Zach Blass
A watch public sale hosted inside a cave? Certainly not. Nicely, don’t be so positive as a result of that is 100% really taking place subsequent week in Geneva. Dubbed by Sotheby’s because the ‘Tough Diamonds’ public sale, the sale can be hosted underground on the wine cellar La Corne à Vin (47 bis Rue de Lausanne, Geneva) on April 11 at 6pm with an exhibition operating from April 8 – April 10 forward of the public sale. Tough Diamonds, co-hosted with the artistic collective heist-out, will provide a small choice of less-often found or mentioned timepieces on the market.
Sotheby’s explains: “This new modern watch sale focuses on hidden gems from the classic market and the actual area of interest of ‘tough diamonds’ – these watches created to be totally different, play and generally break with the traditional perceptions of what a ‘lovely’ watch ought to appear like. In reality, this sale’s particular curatorial focus is on items our specialists have recognized as having missed their probability at reputation and potential iconic standing. Sotheby’s Tough Diamonds Sale is in the end a celebration of the daring designers – some unduly forgotten – who produced aesthetically difficult, modern, and significant watches, hoping to resonate with the zeitgeist and discover like-minded collectors on the different finish.”
The sale will include a complete of 24 tons from manufacturers comparable to Gérald Genta, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet, Hermes, and extra. Beneath are three of my private favourites.
Piaget Polo Day-Date ref. 15562 C 701 circa 1995
After the discharge of the Piaget Polo 79, the OG Polo design is again within the limelight and in recent times these within the know have been waking as much as earlier references throughout the assortment. This explicit mannequin is a uncommon configuration, nicknamed ‘zebra’, because of its totally stable gold case and bracelet, and its dial, electing to alternate between uncovered gold surfaces and gold surfaces handled with a black PVD coating. I actually dig the aesthetic vibes, irrefutably a dialog piece. It’s a quartz-driven day-date so it additionally has a way more enticing estimate as nicely.
Estimate: CHF 5,000 – CHF 10,000
Hermes watch with Jaeger-Lecoultre 101 motion circa 1961
So, that is an 18k yellow gold Hermes watch, however the enchantment right here for me is its utilization of the legendary JLC calibre 101. From a distance, you’ll suppose that is merely a yellow gold bracelet, however there’s, in actual fact, a mechanical motion driving the timekeeping which is indicated on a dial that’s an astoundingly small 6mm in width. That is potential because of the 101 motion, which upon its introduction in 1929, and nonetheless to at the present time, stays the smallest mechanical motion ever made – measuring at simply 14mm in size, 4.8mm in width, and three.4mm thick. In the end, this can be a probability to personal one thing that incorporates a historic milestone in watchmaking. And, with the Hermes x Jaeger-LeCoultre crossover, there’s that rather more lore and enchantment.
Estimate: CHF 5,000 – CHF 10,000
Cartier Tank Asymétrique ‘Milan Version’ ref. 4285 circa 2022
When a Tank Asymétrique is the least quirky design inside a listing you realize there’s a slightly wild assortment of tons on provide. In no way standard, this particular Milan Version of the mannequin, encased in platinum, was introduced by Cartier in 2022. The numeral ‘1’ throughout the ’12’ and the numeral ‘6’ are highlighted in pink because of the reality this reference was restricted to 16 items solely – a tie-in to Cartier’s Milan Boutique deal with: 16 Through Montenapoleone. This parallelogram tackle the Tank is very wanted by collectors, whether or not present fashions offered at retail or classic fashions (which might date way back to 1936) and this mannequin with its Breguet-inspired type arms is actually a looker in my e book.
Estimate: CHF 5,000 – CHF 10,000