Rare Rolex Day-Dates and Patek Philippe chronographs of notable provenance highlight two days of watch auctions in May as Phillips auction house kicks off the first set of auctions organized by its newly expanded fine watchmaking department. Led by Aurel Bacs and Livia Russo in Geneva and collector (and iW contributor) Paul Boutros, who heads the firm’s office in New York, Phillips’ will auction the Rolex models May 9 and the remaining collections May 10 at La Reserve in Geneva.
Sixty examples of rarely seen Rolex Day Date have been gathered for the May 9 auction by Phillips and Rolex collector Pucci Papaleo. On the second day of auctions, expect top results for an extremely rare steel Patek Philippe monopusher chronograph and a Rolex Daytona “Albino” from 1970, once owned by Eric Clapton.
In the Rolex Day-Date auction, one example (lot 15), Rolex reference 1831, is one of only eight examples and was commissioned for the Shah of Iran in the mid-1970s. Its platinum case is set with diamonds on its bezel while its Stella-type burgundy dial is set with diamond markers. (Estimated $120,000 to $240,000).
Another highlight is the one of few existing examples of a left-handed Day-Date, Ref. 1803. The chocolate-dialed model features diamond hour markers and is estimated to sell from $50,000 to $100,000.
The auction also includes a section with watches from the Omani Royal family, many with dials adorned with the Omani national emblem. One model is a rare platinum watch with a rich blue metallic dial with a red Omani seal.
A fourth highlight is one of the first Rolex Day-Dates, made in 1956 and debuted at the Basel fair that year. Destined for the German market, this yellow gold model is marked ‘Superlative Chronometer” and shows the weekdays in German.
The second day of auctions features about 160 watches highlighted by a 1927 Patek Philippe steel-cased single-button chronograph with off-white silvered dial and a pulsometer scale. Patek Philippe made only two examples of this watch, according to Phillips, and the second example is in the Patek Philippe museum in Geneva. Phillips estimates it will sell in excess of $1 million.
A Rolex Daytona from 1970, once owned by Eric Clapton, also highlights the May 10 auction. This watch, reference 6263, features a rarely seen all-white so-called Albino dial that differs from the standard black-on-white or white-on-black dials.
Another highlight of the Rolex section is a reference 6062, one of only two models ever made by Rolex featuring a full calendar and the phases of the moon. Its black lacquer dial is one of the rarest dial variants found on this model. The watch was a gift to Major General Walter C. Sweeney Jr., one of the most decorated Americans of the post-war era. (Estimate: $300,000 – $600,000).
Finally, a Longines Hour Angle up for auction on May 10 is a watch reputedly given by Charles Lindbergh to Dieudonné Costes, one of the most famous pilots of the 1920s and 1930s and the first person to fly non-stop from Paris to New York. Lindbergh worked with Longines in designing the watch, made specifically for aviators. The watch is accompanied by letters issued by the descendants of Costes. (Estimate: $60,000 – $80,000). Unusual and rare examples of models from Vacheron Constantin, A. Lange & Söhne, F.P. Journe, Audemars Piguet and Cartier are also up for bid during the May 10 auction. Many highlights ares till on view at Phillips in New York (through April 14), after which the collection travels for viewing in London from April 22 to 26. For more details, see www.phillips.com