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...