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Quill & Pad
Ahead of the eighth edition of the Only Watch auction taking place on November 9, 2019 in Geneva, Martin Green takes a look at ten unique-piece chronographs going under the hammer. Which is your favorite?
Time+Tide
With Only Watch 2019 now just a few short days away, there’s a veritable smorgasbord of gorgeous piece-unique watches and timekeeping devices heading to the auction block. In fact, there are 50 watches in total taking part in this year’s charity auction, with all funds raised going to the research of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. And … ContinuedThe post High Rollers – 3 of the most expensive timepieces at Only Watch 2019 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Though the Konstantin Chaykin Joker Selfie was already explained in great detail by Bjorn Meijer a couple of weeks ago, it’s compelling enough for a second, quick look, since I just received a new set of photos. Konstantin’s standard Joker (or Clown) wristwatch is well known, while also being fairly straight forward mechanically. The one-off Joker Selfie he created for the upcoming Only Watch charity auction is fundamentally and dramatically different, although the shares the familiar funny face. To start with the case is made of bulat, a high carbon steel alloy better known as Wootz steel. Sometimes incorrectly known as Damascus steel, bulat is an alloy with a patterned surface that’s a result of the metals mixed within. The irregular structure of the alloy, combined with its hardness, means it was a challenge to make the Joker Selfie case. Konstantin only completed the case after two discarded cases due to structural problems that emerged after machining. The Joker Selfie tells the time like the standard Joker, with the pupils in each eye pointing to the time, with a moon phase display incorporated into the mouth of the clown. And it has the day of the week, indicated with emoticons, much like Alain Silberstein’s trademark “smileday”, at 12 o’clock. But it also has an additional “secret” display, with a swivelling lever under the dial that covers either the hours or the day of the week display. It’s a gravity-activated mechanism that shows the hours ...
SJX Watches
The collaboration between Urwerk and De Bethune for the upcoming Only Watch is pretty straightforward: an Urwerk wandering hours time display module mounted on a De Bethune base movement, and housed in a De Bethune case. But it works, and the Moon Satellite is one of the coolest watches of the charity auction. Conceptually the Moon Satellite is similar to the Arpal One made for the last Only Watch. Long and sleek, the Arpal One was a collaboration between Urwerk and Laurent Ferrier that looked good, but with an enormous case – it was 60.8m long – that was much too large. The Moon Satellite, on the other hand, is just right. That’s because the case is derived from De Bethune DB28, which is a large watch but one with a smallish footprint and sprung, pivoted lugs that allow it to hug the wrist. The Moon Satellite is slightly larger than a DB28, but almost the same on the wrist. Entirely in mirror polished titanium, the case looks like a helmet for a warrior robot. Its shape is asymmetric – angular on the lower half and rounded at the top – in order to accommodate the time display. It’s reminiscent of a helmet, but instantly recognisable as coming from Urwerk, having the U-shaped crystal first found on the Urwerk UR-103 and now on the UR-105. Coincidentally, both Urwerk and De Bethune position the crowns on most of their watches at 12 o’clock, and so there it is. Though it has a similar shape to the standard Urwerk crown, the Moon Satellite crown is flat, so tha...
SJX Watches
Breguet’s contribution to the most recent Only Watch auction in 2017 was a unique, enlarged version of its inventive in-line perpetual calendar that had the calendar indications arranged in a column vertically across the dial. Though clever and unusual, the watch was probably too esoteric and classical for current tastes, and it sold for 110,000 Swiss francs, just 10% above the high estimate, reputedly to a discerning collector in Australia. This year’s upcoming Only Watch, however, includes a very different Breguet that should sell for a multiple of its estimate. The Type 20 for Only Watch 2019 is essentially a spot-on replica of the two-register aviator’s chronograph Breguet supplied to the French military from the mid 1950s – exactly the type of watch that is desirable now. Specifically, it’s a remake of the first generation Type 20, which was marked “5101/54” on the case back, denoting the order number, “5101”, and the year of 1954. More specifically, it’s based on the Type 20 made for the French air force, distinguished by equal-sized sub-dials; watches for the naval air arm had oversized minute counters. Named after the French military specification for pilot’s chronographs, itself derived from the Second World War German air force chronograph design, the original Type 20s were produced by a variety of watchmakers, including Vixa, Dodane, and Auricoste. Breguet examples, however, are the most valuable. Note that “Type XX” refers to the same...
