NEWS: If you’ve ever wanted to buy a gold tourbillon for $3000 you might just be in luck
Auctions can be funny things. Most of the time the coverage around watch auctions tends towards the record-breaking headlines – the most expensive this, that or the other. But sometimes, thanks to the fact that auctions tend to be a crystallisation of market forces, you can find a hidden gem. Which might just be what lot 179 at tomorrow’s (the 8th of August) Sotheby’s Australia Important Jewels and Watches sale will be. This lot is a Habring2 Tourbillon 3D in pink gold, sold by Habring’s Australian distributor in 2015 for $45,000. Sotheby’s Australia has placed an estimate of $2500 – $3500 on this lot. But before we talk about the estimate, let’s talk about the watch. Habring2 are a small Austrian-based brand, consisting of husband-and-wife team Richard and Maria Habring. And while there are many small boutique makers out there, the Habrings have some serious watchmaking weight behind them. In an earlier life, Richard Habring worked for IWC, during which time he was instrumental in the development of a revolutionary execution of the split-seconds chronograph (or doppelchronograph) that did away with the fiddly and expensive column wheel approach, heralding a new era of ‘accessible’ split-seconds. Habring’s ingenuity doesn’t stop there…
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The story in a second: Classic Carrera. More colour. If you spend more than a few minutes in the sometimes crazy world of watches, it’s easy to lose perspective. You can very quickly get caught up in the hullabaloo of new this, in-house that, and proprietary the other. But while all that stuff is cool and sometimes really matters, at the end of the day it’s a watch on your wrist with a job to do. And that job is telling the time and looking good. I think this particular model excels at this job, which is why I chose it as one of my 10 favourite Baselworld 2018 releases. I made that decision in the thick of the fair, but you know what, after a few months reflection, I think it holds up. The dial The dial is where the party is at. The matt mid-blue matches perfectly with the fixed ceramic tachy bezel (love the choice to use ceramic BTW), and is freshened up even more thanks to the white, red and orange at play. The contrasting white is great, and adds an instant retro flavour. I particularly like the break afforded by the white inner flange, which…
Editors note: Back in Basel it didn’t take long for us to realise that GMTs were everywhere. The complication, a boon for frequent flyers, has always been popular, but the sheer volume of new GMTs this year is something else. So, in the midst of the fair, Andy and I took the time to wrap up some of the standouts. It’s worth noting that this is a far from exhaustive list, as it doesn’t include SIHH or some other notable releases (some of which we can’t talk about just yet), but it’s a solid start … It very quickly became apparent — after only a few hours on the ground at Basel 2018 — that GMTs were everywhere, and not just the obvious Pepsi-bezelled, Jubilee-braceleted option from the Big Crown. So Andy and I took some time out from our busy schedules to discuss this phenomena, and some prime examples. So, in addition to the Rolex GMT-Master II, we noted that Patek had doubled down on their Calatrava Travel Time. TAG Heuer added a little more complication to their Carrera Heuer 02, adding a blue and black bezelled GMT into the family. And finally Tudor, not to be outdone, announced their…