If you are a regular reader of MONOCHROME, you will be familiar with the Favre-Leuba Bivouac 9000. Inspired by a model from the 1960s, the Bivouac is a beast of a tool watch, standing out as being the only mechanical wristwatch capable of displaying the altitude from 0 to 9,000m – for more information, read […]
The eighth edition of the biennial fundraiser for research on Muscular Dystrophy will take place on Saturday 9 November 2019 in Geneva, where unique timepieces created by some of the world’s best watchmakers will be auctioned. We took some time in Baselworld to meet its founder Luc Pettavino, President of the “Association Monégasque Contre les […]
While the name Moritz Grossmann refers to a great watchmaker and the founder and director of the German School of Watchmaking in Glashütte, back in the 19th century, the brand as we know it today is still rather new on the German watchmaking scene. However, this year is an important step for the brand, which has been founded back in 2008. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of its rebirth, Moritz Grossmann releases 24 one-off timepieces representing the past, present and future of the brand, to be sold online through the world’s leading auction house, Christie’s.
While the Daytona Ultimatum auction and the rest of the GWA7 – Geneva Watch Auction 7 by Phillips Watches – brought several impressive results (including a CHF 5M hammer price for the Unicorn white gold Daytona), another properly interesting result should be credited to A. Lange & Söhne, with the unique 1815 ‘Homage To Walter Lange’ in steel with black enamel dial hammered for CHF 852,500 (inc. buyer’s premium). And yes, it’s a new record for a Lange at auction, and yes proceeds will be given to a charity.
Yesterday, in our first selection of highlights of the upcoming 97th Dr. Crott auction of this Saturday, May 12, we focused on very nice horological highlights, the hidden gems, and not so much on the usual suspects. Today we’ll focus on those! Here’s our selection of the highlights, stunning pieces that will certainly attract a lot of attention at the auction that will be held in Frankfurt, Germany. And know that you can also bid online!
We only cover watch auctions occasionally, and, as editor-in-chief, I’m well aware of this void in our coverage of the world of watches. So, while we’re looking for someone to cover auctions and vintage timepieces for MONOCHROME (yes, we’re hiring), I’m taking a look at the upcoming 97th Dr Crott Auction. Flipping through the pages of the Dr Crott auction catalogue always put a huge smile on my face; so many horological goodies, so many beautiful, rare, impressive and desirable pieces. Today I’m sharing ten highlights of the upcoming auction, and tomorrow some more…
During the 1970s, Heuer was deeply involved in Formula One, as the perfect communication tool to promote their racing chronographs. Some Carrera watches – rare ones with gold cases, under the reference 1158 CHN – were gifted by Jack Heuer to successful drivers. In 1972, Jack gave Swedish F1 Driver Ronnie Peterson such a watch – a watch that was recently auctioned. If the original one is now part of the brand’s museum collection, an opportunity to get your hands on a 1:1 replica will be offered by TAG and Bonham’s during the upcoming Monaco Auction “Les Grandes Marques”, with proceeds going to Peterson foundation.
In their latest press release, Swiss watchmaker Chronoswiss just announced the creation of several CryptoCurrency-inspired watches. What comes today as a piece of news is actually the result of a process engaged a few months ago, when the brand announced accepting payment in Bitcoin (as reported by HDK here). The second step is even more surprising, with several dedicated models to soon be auctioned via cryptocurrency exchange platform Zaif.
In early 2017, during the SIHH, Walter Lange, the founder of A. Lange & Söhne and a direct descendant of Ferdinand Adolph Lange, who founded the company on 7 December 1845, sadly passed away. In order to pay tribute to this humble and charming man, the company decided to create a homage watch, just the way he wanted (a watch that Walter Lange always dreamed of, without seeing it being made… until now). Available to the public in the 3 colours of gold, one additional piece has been created, in stainless steel. And this steel A. Lange & Söhne 1815 ‘Homage To Walter Lange’ will be auctioned by Phillips Watches in May 2018.
The former-NASA engineer who certified the Speedmaster, the journalist turned watch-designer who initiated “Speedy Tuesday”, a seasoned Speedy collector… What could have been the next step when it comes to the Omega Speedmaster? At a certain point, when you look at such an iconic watch, you have to talk auctions and markets. So no shortcuts, we asked renowned auctioneer Aurel Bacs from Phillips Watches to join us and talk about the Speedmaster. And the best surprise was that not only he talked about his professional view on this piece of history, but this movie ended up to be much more personal than expected. Please meet Aurel and his personal Omega Speedmaster.