$2.7 Million Patek Philippe Watch Stars in Christie’s Sale

An extremely important white gold Patek Philippe single-button chronograph from 1928, undoubtedly the only one of its kind, is expected to fetch up to $2.7 million at Christie’s Important Watches sale inGeneva on May 16.

Created in 1928 on the eve of the stock market crash, the unique and complicated 1928 chronograph was a bespoke commission from one of Patek Philippe’s most important patrons, though his exact identity is unknown.

The cushion-shaped wristwatch, with vertically positioned registers and Breguet numerals, is the only known example extant of a single-button chronograph by Patek Philippe made in white gold.
As such, it’s perfectly possible that it could end up selling for more than $2.7 million, especially with the buoyant market for such horological masterpieces at the moment.

LeBron James Is New Audemars Piguet Luxury Watch Ambassador

Having worked together in the past, famous basketball player LeBron James and high-end Swiss watch brand Audemars Piguet have taken their relationship to the next step. LeBron James was just announced to be Audemars Piguet’s newest international brand ambassador. In addition to wearing Audemars Piguet timepieces (he prefers the Royal Oak Offshore collection), James will be featured in a range of advertising and marketing campaigns. These will also involve James’ charitable foundation called The LeBron James Family Foundation, and other various special events.
Audemars Piguet is one of the most popular luxury watch brands with US Athletes (as well as international athletes of course), and has done an admirable job of receiving a high level of awareness in the US. The relationship with LeBron will further that mission, especially given LeBron’s popularity both on and off the court. Moving ahead a year or two the world will see a specially designed LeBron James Audemars Piguet timepiece. Likely a limited edition, and very likely part of the Royal Oak Offshore collection, the watch will come out in probably 2013. LeBron’s new relationship with Audemars Piguet was announced in Miami yesterday – where he plays for the Miami Heat team.

The Classicist: James Bond Style – Project X’s New British Military “Stealth” Rolexes

Project X Designs, the London-based Rolex customizer whose fans include “James Bond” star Daniel Craig, has come out with three new military-inspired “stealth” designs based on the classic Rolex Submariner and Rolex Explorer. The cool new models pay homage to Agent 007, the legendary British Special Boat Service (SBS) and military issue Submariners of 1950s – 1970s, original models of which fetch a small fortune at auction.

Founded in 1940, the SBS were actually the precursor to the UK‘s better-known SAS (Special Air Service), another elite commando unit created for covert operations. Limited to just 28 numbered examples per design, each case back of the Stealth series features a variation on the SBS’ legendary Frog, Paddle and Parachute insignia and its motto “By Strength & Guile.”

The two Rolex Submariner models in the series are the Mk III and Mk IV, one designed for daylight operations and the other more suited to night maneuvers. The Mk III pays homage to the Submariner worn by Sean Connery as 007 in the 1950s Bond movies; the Bond character was originally a former SBS commando. It features an anti-reflective satin case finish, blacked-out bezel and Stealth inscribed dial. Presented on an olive green G10 NATO strap, it’s available exclusively via the Project X website for about $14,000. The Stealth Mk IV (pictured above) has a darker, tougher look with a matte black carbon-coated case and blacked-out ceramic bezel. It too comes on a Nato strap and is priced at about $16,000.

The third model in the series is the Rolex Explorer-based Stealth Mk V. Created as a subtle and sophisticated contrast to the Submariner models, the case is satin finished before being treated with a hard-wearing black DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) coating. Issued on a back G10 NATO strap with black hardware, it also comes with a blacked-out steel bracelet and is priced at about $13,000. The Limited Edition customizations of original Rolex watches created by Project X Designs afford watch collectors “a certain individuality combined with a knowing appreciation of the original manufacturer’s heritage.”

In addition to Daniel Craig, the brand’s aficionados include Sir Roger Moore, Mark Wahlberg, members of royalty, sportsmen and musicians. The company, which has offices in Mayfair, London, was founded by Daniel Bourn, a former investment banker who developed an “obsessive compulsion” for collecting rare, modern and vintage luxury watches and decided to change careers. His first designs were a custom Submariner and Daytona in 2009 which quickly sold out.

