dates & Calendars” auction will take place this Saturday, December 3rd at 14:00 CET both online and in Zurich. To see full details of all the lots and to register to bid, please visit the Ineichen Auctioneers website.

(Images © Ineichen Auctioneers)