If the first part of this topic about the Christie's auction was dedicated to the stars of the show, the second part is deals with atypical pieces, rarities and also one or two main pieces that I could not fit in the pre-auction post.
Since there are some fans in the audience, let's start with Rolex.
The peculiarity of this Rolex 6034 from 1950 lies with the dial, devoid of the "Amagnetic" label. Incidentally, this dial is a perfect illustration of a "tropical" livery as one could picture it... With its balanced "tropicalization", it does the job perfectly.
The other amazing feature relative to this watch is that the overall design looks more "vintage" than the Oysters from the 20's... The outlines are a bit heavy, a tinge less dynamic and refined than the future 6238, but nonetheless prefigure the design of the future Daytona chronographs. A little like a baby dog with its big paws would prefigure the future breed dog.
The Rolex Daytona collectors did not miss it and the watch reached far above its estimated price.
LOT 137:
Rolex 6034 Tropical Dial
Estimated price: 80,000-140,000CHF
Final Bid, November 12, 2012 @ Christie’s Geneva: 183,000 CHF
Now, a true atypical piece. Contrary to the 6034, this Rolex 6569 is in a pristine condition and its look is still current; indeed, when it was produced, in 1955, it must have been perceived as a watch from the future. The only cue that indicates its age is its small size, 34mm.
Its singularity is that it features a special dial, which looks a lot like the "True-Beat" dial of the Rolex 6556 with dead beat second.
But here, the second hand is abnormally slipping, which makes it even more interesting to a Rolex collector.
LOT 20:
Rolex Oyster 6569 special « True-Beat » dial
Estimated price: 4,000 - 6,000 CHF
Final Bid, November 12, 2012 @ Christie’s Geneva: 21,250 CHF
Sometimes, auctions are boring: Once again, a pristine "Paul Newman". Another one. It even looks like it is out of the box, as its dial is so gleaming; the only hints that this Daytona is actually old comes from the somewhat worn tritium numerals and the slightly erased first letters of "Cosmograph".
The particularity of this model is that everything is identical to the 6263, except for the pushers, which look like they were borrowed from the 6240.
Of course, because of its exceptional condition this Daytona Paul Newman was hammered-down above its estimated price.
LOT 19:
Rolex Daytona 6263
Estimated price: 60,000 - 90,000CHF
Final Bid, November 12, 2012 @ Christie’s Geneva: 135,000 CHF
"Chinese market My Love". It also works for the auctions.
The enameled vintage pocket watches are highly valued by Asian collectors, who have been enthusiastic regarding this kind of creations since the 18th century.
But until now, these works were a bit neglected in the auctions, despite their obvious technical and aesthetic appeal. Yet, they often represent the aesthetic and technical pinnacle of the watchmaking industry from the 18th century.
This Piguet & Meylan features a representation of Pierre-Paul Prud'hon's allegory "L’amour séduit l’innocence ", by the enameller Lissignol. You will notice the brightness of the pink drape. The movement features a cylinder escapement device and a quarter-repeater.
Like the lot 194, the William Ilbery, this Piguet & Meylan went through the roof at the auction, by reaching five times its estimated price, when the "big fishes" merely made it to their highest estimates. Asia is still doing well.
LOT 41:
Piguet & Meylan N°10044 Enamel Quarter Repeater
Estimated price: 80,000-120,000CHF
Final Bid November 12, 2012 @ Christie’s Geneva: 459,000 CHF
Another peculiar piece, even more atypical that the previous ones.
The specialists of the AHCI (those who did not spend their time at Basel trying to get into the Rolex booth) may have had the chance to discover the creations of the Ukrainian Valeri Danevitch, who sculpts wooden watches.
This watch made of birch wood also comes from the East, but further East, from Russia. It is attributed to Bronnikov & Son; all the wheels and parts are made of wood and of bone. The only metallic part is the hairspring.
In this context, a silicon hairspring or even better, a glass one would make sense, as the watch would totally be non-magnetic.
Birchwood Pocket Watch attributed to Bronnikov & Son
Estimated price: 4,000-6,000CHF
Final Bid, November 12, 2012 @ Christie’s Geneva: 8,750 CHF
If the paradigm "history is constantly repeating itself" is debated, there is no doubt that the watchmaking industry constantly repeats itself.
The best example is this Patek Philippe from 1920, totally disconcerting and more in the spirit of the 2010's than any Patek in todays catalog!
The watchcase shape and especially the font has obviously inspired the new watchmaking from the 90's, Franck Muller leading.
The watch is very impressive: with its 43mm case, it looks larger than a Panerai when it sits on the wrist!
If the look is disconcerting, the hammer-price was finally in the average of any very exotic Patek.
LOT 217:
Patek Philippe oversized rectangular case (43mm), from 1920
Estimated price: 100,000 - 150,000 CHF
Final Bid, November 12, 2012 @ Christie’s Geneva: 147,000 CHF
Contrary to our habits, we will talk about a pair of lots, as they look like they have been created to be sold together.
One could even wonder that, opposite to other pieces from the beginning of the auction, they have not been proposed as a single lot. These Breitling 777 prefigure the future models Transocean, until the recent reissue with the brand new caliber B01, in a 44mm case. Here, the size is more modest, only 37mm, but the presence of these watches when they sit on the wrist is proportionally opposite to their size.
The white dial model, lot 270, is powered by a Venus 175 with beveled bridges, while the black dial version features a Venus 176 with plain bridges; yet, the latter reached the highest price.
LOT 270:
Breitling «777» chronograph white dial Cal. Venus 175
Estimated price: 4,000 - 6,000 CHF
Final Bid November 12, 2012 @ Christie’s Geneva: 6,875 CHF
LOT 271:
Breitling «777» chronograph black dial Cal. Venus 176
Estimated price: 5,000 - 8,000 CHF
Final Bid November 12, 2012 @ Christie’s Geneva: 11,250 CHF
Finally, to close the topic, two watches which feature many common traits: Manual chronograph, enameled dial with red chrono indicator and gold case.
The Longines is powered by a mythical caliber 13.33z, in a 35mm case.
The Eberhard features a surprising 16 lignes caliber Huga, in a 40mm case more actual than the small Longines. The dial sports a magnificent telemetric scale.
LOT 123:
Longines Gold Chronograph Cal. 13.33z
Estimated price: 4,000-6,000CHF
Final Bid, November 12, 2012 @ Christie’s Geneva: 6,000 CHF
LOT 122:
Chrono Eberhard Telemeter Enamel Cal. Huga 16'''
Estimated price: 2,000-3,000CHF
Final Bid, November 12, 2012 @ Christie’s Geneva: 4,000 CHF
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