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How is this watch only $240 dollars?
Time+Tide
With Only Watch 2019 now just a mere 11 days away from kicking off, we thought we’d take a look at Blancpain’s Only entrant – the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Barakuda. The unique piece from the storied Swiss marque is, rather obviously, based on the standard Fifty Fathoms Barakuda. However, the Only Watch Barakuda sports very … ContinuedThe post The only Barakuda you’ll ever need – the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Barakuda Only Watch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Independent watchmakers are a major presence at Only Watch 2019, accounting for almost half the 50 lots in the charity auction coming. Importantly, two of them will probably end up in the top five by value – the F.P. Journe Astronomic Blue and the Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain “Only Watch”. While the Astronomic Blue is the most complicated wristwatch F.P. Journe has ever made, the Chronomètre Contemporain “Only Watch” is a time-only watch, with a suitably modest estimate of 40,000-60,000 Swiss francs, though it’ll probably sell for five to seven times the low estimate. Hammered, and enamelled The key element that sets the “Only Watch” edition apart from the standard Chronomètre Contemporain is the dial. Completely unique because of the technique – used here for the first time in an Akrivia watch – the dial combines the surfaces finish of Akrivia’s two distinct collections: the hand-hammered decoration of the contemporary AK line and the vitreous enamel of the classic Rexhep Rexhepi range, named after the brand’s founder. Several attempts were required to get a perfect dial – Rexhep showed me one of the rejects with a cloudy finish in September – but the result is quietly impressive. Note that it is hammered and then enamelled, but not hammered enamel. Ordinarily a new dial colour doesn’t mean very much, but because the Chronomètre Contemporain regarded, and Rexhep has kept his promise not to do variations or custom orders of th...
SJX Watches
Only Watch founder Luc Pettavino is a very persuasive man. Every two years, he manages to convince small watchmakers to risk neglecting paying customers, and instead to spend a lot of time and effort to exercise their creativity in building a one-off timepiece – and then give the resulting watch to the Only Watch charity auction. Most watchmakers regard it as an honour to be asked for a contribution, after all, the list of participants include boldface establishment names like Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. While Luc also receives many offers from brands, he wants to curate an interesting mix of watches for each Only Watch auction, capped at a maximum of 50 watches or so each time – he alone decides what’s in and what’s out. A few brands have been dedicated supporters of the charity since the very beginning, and they are usually invited to return year after year. In the inaugural Only Watch auction in 2005, lot 1 was the unique Eros “Navigation Pleasure” wristwatch. It was the work of Andersen Genève, the brand founded by Svend Andersen, a 77-year old veteran independent watchmaker best known for co-founding the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI). When Luc visited Svend at Baselworld earlier this year to solicit a contribution for Only Watch 2019, he received a swift “yes”. With the watch required to be finished for a world tour starting just three months after Baselworld, quick decisions were necessary a...
SJX Watches
Tudor is taking part in Only Watch for the third time, but the watchmaker has arguably created its most unique timepiece to date for the biennial charity auction. While Tudor’s earlier Only Watch were variants of existing models, first the Heritage Black Bay One and then the Black Bay Bronze One, the Black Bay Ceramic One is wholly different from all current (and past) watches, it is a piece unique. Announced just a few weeks before the similarly all-black Black Bay Chrono Dark limited edition, the Black Bay Ceramic One is essentially Tudor’s signature dive watch, but with a black ceramic case. Though Tudor does have ceramic watches in the line-up, namely the usually forgotten Fastrider Black Shield, the material has not been used for the bestselling Black Bay, until now. Though the watch is entirely unique, the look is a fairly common one – all-black, everywhere. That being said, it’s an attractive one, especially for a dive watch like this. The dial is done in different textures and shades of black for legibility. So the markings on the dial are printed in glossy black lacquer to distinguish them from the matte black dial surface. And the Super-Luminova is also black, or more specifically standard Super-Luminova with pigments added for colour, which diminishes the green night-time glow substantially. While that’s not a practical look for an actual dive watch, it is a cool look for a “desk diver”. The bezel continues the shades-of-black colour schem...
