CLUBHOUSE Away from the Fairways
The Jules Audemars Gstaad Classic Chronograph from Audemars Piguet
TEE TIME
One-Off Wonders
Watchmaking's top players give their philanthropic best with unique creations for a worthy cause. Evan Rast reports on the recent Only Watch auction in Monaco
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very two years, a special auct ion ta kes place i n Monaco u nder t he patronage of HSH Prince Albert II. Forty of the world’s biggest names in watchmaking come together in a extraordinary collaboration: presenting one-off pieces to be sold for the benefit of the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies (A MM). The watches are either unique, or the first piece of the collection, and are often specially engraved for the occasion. As expected, the idea of having an “Only Watch” has attracted the attention of watch lovers around the world, particularly in Hong Kong. Our city was one of the stops of a travelling exhibition t hat a l so went t h rou g h Ba n g kok , Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York, Milan, and Geneva. Only Watch started in 2005 as a fundraising project of Luc Pettavino, the long-time head of the Monaco Yacht Show – that is, until last year when he stepped down to focus on the AMM and other CONTINUED OVERLEAF HKGOLFER.COM
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DeWitt
Concept Watch No 3: X-Watch The Concept Watch No 3: X-Watch is fittingly named because it houses DeWitt’s third in-house calibre, the DW 8046, which is a reversible movement: a short way of saying that the time can be viewed from the front as well as the back. What’s cool about this one is that it was supposedly inspired by a concrete mixer, and the face of the watch is partially covered by an X-shaped bonnet that is opened by push pieces on the upper and lower part of the case, splitting the X in the middle to reveal the transparent dial. The X-watch comprises several complications, whose mechanisms are cleverly hidden or worked into the design: a double biretrograde hours and minutes display tourbillon on the front, and then a chronograph and a power reserve indicator at the back. The watch comes in a 49mm diameter. The estimated price was between €350,000-€500,000; the watch was sold at €410,000.
Harry Winston
non-profit work. The foundation’s main goal is to fund research on a rare disease called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), which is an inherited form of muscular dystrophy that leads to rapidly degenerating muscle tissue. It afflicts one in 3,600 male infants and has no known cure. Pettavino’s son, Paul, was born with the disease. So far research has been able to improve the quality of life of those afflicted with DMD, but medical science has yet to find a way to repair the gene defect. Now on its fourth run, Only Watch raised €4.563 million for the cause, adding to the €6.95 million already earned through the previous auctions. Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and HSH Prince Albert II were among those present at the Salle Belle Epoque of the Hermitage hotel in Monaco on 23 September as 40 unique watches found their way onto their owners’ wrists. We take a look at a dozen of the most innovative, dramatic, and popular (exceeding estimates) timepieces from the auction.
Audemars Piguet
Jules Audemars Gstaad Classic Chronograph 2011 This watch may not have a hexagonal bezel, but with its 41mm case and robust dial design, the Jules Audemars Gstaad Classic Chronograph 2011 was definitely one of the most dashing pieces in the lot. Housed in a pink gold case unique to the Only 22
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Watch edition (the regular version is in titanium), the timepiece was designed in a combination of silver and anthracite, a chronograph, with a tachometric scale on the border of the dial, a central sweep seconds hand, subsidiary dials for the seconds, and a 30-minute register. Originally created for the 2011 edition of the bi-annual Gstaad Classic car rally, which Audemars Piguet sponsors, the model features a specially engraved caseback and a brown crisscross overstitched strap that reinforce the vintage car theme. The watch fetched a handsome €38,000 (from a wish price of €35-45,000) at auction.
Midnight GMT Tourbillon Harry Winston’s piece features a movement from its Ocean collection, f itted into its Midnight case. Coming exclusively in platinum, the 45mm watch has an automatic GMT tourbillon movement, with a power reserve of 110 hours. A ruthenium dial that plays with circles and textures features a secondary time
shown in the smaller dial at 9 o’clock, while Monaco, the auction’s location, takes a place of honour as one of the cities on the time zone display. The watch’s bezel, that subtly presents the three distinct arches of the Harry Winston’s New York Salon, borders the dial. The watch fetched €160,000 at auction.
Auction Aces (clockwise from top): Chanel's J12 Marine; the Concept Watch No 3: X-Watch from De Witt; Hermès' Arceau Time Suspended; the Midnight GMT Tourbillon from Harry Winston
Hermès
Arceau Time Suspended Hermès made a special edition of its much talked about Arceau Time Suspended for the Only Watch auction. If you haven’t heard about this timepiece yet, then you must brush up on the highlights of Basel 2011! It’s an innovation that allows one to conceal or “stop” time on the dial with a mere push of a button. One more push brings you back to the actual time. Though simply explained, the mechanism that allows this feat is truly quite complicated, requiring the watchmakers at Hermes to rethink traditional ways of their craft.. In fact, the construction and gear teeth are patented. The watch features a dial that seems quite simple at first glance, but upon closer inspection you’ll see that it has a triple retrograde movement – a world’s first – that allows time to disappear without interrupting the movement and the date counter. The Only Watch piece comes in a blue dial with a herringbone guilloche motif, and an engraved caseback. The winning bid for this watch was €27,000.
