Antiquorum - auction May 11th 2014

03 May 2014 | Patek Philippe , Rolex , Vacheron Constantin , Watch Auction

If you are in Geneva next week and you are watch enthusiasts, please stop by the Hotel Mandarin. This is the venue where Antiquorum Auctioneers will be selling 293 modern and vintage very prestigious timepieces. Among them there are two PATEK PHILIPPE, three ROLEX and a VACHERON CONSTANTIN which definitely stand out. And it is a PATEK PHILIPPE that may regarded to as the highlight of this sale. We're talking about a PATEK PHILIPPE ref. 2499 in yellow gold, sold January 19th 1967. Extremely rare, this timepiece is a chronograph with perpetual calendar and moon phases.

This wristwatch comes in close to new condition, as it has been worn a very few times and features, among all, nice feuille hands as often seen on earlier examples rather than the more common dauphine hands. The second one is a coaxial split-seconds chrono, ref. 5959P, made in platinum, sold October 21^st, 2009. It is a monopusher chrono with an additional chrono pusher placed at 2 o' clock.

ROLEX: the first one is a ROLEX Paul Newman ref. 6241. The second one is a 1964 ROLEX Submariner ref. 5513, with the Explorer dial. One of the most sought after ROLEX watches with its very rare dial design where the arabic indexes replace the usual baton shaped luminous markers. And the double “t<25” lettering standing at the bottom of the dial. The third one is the ROLEX "MONOMETER" ref. 6202. Just five examples have appeared in the last 20 years on the market and are found with either honeycomb or regular dials (such as this one). A timepiece which is usually regarded to as the early ROLEX Submariner, cased in the 6202 Turnograph case.

The most amazing, anyway, is, in my opinion, the VACHERON CONSTANTIN Patrimony Great Explorers "MAGELLAN". Made in a very limted edition of just 60 pieces in 2004, as a tribute to Ferdinand de Magellan (1480-1521), has the dial which has been hand enameled by Jean & Lucie Genbrugge, to represent a map with Cape Horn, the Land of Flame and the Straits of Magellan. Each dial has requested over 30 separate firings in the enameler's kiln and supports a mesmerizing hour visualization, as the hour glides across a 120 degree arc like a ship sailing over the seas.