With the upcoming auction in New York on June 7, Christie's managed again to establish a sublime catalogue of a nice choice with some extraordinary timepieces. Herewith I will present you some of my favorite watches from their sale.
First I would like to start with Lot N° 55. A sublime Vacheron & Constantin 4261 minute repeater cased in platinum, large case with 36mm, 13"' movement (without small seconds) and probably unique two tone sector dial. It is as well believed that this is the very first platinum example made with case number 318000 ("000" as well marked inside lug at 11 o'clock) as stated in the catalogue. Christie's had one 4216 in their November sale in 2015 (as seen on my blog here) and that one had the 12"' movement, 34mm pink gold case and champagne sector dial. It was sold for 257000CHF at that time. I am already pretty nervous to see where this outstanding platinum example will end. But something is for sure, if I was the buyer of the pink gold example sold on November 2015, I'd do everything to get this sublime platinum example too. A timepiece like this one and the one sold last year in November do always let my heartbeat going crazy, ah, it is a real feast to the eyes. These are real gentlemen's timepieces and sublime dresswatches and I think that with these watches we can talk about real rarity. It is estimated 200 000$ - 400 000$.
Now moving on to Lot N° 153. I am a big fan of Lange & Söhne. Their case design and movement architecture are unbelievable beautiful. And I do always ask myself the question, what if Lange & Söhne was there in the time when the legends were created, 1950-1980 (That might be a nice philosophic discussion for another time)? So, now this example offered by Christie's is something very special, a Lange 1 steel with black dial! This one will probably go nuts during the sale. But, as it is believed that 3 were made with black dials, I would really like to have a crytal ball to see in future if the other two will surface too. But this will probably stay a one off opportunity for a Lange & Söhne collector to top its collection with this outstanding and extraordinary Lange 1 steel black dial. I just love it, only by looking at the photos! It is estimated 200 000$ - 400 000$.
And now an important Patek Philippe enamel table clock retailed by Cartier "The Lady and the Unicorn", Lot N° 85. Only two of these dome enamel examples are known to be signed with Cartier; this one and the "Jeux de Voiles" sold by Sotheby's in 2008 at the October New York auction. The other example known with the "La Dame à la Licorne" was sold by Antiquorum in 2006, but the scene was completely differently presented. What makes this Lot N° 85 a unique piece!
These enamel timepieces are unbelievable beautiful and back in the time, you need to know that an enamel dial for a wristwatch took about 400 hours of pure craftsmenship, the enamel work was of higher quality in comparison to the enamel paintings from nowadays due to the quality and diversity of different enamel colours used. So, now one can imagine how many hundreds of hours Ms. Luce Chappaz, the émailleuse, had to spend to finish this breathtaking table clock. It is just unbelievable to think about it, every colour had to be burned at different temperatures in the kiln. The smallest mistake and the work of hours was ruined. This first series, solar powered, table clock tells the historical important scene of the Lady and the Unicorn which visualise the five senses of human nature (the original tapestries are held at the Musée national du Moyen Age à Paris, they are dated back to the beginning of the 16th century). The more this example comes from the family of the original owner and is offered for the first time on the market. Every time when I see these outstanding enamel artworks, my heart stops beating due to the pure beauty of these handcrafted masterpieces. Estimated 100 000$ - 150 000$.
Direct access to the online catalogue at Christie's: http://www.christies.com/zmags/?ZmagsPublishID=47deb1ad&SaleTitle=&SaleId=26085&GUID=&JumptoLot=
Big thanks to Christie's (special thanks to Rebecca, Vivian and Julie) for their sublime contact and for the photos.
Kind regards.
Christian
www.watchcollector.lu
These enamel timepieces are unbelievable beautiful and back in the time, you need to know that an enamel dial for a wristwatch took about 400 hours of pure craftsmenship, the enamel work was of higher quality in comparison to the enamel paintings from nowadays due to the quality and diversity of different enamel colours used. So, now one can imagine how many hundreds of hours Ms. Luce Chappaz, the émailleuse, had to spend to finish this breathtaking table clock. It is just unbelievable to think about it, every colour had to be burned at different temperatures in the kiln. The smallest mistake and the work of hours was ruined. This first series, solar powered, table clock tells the historical important scene of the Lady and the Unicorn which visualise the five senses of human nature (the original tapestries are held at the Musée national du Moyen Age à Paris, they are dated back to the beginning of the 16th century). The more this example comes from the family of the original owner and is offered for the first time on the market. Every time when I see these outstanding enamel artworks, my heart stops beating due to the pure beauty of these handcrafted masterpieces. Estimated 100 000$ - 150 000$.
Direct access to the online catalogue at Christie's: http://www.christies.com/zmags/?ZmagsPublishID=47deb1ad&SaleTitle=&SaleId=26085&GUID=&JumptoLot=
Big thanks to Christie's (special thanks to Rebecca, Vivian and Julie) for their sublime contact and for the photos.
Kind regards.
Christian
www.watchcollector.lu
Results:
AntwortenLöschenLot 55 - 500 000 USD hammer price
Lot 85 - 220 000 USD hammer price
Lot 153 - 190 000 USD hammer price