NUVO Autumn 2013 cover Nacho Figueras lo res

Only Watch 2013 by NUVO Magazine

In Monaco's Only Watch Auction, Watch Manufacturers bring out their best in hopes of fetching the highest prices - for good cause.

by Sandra Lane

In the world of fine watch auctions, a collective holding of breath is par for the course when a rare Patek Philippe timepiece is on the block with bids heading rapidly skyward. And Julien Schaerer, managing director of the specialist auctioneer Antiquorum in Geneva, has presided over more than a few such occasions. Among them, one stands out: the selling of Reference 3939A, Patek Philippe’s contribution to the 2011 Only Watch auction.

“I opened the bidding at €300,000, and it took off,” says Schaerer. “As the price kept rising, I remember thinking, this is exceeding all my expectations—and I knew it had gone past what the collectors and even Patek Philippe had thought likely. Eventually, we made €1.4-million. It was very emotional, especially to think that it was all going to charity.”

Remarkable prices have been a feature of Only Watch since the biennial charity event began in 2005, with pieces by Patek Philippe and DeWitt repeatedly topping the list. One-off Richard Mille watches co-designed with Philippe Starck in 2005 and 2007 sold for €285,000 and €320,000, respectively. Another, was not even a physical watch, just the promise of one, bought sight unseen and to be completed and given to the buyer six months later. That was DeWitt’s Incognito 2008 concept watch, co-designed by Jérôme de Witt and the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, and it sold for €400,000.

Many of the timepieces have fetched prices well above expectations...

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