As part of Geneva Watch Days, Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo introduced a few highlights from the ‘Reloaded: The Rebirth of Mechanical Watchmaking 1980-1999’ auction last weekend.
UPDATE – 9 November: Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo Realise CHF 50.5/USD 58 Million in Combined Results for ‘Reloaded: The Rebirth Of Mechanical Watchmaking, 1980-1999’, and The Geneva Watch Auction: XX. Results of a few highlights in the ‘Reloaded: The Rebirth of Mechanical Watchmaking 1980-1999’ auction:
Lot 14: F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain à Remontoir d’Egalité, sold: CHF 7,320,000
Lot 25: Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ‘Rainbow’ ref. 16599, sold: CHF 5,505,000
Lot 65: Philippe Dufour Duality, sold: CHF 1,512,000
Lot 40: Oval Pocket Watch by Derek Pratt for Urban Jürgensen, sold: CHF 3,690,000
The ‘Reloaded: The Rebirth of Mechanical Watchmaking 1980-1999’ will be held on 8 November at Geneva’s Hotel President. From avant-garde designs to interesting mechanical complications, the auction offers a comprehensive look at the watches that defined that era. Quartz-powered timepieces challenged the luxury watch industry which aimed to answer with creativity and mechanical ingenuity.
As Alexandre Ghotbi, Head of Watches, Europe & Middle East, and Tiffany To, Head of Sale, jointly said, ‘The 1980s and 1990s were a period of intense change and experimentation. They were the decades of superstars and indie music, blockbusters and experimental cinema, the dawn of the internet and the PC. The world was never quite the same after. With the arrival of the quartz watches, mechanical horology was at a crossroads – change or die – but the watchmaking industry showed its resilience and innovative spirit. The 1980s-1990s was one of the most creative periods for watchmaking with the rise of independent watchmakers, the birth of multi complication wristwatches and the desire to create movements that had never been seen before. The watch industry reinvented itself, laying the foundations for the luxury, precision, and craftsmanship we see today. Without the pioneering spirit of the time there would be no watch making as we know it today. Reloaded will be one of the most exciting auctions – not just for the top lots, which we are incredibly thrilled about, but also for the meticulously curated selection, offering a diverse range of brands, styles, complications, and price points. This is truly a watch lover’s auction curated for other watch lovers!’
Last week we went to Phillips’ Geneva showroom to discover a few of the highlights.
F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain à Remontoir d’Egalité
Estimate: in excess of CHF 2 million
François-Paul Journe is one of the finest contemporary watchmakers who has been passionately creating haute horlogerie pieces for more than 3 decades. Any exhibition or auction preview with his watches is a pilgrimage for high profile collectors and aficionados. He founded his namesake business in 1999. The present Tourbillon Souverain is the second wristwatch he made in 1993 and the first he sold.
It features a gold movement, a raw dial design with the power-reserve indication at 11 o’clock, and a solid caseback. This watch, which was featured on the cover of Jean-Pierre Grosz’s book Invenit et Fecit (2018), is one of only three to be handmade by Journe himself. It is hand engraved with inked inscriptions on the dial and numbered ‘15/93’, marking it as made in 1993 and as Journe’s 15th timepiece. The watch comes with the original technical drawings, articles, and the invoice.
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ‘Rainbow’ ref. 16599
Estimate: in excess of CHF 3 million
The unique, first-of-its-kind Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ‘Rainbow’ ref. 16599 in white gold is referred to as the ‘grandfather of the Daytona Rainbows’. Created as a one-off piece in the 1990s, this Rolex features a bezel set with degradé-hued sapphires transitioning from deep red to purple, mimicking the colours of the rainbow – but the colour scheme different from all later models.
Philippe Dufour Duality
Estimate: CHF 800,000 – 1,600,000
The Duality of the eminent contemporary watchmaker Philippe Dufour, is using a double escapement (hence the name) featuring two independent balance wheels compensated with a central differential gear. The model was introduced in 1996 and so far the assumption was that just nine examples were created altogether.
This previously unknown 10th piece was crafted for a long-standing collector and features a distinctive configuration: a fully brushed platinum case, a dark grey dial with pink-gold indexes and hands, and a movement without inscriptions. Its unique status is confirmed by the Certificate of Origin.
Oval Pocket Watch by Derek Pratt for Urban Jürgensen
Estimate: in excess of CHF 1,000,000
As Phillips experts explain, ‘Urban Jürgensen was considered as one of the greatest watchmakers of the 19th century. Appointed to the court of Denmark, he established himself in Switzerland catering to monarchs, aristocrats and the greats of Europe. His name was abandoned in the early 20th century, but brought back to life by watchmaker and entrepreneur Peter Baumberger, who first bought the name in 1979 and then the whole company in 1985.’
Derek Pratt (1938 – 2009) was one of the greatest British watchmakers but known only for a few devoted horology lovers. He was the technical director at Urban Jürgensen & Sønner from 1982 to 2005.
The Oval Pocket Watch by Derek Pratt for Urban Jürgensen has a flying tourbillon featuring a remontoir and detent escapement. Crafted between 1983 and 2005, it boasts a brushed platinum case and a hand-finished movement signed ‘Urban Jürgensen’ and ‘Invenit et Fecit’. The finishing touches are executed by the great Finnish, independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen.
See a very detailed article about the pocket watch here.
Source: press release. Photo credits: Loupiosity.com
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