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Phillips - Sam Hines new International Head of watches
Sam Hines will be heading the global team of Watch Specialists from Phillips' recently opened Asian Headquarters in the Landmark Building in Hong Kong.
With twenty years' experience in the auction world, Sam has held executive positions in New York and in Asia since 2008, spearheading many ground-breaking sales of Important Watches throughout the globe. In 2013 he was appointed International Co-Head of the Watches Department at another auction house, which, throughout his time, was world-leading in the category of important watches and wristwatches.
From Hong Kong Sam will lead the existing team of International Watch Specialists in Geneva, London and New York with Aurel Bacs and Livia Russo continuing to work exclusively with the department as Senior Consultants. Sam will work with the Watches Team on the contents of the auctions in the fall season including the 8 November sale in Geneva and the inaugural Hong Kong sale on 1 December.
Highlights from Sam Hines' career to date include the discovery and sale of two previously unknown pocket watches from the third generation of James Ward Packard, achieving $2.7m at auction in 2011, as well as curating the sale of Asia's most expensive horological object; a pair of Singing Bird Pistols which sold for $5.8m. Sam is also responsible for numerous auction records for some of the world's most important wristwatches and watches, pocket watches and automata, including the sale of the only known Patek Philippe Star Calibre 2000 for $3.5m, a Rolex cloisonne enamel wristwatch for $1m and two sets of the Patek Philippe reference 5004 for $3.75m.
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Collectors' watches - Phillips creates a Watch Department
The Phillips Watch Department, based in Geneva, will partner with the firm of Aurel Bacs and Livia Russo. Bacs & Russo, specialising in Fine Collectors Watches, has been established in response to the ever-increasing need for collectors around the world to easily access scholarship, guidance and quality across the board.
The department brings together many prominent figures from the watch industry, including Nathalie Monbaron in Geneva, who will be supported by Virginie Liatard. Paul Boutros has been appointed as strategy consultant and will be Phillips' main representative in New York office.
Phillips will roll out its international Watch auction calendar with two inaugural evening sales taking place in Geneva in May 2015. The first will be a high profile various owners evening sale dedicated to the finest collectors' pieces, spanning two centuries of watchmaking of unique quality, rarity and condition. The accompanying sale will be dedicated to one of the world's most famous wristwatches: the Rolex Day-Date. Phillips will partner with Pucci Papaleo, one of the most eminent scholars in the world of Rolex collector's watches. The inaugural watch auctions will take place in Geneva on Saturday, 9 May at 7PM and Sunday, 10 May at 7PM.
In the following seasons, the department plans to expand its sales calendar around the world, organising sales in flagship premises in London, New York and soon in Hong Kong.
Integral to the department will be a brokerage, based in Geneva, specialising in the highest level of private sales, assisting collectors around the globe outside of the auction season.
Under the guidance of Aurel Bacs, the Phillips Watch Department aims to lead the market thanks to its team of specialists' second-to-none outreach within the collecting community and its uncompromising approach to quality.
On behalf of Bacs & Russo, Aurel Bacs says: "We are immensely excited to be asked to partner with Phillips as their consultants and to work with a department built from scratch. It is a privilege and a dream come true to realize a concept that Livia and I believe should be the answer to today's ever increasing market, composed of savvy and passionate collectors. It is a pleasure to be united with many distinguished specialists from the industry that Phillips has brought together for this new department."
Edward Dolman, Chairman and CEO of Phillips says: "I am delighted to be working once again with Aurel Bacs who has established himself as the market leading expert in this field over the last decade".
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Baselworld - Expectations
WORLDTEMPUS - 22 March 2011
Expect to see hordes of people, nose flat on the doors before the fair opens. These people will most likely rush to Rolex's showcases and Tweet and blog their blurry pictures in order to be the very first to show the new products from the world's most famous watch brand. Even the tiniest changes to existing references will have readers of the online forums and blogs oooohing and aaaahing. Such is the world of Rolex fans - every year.
Rolex
Personally, I can wait for my presentation of the Rolex news, but I do expect to see a new Explorer II. At the very least, there should be a new dial and hand configuration. Rumor has it that this new Explorer II was all set for launching last year, but for some reason Rolex decided to wait another year. We shall see.
I also expect to see an all-steel version of the Rolex Submariner No-Date in the maxi case with ceramic bezel inlay. It would only be a natural evolution for Rolex to add this model to the "maxi case" sports collection.
Breitling
Breitling introduced its in-house B01 movement two years ago, and the famed watch brand has since introduced a couple of models sporting this new movement. I expect to see more models using this new movement, and probably not only B01 and Navitimer models.Patek Philippe
It is always a great pleasure to visit the enormous Patek Philippe stand in Hall 1. Even if you can't get inside for a presentation, the showcases surrounding the outside of the luxurious booth present the horological luxury that Patek Philippe does so well. The Nautilus collection is growing and it would be nice to see a gold version on a bracelet instead of a strap. This goes for the three-hander as well as the complicated models.