Corum Golden Bridge Automatic Watch

Now here is a nice new watch. Corum’s interesting and iconic Golden Bridge watch that features a long and thin mechanical movement now comes in an automatic version. The nature of the concept needed something different than the ordinary half-circle style automatic rotor. Corum uses a linear moving weight as an automatic winding mechanism. As you can see through the back of the watch, the platinum weight moves up and down as opposed to around in a circle. This “linear moving weight” concept is not new, but rarely used. It is part of the new Corum calibre CO313 movement that has 18k gold plates, guilloche machine engraved decoration, and shows just the time.
As in existing Golden Bridge models, the movement is more or less suspended in the tonneau style case. For the automatic the watch is a bit larger (thankfully) being 37.2mm wide by 51.8mm tall. You can get the case in 18k red gold or 18k white gold. The crown is located at the bottom of the case. One funny issue with the watch is that Corum doesn’t do the greatest job on the face of the watch in helping you determine which is the top and which is the bottom of the case. The watch is however surprisingly comfy on the wrist. I would personally consider this a men’s watch, but I could also see women wearing it. The new Golden Bridge Automatic watch comes on a black crocodile strap.

TAG Heuer Carrera MP4-12C for McLaren

McLaren and TAG Heuer have a longstanding history. Never mind that the F1 team’s drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are both brand ambassadors for the Swiss watchmaker. Heuer took the TAG name when Mansour Ojjeh’s Techniques d’Avant Garde – onetime supplier of McLaren’s turbocharged Porsche F1 engines and still a part owner of the racing team turned automaker – took it over in the pre-LVMH days. TAG Heuer crafted special watches to accompany both the legendaryMcLaren F1 and the subsequent Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, and has now returned for a new watch to compliment the new MP4-12C supercar.
Based on the Carrera model, the MP4-12C edition features a carbon fiber dial with a large window to see the movement and a big orange zero where the 12 should be (to make it look more like a speedometer), housed in a sandblasted titanium case and affixed to the wrist with a perforated Alcantara strap. The orange detailing reflects McLaren’s traditional color, and the 47-jewel Dubois Depraz Calibre 4900 fly-back chronograph movement features a perpetual calendar display. Only 1000 examples of this exclusive timepiece will be made.

Richard Mille RM 028 Americas Limited Edition Dive Watch

Richard Mille’s famous “basic” circa $80,000 dive watch now comes in a limited edition variant for the North American market. The RM 028 is complimented by the RM 025, which is many times more expensive. Special in this limited edition is a DLC black coating application all over the watch case, along with a red trim on the dial and crown. The RM 028 is 47mm wide in an all titanium, and is water resistant to 300 meters. You can read more about the standard RM 028 watch here – where you can learn more technical specifications. The watch contains a Richard Mille automatic movement with the date and a variable geometry movement.
Limited to just 30 pieces, the Richard Mille RM 028 Americas Limited Edition watch will be priced at $82,000.

Panerai Limited Edition Watches For Beverly Hills & New York

As a nod to dedicated brand lovers in the US, Panerai releases four limited edition watches for the cities it feels have the highest concentration of US watch collectors. There will be two watches for each city – each with a specially engraved caseback. The Beverly Hills models have an engraving of Beverly Blvd, complete with palm trees, while the New York models will have a section of the Statue of Liberty on the back of the case.

Panerai fans have proven to gobble up limited edition pieces such as this, so I anticipate a healthy reaction. Beverly Hills gets the Panerai PAM 406 and the PAM 416. The 406 is a my favorite one, being a Luminor 1950 10 Days GMT watch. This watch will retail for $17,900, being the most expensive of the bunch (looks like I have ritzy taste). There will also the more simple PAM 416, which is a much more basic Luminor Marina model with the time a subsidiary seconds dial. This one will go for $5,100.

