Important timepieces from leading watch brands up for auction in Geneva.
Collectible watches are up for auction at Sotheby’s in Geneva on May 10. The Important Watches Live Sale follows Sotheby’s recent watch sale in Hong Kong, which achieved the highest turnover in Asia for an auction house and the most valuable watch sale ever for Sotheby’s. The most valuable watch in Geneva is lot 31, an A. Lange & Söhne Grande Complication table clock made by the manufacturer in 1916 (estimate $885,000-1,520,000). Handcrafted in rose gold, with complications including a grande and petite sonnerie, minute repeater, perpetual calendar, and split-seconds chronograph, it is being offered for sale and displayed to the public for the first time since 1939, when it was sold to the family of the current owner. It is the fifth watch in a series of only nine and the last one made in rose gold.
Among the most valuable lots is lot 78, a Rolex Daytona Paul Newman John Player Special, reference 6241 ($570,000-$1,077,000). It is an extremely rare gold chronograph wristwatch with a bracelet, also produced in 14-karat gold. This was the lowest weight of gold Rolex used for the few Daytonas destined for the US market, to avoid paying the higher import duties imposed on 18-karat gold models. The rarity of the watch is further enhanced by its unique and sought-after John Player Special dial configuration and its excellent condition.
An alternative Rolex Daytona with a Paul Newman dial vies for attention in Sotheby’s sale of important watches: lot 69, an extremely rare 18k yellow gold chronograph wristwatch, reference 6239, produced in 1967 and coming to auction for the first time since its original owner purchased it nearly fifty years ago ($380,000-$760,000). Only about ten yellow gold Paul Newmans of this reference have ever come to auction.
Lot 94, a Rolex Explorer II Messner, reference 1655, rounds out the selection of Rolex watches ($25,000-$50,000). This stainless steel wristwatch, circa 1979, with a date and 24-hour display, is typical of a series designed for those who push exploration to the limit in the most extreme conditions of heat, cold, or humidity. It was the watch of Reinhold Messner, the most influential high-altitude mountaineer of all time, who later gifted it to his longtime logistics manager and friend, Prithivi Raj Chettri, known as Bobby.
Another special connection, this time romantic, unites the next two lots: lot 80, an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Number A4, reference 5402ST (125,000-350,000), and lot 81, Royal Oak II, reference 8638ST (12,500-35,000). Both are stainless steel wristwatches with a date display. The first was a wedding gift from a loving wife to her husband in May 1972, less than a month after the launch of the revolutionary Royal Oak. The second Royal Oak was a wedding gift from the beloved husband to his wife in 1976.
The auction also offers a wide selection of Patek Philippe watches, including lot 64, a historically significant and one-of-a-kind yellow gold and enamel domed table clock, reference 771.00, produced around 1971 for the renowned poet, writer, and statesman Léopold Sédar Senghor, President of Senegal for 20 years from 1960. Requiring over 2,000 hours of meticulous craftsmanship by three masters, the Léopold Sédar Senghor Renaissance Domed Solar Clock is a masterpiece of engineering: it features a photoelectric movement, one of the most remarkable innovations in 20th-century watchmaking (330,000-630,000).
Patek Philippe Padellone enthusiasts will appreciate lot 40, Reference 3448J, made in 1972 (250,000-500,000). Offered in yellow gold with a perpetual calendar and moon phases, it belongs to the third of four series produced by Patek Philippe in various metals. The dial bears the Tiffany & Co. signature, a testament to the historic collaboration between Patek Philippe and Tiffany & Co., which began in 1851.
The auction also features several FP Journe watches, including lot 46, a François-Paul Journe Chronomètre à Résonance, an early and experimental model and now a modern icon of watchmaking. Made in rose gold with a dual time zone, power reserve indicator, and a brass movement, it dates back to around 2001 (500,000-800,000). Other notable watches include Bernhard Lederer’s Central Impulse Chronometer, Reference 9012, a Legacy Machine Perpetual, Reference 03.RL.W by MB&F, and the second installment of Shapes of Cartier: The Finest Vintage Grouping Ever Assembled – a historic, single-owner collection of over 300 watches.