Hermes
Thanks to the recent dialogue between LVMH and the Hermes management, I certainly look forward to getting a closer look at the new watches from Hermes. I have never paid much attention to the watches from this company, but the "We are not in luxury; we are in quality" remark made by Bernard Puech, president of the board of directors of Hermes, when LVMH recently purchased 17.7 percent of the shares in the company makes it extra interesting to see if the watches are also part of this "quality."
Bulgari
In one breath, Italian luxury provider Bulgari also became part of the LVMH family when the group purchased 51 percent of the family-owned company. Will the Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta designs still feature Bulgari on the dial or will LVMH break the ties that were such a topic last year? Maybe it is too early to find out, as the takeover is rather recent. But, then again, maybe we can find out.
Either way, this is bound to be an interesting year at Basel. Stay tuned to Worldtempus for the coverage.
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COSC - An External Referee
WORLDTEMPUS - 2 November 2010
Few would argue that accuracy is an unimportant quality for a watch. However, every day consumers purchase mechanical watches that offer no basic assurance of horological precision. There are, however, several firms that capitalize on the services of the independent Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronometres (COSC) as a guarantor of their watches' fundamental accuracy within -4 to +6 seconds per day.
Last year at the SIHH, Roger Dubuis, a firm that has famously employed the aesthetic standards of the Geneva Seal, announced that it would add a second layer of external oversight by also submitting movements to the COSC.
For Claude Vuillemez, the COO of Roger Dubuis, the appeal of COSC certification is obvious.
"We are a young manufacture," Vuillemez told Worldtempus, "and to get recognition we are looking to external referees like COSC on chronometry and Timelab on functionality to validate our technical expertise."
Breitling has cultivated its image around the fact that it is first and foremost a maker of chronometer-rated instrument watches. Indeed, every Breitling timepiece, quartz or mechanical, is also a COSC-certified chronometer.
"Like in aviation, where every instrument needs to be certified, COSC is an independent laboratory checking the precision of every single Breitling movement for 15 days in 5 positions and at 3 different temperatures," said Breitling executive vice president Jean-Paul Girardin.
Who's Who?
The COSC releases annual lists ranking the brands receiving the most certifications, with Rolex, Omega and Breitling perennially occupying the top three spots.
The global recession contributed to a shake-up of the list in 2009, with Ball Watch, a relatively small producer, breaking into the top ten (at number eight) for the first time in its history — with 15,455 certifications.
Jeffrey Hess, president of Ball Watch in North America, attributes his firm's rise not so much to any specific actions taken by the Swiss watch company with American roots, but to cutbacks in production at some competitors.
While 2009 was difficult for much of the industry, Hess says it was actually a fairly good year for Ball Watch — which led to no reduction in production of certified chronometers.
Ball Watch has another reason for its interest is chronometer certification. Historically, the firm submitted pocket watches to the U.S. Bureau of Standards as a measure intended to ensure the accuracy of its famous railroad chronometers. These were the precise timekeepers used by railroad engineers to avoid potentially disastrous collisions. Hess sees the modern COSC as an extension of this legacy.
At the very least, a modern COSC-certified wristwatch will help its wearer make his or her train on time — as Webster C. Ball originally intended.
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Richard Mille - Queens Sponsor and More
WORLDTEMPUS - 14 June 2010
"It's not Tiffany's, it's NASA," Mille leaned over and told me at lunch in the President's Room at the Queens Club in London, where he had gathered a few business partners and journalists to watch the semifinals of the Aegon Queens Club tournament in London. The idea was to cheer on his sponsored player, world number one Rafael Nadal, in the semifinals—but Nadal had lost the previous day in the quarters to fellow young Spaniard Feliciano Lopez. The clever saying Mille repeated to me was actually nicked from Miguel Seabra, Portuguese watch journalist and tennis commentator for Eurosport. Seabra had coined the phrase during the French Open the previous week to aid in explaining the significance of the obvious black watch Nadal wears on court to his tennis colleagues from the press. Nadal and the watch have been experiencing heavy critique for the RM 027 RN's price tag of $525,000—a price that can certainly seem exorbitant to the casual spectator.
