Today, watch collecting has become relatively mainstream but this represents the endpoint – so far – of one of the most remarkable comeback stories in the history of collecting at large.
During the 1970s, owing to the arrival of cheap yet accurate quartz watches, Swiss mechanical watchmaking faced the possibility of true extinction.
Its salvation was the focus on high-end quality and complications, switching the ethos of a mechanical watch from being a tool to measure time to being indeed a collectible.
With the thematic sale Reloaded: The Rebirth Of Mechanical Watchmaking, 1980-1999, taking place on 8 November in Geneva, Phillips is celebrating this pivotal era with a wide array of timepieces aimed at representing its remarkable diversity.
Here are a few of my favourite picks from all categories and price ranges, from era-defining museum-level masterpieces to quirky and unusual entry-level barn finds.
ROLEX
Ref. 16599SAAEC, the first ever Daytona Rainbow
As seen with the earlier Audemars Piguet, gem-set models were gaining traction in the 1980s/90s, but the trend was still quite new and brands were somewhat lukewarm about it. Surprisingly, one of the Houses that most wholeheartedly spearheaded this segment was Rolex.
Originally, it experimented with the dress proposition of the brand: the Day-date (in fact, the first ever Rolex Rainbow is a Day-Date), but soon Rolex took the next logical step in this evolution and broke what was a true taboo at the time: setting a sport’s watch with gems.
The first example of gem-set Daytonas are from the 1980s (diamond-set ref. 6269 and 6270), and in the 1990s, Rolex moved to coloured stones next. Still, it would take 20 more years before they dared to adorn an official production Daytona model with a rainbow bezel, in 2012.
Yet, incredibly enough, someone in the 1990s was bold and visionary enough to ask Rolex for a custom Daytona model with exactly that. Even more incredibly, the company complied. And thus, came to be the present watch, the precursor to any of the rainbow gem-set watches that are all the rage now, 30 years after the creation
of this original historic example.
Lot 27: Est: in excess of 3,000,000 CHF
PATEK PHILIPPE
Ref. 5020, cushion-shape perpetual calendar chronograph with moonphases in pink gold
Watch connoisseurs are quite familiar with the dynasty of Patek Philippe’s perpetual calendar chronographs with moonphases: five references many consider the core of Patek’s collection, each succeeding to the previous one in an unbroken cycle lasting since 1941 (the launch year of the first model, ref. 1518). They all share a similar architecture: round cases, windows at 12, chronographic minutes at 3, running seconds at 9, and moonphases at 6.
Then there is ref. 5020. Launched in 1994, it is the only model from this category to break the mould, featuring a 1920s-reminiscent cushion-shape case.
Most likely owing to its ahead-of-time funkiness, it was poorly received at the time, resulting in it being the scarcest of the bunch when looking at modern production – and not far away from the production numbers of vintage models. It is estimated fewer than 1,000 in total were made, and only about 150 in pink gold.
Lot 62: Est: 80,000-160,000 CHF
AUDEMARS PIGUET
Ref. 5552, gem-set automatic wristwatch with perpetual calendar and moonphases
One of the most intriguing facets of this era is the beginning of the acceptance of gem-set timepieces as menswear – a trend fully blossomed today.
Until the mid-20th century, men’s watches were usually devoid of gemstones, at most one could find the occasional ‘tuxedo watch’ featuring diamond-set indexes. This attitude, possibly also thanks to the transformative decade of the 1970s, started to shift in the 1980s as superbly exemplified by this 1981 perpetual calendar automatic wristwatch with moonphases by Audemars Piguet. It is one of the first examples of what was at the time seen as an ‘unholy marriage’ of high watchmaking and jewellery.
Lot 37: Est: 30,000-60,000 CHF
IWC x PORSCHE DESIGN
“Survival” wristwatch with military-green PVD-coated aluminium case
One of the most unusual representatives of the sale, this early 1980s wristwatch represents one of the first examples of synergy between automotive and watchmaking. True to the spirit of Porsche – sport luxury – the watch features a very light aluminium case which, most unusually, hinges open to reveal a compass and an emergency beacon mirror – perfect in case your Porsche has mechanical issues in the middle of the infamous Schaffhausen wilderness. The military green livery is a rare variation, as most examples feature black PVD coating.
Lot 20: Est: 3,000-5,000 CHF
ALAIN SILBERSTEIN
“Dragon Cloisonné” wristwatch
French industrial designer-turned-watchmaker Alain Silberstein made watches which are instantly recognisable for their irreverent approach to watch design, usually employing primary colours and basic shapes: squares, circles and triangles – the latter exemplified in the crown of this piece.
This is one of his most unusual models: Silberstein watches are fun, relatively entry-level (with exceptions) timepieces. In this case, though, the dial is adorned with one of the most appreciated and complex decorations in matchmaking – cloisonné enamel – while at the same time maintaining intact the carefree spirit of the brand through the playful dragon theme and its clean and geometric case design.
Lot 8: Est: 5,000-10,000 CHF
FRANCK MULLER
Ref. 2870, dual-dial chronograph wristwatch
Active since the early 1980s, Franck Muller is one of the first independent watchmakers. While his early pieces were a far cry from the multi-complications’ tonneau-shaped watches the brand is identified with today, they nonetheless had in them the germ of such future quirkiness.
This watch, for example, at first glance looks like a quite conventional 30-minutes chronograph, but once it’s flipped it reveals a second technical chronographic dial without minute counter exclusively dedicated to the three classic chronographic scales: tachymeter (measures speed), pulsometer (measures pulse) and telemeter (measures distance).
Lot 42: Est: 5,000-10,000 CHF
DEREK PRATT for URBAN JÜRGENSEN
“The Oval”
This object is more than just a watch. It is the magnum opus of one of the most talented watchmakers to ever live – Derek Pratt (1938-2009) – and truly one of the most important and foundational timepieces of the past century.
Realising that mechanical watchmaking was having a comeback, Pratt decided in the early 1980s that he would create something truly novel: a tourbillon incorporating inside the cage a remontoire d’égalité – and would do that completely by hand. I will spare you the technical details, but it was a dauntingly ambitious project – so much so that even today it is exceedingly difficult to find something similar; one of the few examples being Grand Seiko’s Kodo.
To give an idea of the complexity of the work, Pratt started working on the piece in 1982 and the watch was eventually completed in 2005: 23 years later. The result is one of the most important horological creations of all time.
Lot 40: Est: 1,000,000-2,000,000 CHF
Reloaded: The Rebirth Of Mechanical Watchmaking, 1980-1999 is taking place on 8 November. See all lots at phillips.com