Quill & Pad
Since its launch in 2005, Only Watch has been one of the most – if not the most – significant auctions in the watch world. Ahead of the eighth edition of this biennial auction taking place on November 9, 2019 in Geneva, let’s take a look at the 50 unique watches going under the hammer in the name of curing Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
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SJX Watches
When Urwerk cofounder Felix Baumgartner was in town recently to launch the UR-100 SpaceTime, I quizzed him on the De Bethune and Urwerk collaboration for Only Watch 2019. While the other brands taking part in the charity auction had already unveiled photos or renderings of their respective creations, Urwerk and De Bethune only offered a pen drawing. Felix replied that the movement had been completed and delivered to De Bethune some weeks ago, and Denis Flageollet, De Bethune’s resident technical genius, was working on building the one-off titanium case. And now Mr Flageollet has completed the watch, and this is it. The initial drawing The meeting of minds Named the Moon Satellite, the watch is essentially an Urwerk wandering hours time display module – with the time indicated on satellites – mounted on top of a hand-wound De Bethune movement, resulting in the cal. DBUR2105. Visually the movement is trademark De Bethune. The calibre has a delta-shaped barrel bridge that is entirely mirror polished, as is the base plate, one of the most distinctive movement treatments of De Bethune. And in striking contrast against the polished surfaces, the balance and shock absorber bridges are in blued steel. The base movement cal. DB2105 boasts several of De Bethune’s patented innovations, including a spider-like titanium balance wheel, the triple pare-chute shock absorber for the balance, as well as the De Bethune hairspring and silicon escape wheel. And it also incorporat...
SJX Watches
With the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime in steel taking first place, the second-most expensive watch at Only Watch 2019, will inevitably be the F.P. Journe Astronomic Blue. The last time a one of a kind F.P. Journe went on the block at Only Watch, it sold for US$1.15m. On most metrics the Astronomic Blue is a record-setting watch for F.P. Journe. It is the most complex wristwatch ever conceived by Francois-Paul Journe, boasting 18 functions. The Astronomic Blue is also the biggest F.P. Journe watch ever, and might become the most expensive ever after the Only Watch auction in November. Remembering 1987 The Astronomic Blue actually traces its lineage back to a timepiece Mr Journe made in 1987, the “astronomic planetary watch”, a double-faced pocket watch. That, in turn, was inspired by the George Daniels Space Traveller, hence the similar, symmetrical dial layout. The astronomic planetary watch of 1987. Photo – F.P. Journe Going even further back, Daniels modelled the Space Traveller on a handful of Breguet pocket watches from the 19th century, namely pocket watches no. 2807, 3862 and 3863. These featured similar, symmetrical twin sub-dials that indicated both mean solar time and apparent solar time. The Astronomic Blue, in short, is the 21st century take on Breguet’s masterpieces. The George Daniels Space Traveller Large and complicated The Astronomic Blue is a complicated-looking watch, but easy to grasp thanks to the helpfully labelled diagrams provi...
SJX Watches
On a recent trip to Geneva I dropped by the Akrivia workshops in the city’s Old Town and spotted the Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain “Only Watch”, still in its constituent parts and almost ready for assembly. The dial, however, was finished and gorgeous. It’s a serene grey-blue, made of translucent enamel over a hand-hammered dial plate. Produced with lots of careful effort and a tiny hammer, the hammered finish is usually only applied to Akrivia’s gold dials found on the AK series watches, and is being combined with enamel for the first, and probably only, time. It was a tedious process to get right, which is why the Akrivia is one of the last to be completed amongst the Only Watch line-up. Produced by the same Geneva enamel artisan that does the fired enamel, or grand feu, dials of the standard watch, this dial for the Only Watch example is the second one made, hence “version 2” on its packaging. Rexhep felt the first dial made was not up to scratch – it had too much variation in colour – and had a second one produced. And the first dial was finished only after a handful of trial runs, where it was established that the thinning effect of the hammered surface meant it could not be counter-enamelled on the back as the standard dials are. Aside from the hammered surface, the dial is also unique because the markings are painted in fired enamel, rather than printed. This makes the numbers, lines and text more substantial. And because the ena...