Chanel
J12 Marine Chanel presented a diver's watch for its Only Watch offering, the J12 Marine. Water-resistant to 300 metres, the watch comes in pink gold and black ceramic, with the brand's signature sandblasted case. Gold accents on the bezel, hands and indices distinguish the unique piece from the regular series. The J12 Marine is powered by an automatic 2892-A2 calibre, housed in a 42mm case. Pink gold luminescent hands, indicators and the numeral 12 ensure ultimate readability. A date window is sited between 4 and 5 o’ clock. Engraved with “Unique piece” on the caseback, the J12 Marine sold for €21,000 (wish price at €15,000-€20,000). HKGOLFER.COM
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Laurent Ferrier
Galet Micro-Rotor Laurent Ferrier ’s contribut ion is t he prototype for the next model in his celebrated Galet series. The watch features a unidirectional micro-rotor with a silicon direct impulse balance (offering less friction), and an 80-hour power reserve. The case comes in steel, and the elegant brown dial is guilloche-finished, with a seconds subdial at 6 o’clock. Golden needles in the shape of spears form the hours and minutes, and straight lines form the seconds. The overall aesthetic of this watch is clean, polished, and without distraction, the signature of Laurent Ferrier. This unique piece has the words “Only Watch” and “prototype No. 1” engraved on the rotor and the barrel bridge, and the back, as Ferrier’s other models, offers a generous view of the essential parts of the movement. The Galet Micro-rotor sold for €41,000, with a wish price of €25,000-€35,000
MB&F
Only Watch HM4 A fan of contemporary art, Max Büsser’s contributions to Only Watch have often been done in collaborations with artists. At the third edition of the auction two years ago, MB&F presented an Horological Machine No.2 with a blued gold butterfly, designed by Californian artist Sage Vaughn. This year the team presented the Horological Machine No. 4, the Thunderbolt, but with an 18k solid gold detachable panda on top, inspired by a painting by Chinese artist Huang Hankang of a flying
panda. The HM4 Thunderbolt is an amazing piece of engineering, with two mainspring barrels that offer 72 hours of power reserve. Instead of a dial, there are two turbine-like pods that display time on the right, and the power reserve on the left. This special watch fetched an impressive €410,000 at auction.
an ultra-thin handwound movement and small seconds at 10 o’clock. Black PVD coating is applied to the case, the buckle and the skeletonized 838P movement, while the dial boasts a guilloché motif, and dauphine hands embellished with pink gold finishing. (Wish price €25,000 - €35,000, sold for €54,000)
Patek Philippe
Reference 3939 Selling for a whopping €1.4 million from a wish price range of €450,000 to €650,000 Patek Philippe’s Reference 3939 was the most successful watch sold at auction. The buzz about this piece started weeks before the actual event, given that the line was recently discontinued. The brand also revealed that the watch is the only reference 3939 in steel (the previous versions were all in platinum) and will be the last ever produced. The watch features a black enamel dial with small seconds, and the caliber R TO 27 PS minute repeater and tourbillon movement, in a 33.3mm case.
Monaco Models (clockwise from top) Laurent Ferrier's Galet Micro-Rotor; the Altiplano Skeleton from Piaget; Patek Philippe's Reference 3939; the Rafael Nadal RM 027 from Richard Mille; MB&F's Only Watch HM4 24
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Piaget
Altiplano Skeleton Selling well over estimates, Piaget’s Altiplano Skeleton is a unique piece at 40mm (the new Altiplano is 43mm), a white gold case housing HKGOLFER.COM
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Richard Mille
Rafael Nadal RM 027 If you have been watching Rafael Nadal this year, you would have noticed the watch he’s worn to all his games since the French Open. Normally, tennis players (like golfers) who are watch ambassadors would wear a watch to press conferences, and before and after play, since they would be too heavy to wear during the game. But Richard Mille created a super lightweight watch, called the RM 027, which is made of titanium and LITAL (a lithium alloy). These materials have contributed to a creation that is less than 20 grams with the strap, making the RM027 one of the lightest tourbillons ever made. Lithium is also known to be a good shock absorber, which allows for the watch to be used in sports. According to reports, Nadal donated the watch he used at the 2011 Monte Carlo championships for the auction, personally handing it to Paul Pettavino after the awards ceremony. The watch sold for €510,000 (estimates between €400,000 and €600,000)
Vacheron Constantin
Métiers d’Art Perspectives d’Art “Dove” Vacheron Constantin presented a piece from its Metiers d’Art collection, which showcases more of the brand’s expertise in hand finishing. The watch is inspired from an MC Escher drawing of doves in flight, symbolizing hope and love. The workmanship is amazing: enameling is used on the red birds, opalescent enameling on the white ones, while hand-guilloché produces the gold birds. In addition, there is one bird set with 40 brilliant-cut diamonds. A 40mm white gold case houses the caliber 2460 SC movement bearing the Geneva seal, with a 40-hour power reserve. (Wish price €80,000 - €120,000, sold for €90,000)
Van Cleef & Arpels
From the Earth to the Moon VCA continues its interpretation of Jules Verne’s classic novels with From the Earth to the Moon. The watch is a colourful example of the brand’s expertise in poetic complications, with a rocket on the right side of the dial indicating the minutes, while a star indicates the hours on the left side of the dial. The stars and planets on the dial are a combination of champlevé enamel and fine gems. The earth and the moon extend onto the bezel of the 42mm white gold case, making the watch a unique piece. Again, this watch exceeded expectations as it sold for €215,000 from estimates of between €100,000 - €120,000.
Artistic Assortment: Vacheron Constantin's Metiers d'Art Perspectives "Dove" (top); From the Earth to the Moon from Van Cleef & Arpels 26
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