It took twelve minutes for Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona to make history, but it was the watch’s unique history and association that made it worth millions.
The Patek Philippe Nautilus, a triumph of 1970s mod design, conjures images of Concorde flights and fondue parties. Rolex’s mid-century Submariner watches are forever associated with Sean Connery’s James Bond. Provenance and association also add to the allure and value of a specific vintage watch or brand. Vintage style and condition is one element of value style and maker, another. The result is highly collectible watches that were continually pristinely restored are today worth a fraction of their untouched counterparts. Moreover, the cases were polished to remove scratches and make them look like new. Those who owned one were likely to wear it and have it serviced over the years, when parts were frequently replaced (such as bezel inserts and crowns), and perhaps the luminous material on the dial or hands was refreshed for better night visibility – all with the goal of making the watch a more effective tool, and with no mind towards future value to collectors. (l-r) Cartier’s Crash wristwatch, 1967 a rare Tank wristwatch from 1920 the Cartier Tonneau circa 1915, once owned by King Constantine I of Greece Leading in value are watches made by Rolex, Patek Philippe (having seven of the “Top 10” vintage watches ever sold at auction as of December 2018), and Omega. Specialty vintage watch auctions collectively realized an estimated $300 million in 2018, according to the Robb Report.
Vintage watches, defined as being around 50 years old, are both a hot new investment trend and the latest fashion statement, especially among younger buyers, hipsters, and wealthy collectors.ĭominating the vintage watch market at auction is Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips, in association with Bacs & Russo. To date, none have broken the record for the most expensive watch/pocket watch ever sold at auction, a Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication, fetching $23.98 million in 2014. These are just a few of the record-shattering numbers over the past few years for what is essentially a secondary watch market. The well-known French polar explorer Paul-Emile Victor relies on his Bivouac on numerous expeditions to the endless ice.ġ968 the brand presents the Bathy – the world's first mechanical wristwatch, which displays not only the dive time but also the current diving depth.This past November, a Patek Philippe yellow gold tonneau-shaped minute repeating wristwatch from 1927, made for famed watch collector Henry Graves, Jr., sold for over $4.5 million! The young Michel Darbelley from Wallis undertakes his first solo ascent of the Eiger in 1963 with his watch from the workshops of Favre-Leuba, which reliably shows him what altitude he has already scaled and whether a change in weather is imminent. The Italian mountaineer Walter Bonatti wears a Bivouac in 1964 when he and the Genevan Michel Vaucher successfully ascend the north face of Pointe Whymper (4,196 m) in the Grandes Jorasses for the first time and when he conquers the north face of the Matterhorn on the most direct route. The Bivouac achieves one of its first missions on the wrists of the Swiss national parachuting team during the 1962 World Cup in the United States. 1962 Favre-Leuba launches the Bivouac, the world's first mechanical wristwatch with aneroid barometer, for altimetry and air pressure measurement.
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