SJX Watches
Montblanc recently introduced the 1858 Split Second Chronograph with a bronze case, black, multi-scale dial, and a monopusher, split-seconds Minerva movement inside. Priced at just 33,500 Swiss francs, it is a bargain as such things go. Now Montblanc has taken the covers off the one-of-a-kind, titanium version with a blue agate dial created for charity auction Only Watch 2019. Though it costs a bit more – the estimate is 42,000-48,000 Swiss francs – the watch still feels like a steal. The dial is made of blue agate, a hard, semiprecious stone, with a graduated colour that darkens towards the edges. Design-wise it’s the same as that found on the bronze model: inspired by a 1930s aviator’s chronograph made by Minerva, it has a double chronograph scale – a telemeter on the outer rim and a snail-shaped tachymeter in the middle. The contrast of white and red against the blue dial is both refreshing and striking. Notably, the dial forgoes the faux-aged “lume” of the bronze model; the cathedral hands and numerals are instead filled with white Super-LumiNova, letting the retro design speak for itself. The large dimensions of the case remain unchanged from the standard bronze model – 44mm in diameter and 14.55mm high – but it’s significantly lighter thanks to the lightness of titanium. The sapphire caseback reveals the gorgeous, hand-wound and hand-finished MB M16.31. It is essentially the MB M16.29 derived from a pocket watch movement, but w...
SJX Watches
Among vintage military watches, some are more interesting and significant than others. They include the IWC Mark 11 and Rolex “Milsub”, and also the early Type 20 chronographs made by Breguet for the French air force and navy in the 1950s. Breguet has revived the first-generation, military-issue Type 20 for Only Watch 2019. The one of a kind remake is faithful not just in terms of dimensions and aesthetics, but also the movement. Instead of a modern calibre, it is powered by a refurbished, vintage Valjoux 235 movement, just like the original. Breguet Type 20 “Only Watch” And a bit of nomenclature explanation before proceeding: “Type 20” refers to a French military specification for pilot’s chronographs, which refers to the original, military-issue watches. Watches produced for the civilian market, including the modern day models, are identified by the model name in Roman numerals – Type XX. The origins After WWII, Breguet was one of several watchmakers, including Mathey-Tissot, Airain, Vixa, Auricoste, and Dodane, that supplied Type 20 chronographs to the French Air Force and Naval Air Force. While the actual Type 20 specification has been lost, the general consensus is that it called for a watch a prominent seconds track, a 38mm-ish case with a screw-in back and thickness of not more than 14mm, accuracy of within eight seconds a day, and most crucially, a flyback chronograph with a start-stop function that would work reliably at least 300 ti...
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Time+Tide
The eighth edition of Only Watch is underway, with the release of the unique pieces offered by the 50 brand partners. After raising 40 million Swiss francs in the last seven editions, Only Watch is one of the most important charity auctions on the calendar, with Only Watch raising money for research into muscular dystrophy. … ContinuedThe post LIST: Our favourite watches of Only Watch 2019 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
A young Francois-Paul Journe created his sixth ever watch in 1987; it was an “astronomic planetary watch”, a pocket watch with faces on each side. Over three decades later that has been reimagined as the Astronomic Blue, a prototype grand complication made for Only Watch 2019. Mentioned by Mr Journe in an interview late last year, the Astronomic Blue is a hand-wound wristwatch with astronomical functions on two faces, as well as a minute repeater and tourbillon with remontoir d’egalite. The complications total 18, and are powered by a movement made up of 758 parts, making it more complex than the Sonnerie Souveraine. The astronomic planetary watch of 1987, signed “Journe à Paris” Like the preceding F.P. Journe watches made for Only Watch, namely the tourbillon and split-seconds, the Astronomic Blue has a tantalum case and mirrored blue dial like that found on the Chronometre Bleu. The case is 44mm in diameter and 13.75mm high, making it comparable in size to the discontinued Sonnerie Souverain and recent Tourbillon Souverain Vertical. Remembering 1987 As with many of Mr Journe’s early creations, the pocket watch was inspired by both Abraham-Louis Breguet and George Daniels, a quality that is echoed in the Astronomic Blue. Like the George Daniels Space Traveller, the front shows sidereal and mean solar time on two symmetrically arranged sub-dials, while the reverse has a ring-type annual calendar and equation of time indicator, which is reminiscent of the...
Hodinkee
For Only Watch 2019, F. P. Journe debuts a prototype timepiece with a suite of astronomical complications, and more.