Indeed, this is an unusually high fee for a watch with no bling even in the watch industry, but Mille explained that the price was actually justified as it is outfitted with a tourbillon and—particularly—it has needed thousands of hours of development as well as a trial-and-error period on court with Nadal for almost three-quarters of a year to discover its weak points, correct them, and make the watch light enough for wear on court (it weights 13 grams without strap and 18 with the rubber attachment). To achieve this lightness and continue to ensure the accurate functioning of model RM 027 RN a number of new materials new to the watchmaking industry such as LITAL, an alloy of aluminum, lithium, copper, magnesium and zirconium, were used. This alloy is also utilized in the aerospace industry—on the Airbus A380; in helicopters, rockets and satellites—and in Formula 1 racecars. Using materials outside the established watch industry like this is a Richard Mille specialty. The company's previous partnership with Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa helped research its extreme style of watchmaking in much the same way.
"This is an extreme object," Mille describes Nadal's watch. "Divide all the R&D plus all the test watches needed by the fifty pieces that are available in the limited edition, and that is about the price that comes out," he explained to me during the Queens tournament. "Whatever I have to invest , is what I invest."
Nadal, who Mille describes as "not an ambassador, but a true partner," will next play at the tennis world's Olympus: Wimbledon. At the grass-court tournament, where the players are obliged to play in all-white clothing, the RM 027 RN (48 x 39.7 x 11.85 mm in size) will stick out like the proverbial sore thumb—particularly since none of Nadal's colleagues wear a watch on court except Justine Henin, who has made the personal choice to play with a Rolex perched on her left wrist. Whether the tennis press will continue to shake heads at it, though, remains to be seen. Perhaps by then Seabra will have been able to spread the gospel: bling this is not.
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Christie's - Geneva auction Top Ten
"With a total of SFr. 19,032,388, nearly twice its pre-sale low estimate, the Geneva Important Watches Sale achieved the highest result for any watch auction offered in 2009 worldwide, selling 97% by value and 94% by lot.
In a thrilling atmosphere, almost 900 bidders from 5 continents competed enthusiastically in the room, as well as on Christie's Live and by telephone. The extraordinary performance of this Christie's sale confirms the undisputed leadership of the company in Geneva and in the international Watch market.
A Connoisseur's Vision, a collection of ten Patek Philippe watches was 100% sold, totaling SFr.5,835,600 and nearly doubling its pre-sale low-estimate. Nine world record prices have been achieved for numerous models manufactured by Rolex and Patek Philippe.
Top Ten
Lot 84 - Patek Philippe. An 18K gold perpetual calendar wristwatch, ref. 1526
Estimate: SFr. 1,000,000-1,500,000
Purchase Price: SFr. 2,400,000 ($ 2,773,065, € 1,847,781)
Buyer: Swiss Private Museum
Lot 159 - Patek Philippe. An 18K gold single button chronograph wristwatch, 1924
Estimate: SFr. 200,000-300,000
Purchase Price: SFr. 939,000 ($ 934,305, € 622,557)
Buyer: Swiss Private Museum
Lot 161 - Patek Philippe. A platinum wristwatch, ref. 3448/100, with extra dial
Estimate: SFr. 500,000-800,000
Purchase Price: SFr. 783,000 ($ 779,085, € 519,129)
Buyer: Swiss Private
Lot 219 - Patek Philippe. An 18K pink gold perpetual calendar wristwatch, ref. 2438/1
Estimate: SFr. 500,000-800,000
Purchase Price: SFr. 711,000 ($ 707,445, € 471,393)
Buyer: Swiss Private
Lot 335 - Patek Philippe. An 18K gold wristwatch, black enamel numerals, ref. 1579
Estimate: SFr. 300,000-500,000
Purchase Price: SFr. 675,000
$ 671,625
€ 447,525
Buyer: American Private
Lot 47 - Rolex. An 18K pink gold wristwatch, ref. 6062, with gold bracelet
Estimate: SFr. 250,000-350,000
Purchase Price: SFr. 597,000
$ 594,015
€ 395,811
Buyer: European Collector
Lot 380 - Patek Philippe. A stainless steel wristwatch, ref. 1579
Estimate: SFr. 400,000-600,000
Purchase Price: SFr. 591,000 ($ 588,045, € 391,833)
Buyer: Asian Private
Lot 218 - Patek Philippe. An 18K pink gold wristwatch, ref. 1436
Estimate: SFr. 350,000-550,000
Purchase Price: SFr. 507,000 ($ 504,465, € 336,141)
Buyer: Swiss Private
Lot 85 - Patek Philippe. A stainless steel chronograph wristwatch, ref. 1463
Estimate: SFr. 300,000-500,000
Purchase Price: SFr. 459,000 ($ 456,705, € 304,317)
Buyer: European Private
Lot 160 - Patek Philippe. An 18K gold wristwatch, ref. 2499/100
Estimate: SFr. 250,000-350,000
Purchase Price: SFr. 435,000 ($ 432,825, € 288,405
Buyer: American Private
[Rating: 5 / 5 stars]
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