Highlights of the “Styled” watch auction that took place in New York last December
The most famous watch auctioneer in the world explores the radical change in the attitude of most brands when it comes to the secondary market, which is booming while sales of new watches are stagnating. If brands are rushing to enhance the value of their historical assets, it is because they now have a clear understanding of where their economic interests lie.
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nyone who attended the last watch sale of 2018 organised by Phillips, “Styled”, in New York, would have understood immediately the extent to which the secondary market has become the real meeting place for watch aficionados. One could sense the enthusiasm and almost physical thrill that are too often lacking during the larger, more formal events organised by brands. It is here that the living, beating, public heart of watchmaking is at its best. Paradoxically, then, an industry that is trying to look to the future needs to turn to the past to find the freshest, most dynamic and modern image of itself. After all, watchmaking is a matter of time... And time is the ruthless master that will judge the few models that will go down in history, those that will fall under the hammer of Aurel Bacs, setting them apart from the ephemeral existence of most timepieces. Things have come a long way indeed since the first major thematic auctions organised by Osvaldo Patrizzi in the 1990s. A Phillips sale has become the most visible and prestigious face of a revolution, that of the second-hand watch. Here, collectors’ models often increase their initial value tenfold, while far away, in the darker corners of the internet, watches change hands for a tenth of their marked price. These are different planets of the same bubbling universe, one we are looking at with increasing interest.
Aurel Bacs shares with us some thoughts on the evolution and possible future of this universe. Europa Star: Alongside the launch of the Apple Watch and the fantasies it fosters, vintage watches are doing better than ever. Why? Aurel Bacs: I remember when the Apple Watch arrived, we thought it might be once again, as it was in the 1970s, a sign of a weakening of the mechanical watch. But there is one difference – and it is significant: the debate surrounding the “quartz crisis” was about performance. However, today I don’t know anyone who buys a vintage watch for its performance. People buy it because it is a work of art on the wrist. If I had to give you one word to help you understand watchmaking today, it would be “culture”. And by that, I mean intellectual, emotional and aesthetic stimulation. In the same way, we don’t drink a vintage wine just because we are thirsty, or choose a painting just to cover a white wall! So you’re saying that, paradoxically, the Apple Watch has actually enhanced the appeal of vintage watches? I’m grateful to Apple for the launch of their smartwatch, because it’s far easier to appreciate things when they’re set in contrast. We enjoy a cold drink when it’s hot and a hot drink when it’s cold. We have seen an extraordinary rejuvenation in our industry. The new generation wear cheap T-shirts and use disposable phones, and that’s why they’re looking for “content” - I hate the word storytelling, which is closer to fantasy in my eyes. A watch, like a sculpture, is a three-dimensional object. But a vintage mechanical watch also has a fourth dimension: the origin, the history, the uniqueness, the patina, the age...
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