SJX Watches
Continuing the tradition of one of a kind dive watches for Only Watch that started in 2015, Tudor has just unveiled the Black Bay Ceramic One. Entirely clad in matte black but composed of several different materials, the Black Bay Ceramic One is starkly different from any other Tudor dive watch. The 41mm case is made of ceramic, while the bezel is black-coated titanium fitted with a ceramic bezel insert. Both the case back and crown and black-coated steel, but the back is unusual – it’s the only Tudor watch with a display back aside from the little loved North Flag. The sapphire back reveals the MT5602 movement, a “manufacture” calibre with 70-hour power reserve and silicon hairspring. The dial is all-black to match, with the markings and text printed in glossy back to distinguish them from the matte black dial surface. The hands and hour markers are filled with black Super-Luminova, which will glow green in the dark, albeit dimly. And the strap is rubber, but lined on the top with matte black alligator, which is the same construction as the rubber-calf strap found on the recently launched Black Bay P01. The Black Bay Ceramic One (ref. M7921/001CN) has an estimate of 4,500-5,500 Swiss francs. If past Tudor watches made for Only Watch are anything to go by, it will blow right past the estimate straight out of the gate and probably finish just over 300,000 Swiss francs. It’ll be sold on November 9, 2019 at Christie’s in Geneva. Visit onlywatch.com for the ...
SJX Watches
Akrivia’s entry for Only Watch 2019 is a unique variant of its critically acclaimed Chronomètre Contemporain but with an added bonus – the platinum case is made by storied case specialist Jean-Pierre Hagmann. The first outing at Only Watch for Akrivia and its founder Rexhep Rexhepi, the unique Chronomètre Contemporain is equipped with a dial made of grey-blue fired enamel featuring white enamel markings. But the dial is unusual for having a hand-hammered finish, a decoration typically only applied to gold dials, giving it a granular surface. The view from the back of the 38mm platinum case is identical to that of the standard model, save for the “JHP” hallmark on the lower right lug. It’s short for Jean-Pierre Hagmann, a semiretired case maker who was responsible for some of the most exquisite watch cases of the 1980s and 1990s. Amongst his work is the incredibly complex case of the Patek Philippe Star Calibre 2000 pocket watch. The Chronomètre Contemporain “Only Watch” is the first watch to emerge from the recently inked collaboration between Akrivia and Mr Hagmann. Stay tuned for more on this. The Chronomètre Contemporain “Only Watch” has an estimate of 40,000-60,000 Swiss francs, and will go under the hammer on November 9, 2019 at Christie’s in Geneva. The complete Only Watch 2019 collection can be seen on onlywatch.com.
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SJX Watches
The subject of rumour since Baselworld 2019, the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A-010 in stainless steel is finally official. Almost certainly on track to become the most expensive watch sold at auction in 2019, the ref. 6300A is a one of a kind watch variant of the most complicated Patek Philippe wristwatch ever made that was created for Only Watch, the biennial charity auction of unique timepieces sold to benefit a medical charity. Aside from the steel case – the Grandmaster Chime is ordinarily available only in white gold – both dials on each side of the watch are also unique. The dial on the front is made of 18k rose gold, and features a hobnail guilloche centre and blackened 18k gold Breguet numerals. “The Only One” is printed within the 12 o’clock sub-dial just to make it clear that this is, well, the only one for Only Watch. Also made of 18k gold, the reverse dial is black with rose gold-plated hands. The rest of the watch is identical to the standard version. The enormous 47.7mm case is reversible, but being in steel will be significantly lighter than the gold model. The case band is decorated with a hobnail guilloche engraved by a hand-operated rose engine Inside is the cal. 300 GS AL 36-750 QIS FUS IRM, a hand-wound movement with 20 complications, including a grande and petite sonnerie, alarm, date repeater, and instantaneous perpetual calendar. Slated to go on the block on November 9, 2019 at Christie’s Geneva, the Grandmaster Chi...
Revolution
In a conversation with founder Luc Pettavino, REVOLUTION learns why the Swiss watchmaking community continues to be inspired to create unique pieces for the Only Watch auction.
Revolution
The complete 2019 Only Watch catalog in just the bear technical specifications form
![[Video] Going Hands-On with Four Watches from Only Watch 2017](https://revolutionwatch.com/wp-content/themes/revolution-watch-2024/img/revolution-watch.svg)
Revolution
Revolution goes hands-on with four watches from Only Watch 2017 that have created massive buzz in the lead up to the auction.
Time+Tide
One of the secrets of the Omega Aqua Terra’s success is its versatile charm. In its dark-dialled and gold incarnations it’s super dressed-up, but put it on a leather or rubber strap and it becomes a much more casual proposition. This is a watch that could pull tuxedo duty or go with board shorts (and … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: The Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra – is it the only watch you need? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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