New York gets the PAM 407, which is a Radiomir 8 Days with a price of $12,500. it also gets the PAM 417, which is the same as the PAM 416, but with the New York style caseback engraving. All of the watches are in steel with brown leather straps. Al are 44mm wide, save for the Radiomir which is 45mm wide. The 406 and 407 will be limited to just 20 pieces, but the 416 and 417 will be limited to 150 pieces each. The watches will be available only at Panerai boutique stores in their respective cities.

Christie’s Sells Record-Breaking $91 Million Worth of Watches in 2010

With its final auction of the fall season on December 14 in New York, including the stunning collection of rare Rolexes we wrote about the other day, Christie’s International wrapped up a record-breaking year for fine and rare watches that realized an astonishing $91.2 million in total sales – the highest annual total ever achieved for watches at the global auction house. During what has emerged as a remarkable year for investment in fine timepieces, every watch sale hosted at Christie’s salerooms inDubai, Hong Kong, Geneva, and New York achieved sell-through rates above 90% by value. The top watch of the year was a unique Patek Philippe gold chronograph Reference 1527 (above) manufactured in 1943 that sold for a record-breaking $5.7 million at Christie’s Geneva in May. The top 8 prices of the year were all attributable to Pateks, and no other auction house in the world achieved as many record prices for important timepieces during 2010.

Luxury Watch Brand Ulysse Nardin Throws A Show & Tell Event In Boca Raton With Its First US Boutique Opening

Inviting his VIP client list, the Ulysse Nardin boutique opening party was as much for the Boca Raton area mall visitors as it was for the high-end watch buying clients. Bobby was clever to not only have the opening party in the middle of the mall, but also to do it during prime holiday shopping time when the mall floor would be well-populated. The high-end mall parking lot was packed, and so where the stores. Shoppers passing by the closed-off party in the middle of the mall arcade would have noticed what brand puts on a vodka and caviar party complete with an ice sculpture and trophy wives.

The attendee list included a healthy volume of existing Ulysse Nardon brand owners. Sporting their prized watches, the luckiest (and richest) of the bunch brandished the Freak. Highly innovative for its time, the Freak is a watch first debuted in 2001 by Ulysse Nardin with a bottom price close to $100,000. The boutique also contained a pair of Ulysse Nardin Royal Blue Tourbillon timepieces – a newer watch with a retail price of $1,000,000.

Debuting at the event was the release of the Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine Diver “Boutique” watch. A limited edition of 250 pieces timepieces to be sold exclusively at the Boca Raton boutique store. In titanium with an 18k rose gold bezel, the watch is interesting for being mostly covered in black vulcanized rubber. A perfect mixture of sport and luxury to appeal to the showy populous of the area, who regularly enjoy such lifestyle purchases.

Ulysse Nardin thankfully has more than just ostentation to show off. The Swiss watch brand has impressed many with its experimentation in terms of design and technical innovation. They were the first (or among the first) watch brands to utilize silicon (silicium) parts in their watch movements to make them more accurate and last longer. Since then, even brands like Patek Philippe have followed suit.

The Boca Raton boutique serves a number of functions including the sale of Ulysse Nardin timepieces. According to brand owner Rolf Schnyder, the store also serves as a brand showcase to display the fuller extent of the brand collection, as well as potentially act as a distribution hub for disseminating inventory to authorized Ulysse Nardin watch dealers around the US.

The Ralph Lauren Luxury Sporting Watch

Ralph Lauren is easily one of the most accomplished luxury fashion designers of our time. But what he can’t design, he acquires: the American icon of style has one of the most coveted car collections in the world, and from his exceptionally rare (and exceedingly valuable)r Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic he has drawn the inspiration for the timepiece you see here.

The latest in Lauren’s Sporting Watch collection is styled after the interior of the Atlantic, with an elm burl wood ring emulating the car’s dashboard, galvanized matte black dial with white Arabic numerals like the Bugatti’s gauges, and visible screws around the case front recalling the rivets along the Atlantic’s spine. The movement is crafted by the Richemont group – the same company that makesCartierJaeger-LeCoultrePanerai and IWC, to name just a few – and features a 45-hour power reserve. And like a Bugatti, it commands a suitably high price of $13,200.