Taking place every two years, the Only Watch auction is an event where the world’s finest watch makers come together to present 50 totally unique timepieces. These 50 pieces will stand as some of the rarest watches in modern history, and you can look at them right here in Dubai.
About 52 of the world’s most exclusive watch makers are banding together to raise money for charity, in this instance raising money for Duchenne muscular dystrophy research and treatment. The event itself will take place on November 9 in a massive online auction hosted by Christie’s and a physical auction happening at Geneva.
The brands involved are:
Akrivia Genève, Andersen Genève, Armin Strom, Arnold & Son, Artya, Ateliers De Monaco, Audemars Piguet, Bell&Ross, Blancpain, Boucheron, Bovet, Breguet, Carl F. Bucherer, Chanel, Christophe Claret, Cyrus, Czapek, De Bethune, Dewitt, Fabergé, Ferdinand Berthoud, F.P. Journe, Frederique Constant, Girard-Perregaux, Grönefeld, H. Moser & Cie, Hermès, Hublot, Jacob&Co, Jaeger-Lecoultre, Jaquet Droz, Konstantin Chaykin, L’epée, Louis Moinet, Louis Vuitton, Maurice Lacroix, Mb&F, Montblanc, Moritz Grossmann, Patek Philippe, Piaget, Rebellion, Richard Mille, Rj, Singer, Speake-Marin, Trilobe, Tudor, Ulysse Nardin, Urwerk, Voutilainen, and Zenith.
The event is especially exciting as it’s a time for watch brands to let their hair down, unconstrained by worries that a collection will take off, these one-off pieces often stand as a chance to brands to give a watch a extra bit of unusual flair.
If you want to take a look at some of the most collectible watches in the world but don’t have the chance to hop over to Geneva, fear not. The 50 pieces will make an appearance 9 different cities before finally going under the hammer. One of those cities is none other than right here at home, Dubai.
From October 1 to 3, Christie’s will showcase the pieces at its office in Dubai International Financial Centre, Gate Village, Building 5. In association with Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, a top jeweller in the region, you can gawk at some ridiculously expensive watches.
Dubai stands as the second stop on the world tour, preceded by Monaco earlier this month. After Dubai is Paris, London, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, and finally Geneva where the auction will take place.
We’ve got together 10 of the most expensive watches being sold for at the charity event before, but now we’re getting together our top picks of beautiful watches you can see here in the Emirates.
Here are our top 10 picks:
Bell & Ross BR05 Skeleton Gold Blue
Estimate: US $20,000 – US $25,000
Why we love it: We’ve already shown a great deal of excitment towards Bell & Ross’ new urban BR05 collection, it’s wearable, eye-catching and has an industrial cool about it. This gold and blue variant adds a much appreciated air of luxury to the chic watch, plus who doesn’t love a skeletonised dial?
H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Moon Concept Only Watch
Estimate: US $35,000 – US $45,000
Why we love it: It’s a well-known design choice, popularised by Batman, that everything looks cooler in black. Proving this point, H. Moser & Cie presents this watch, which uses a dial coated with Vantablack. Vantablack is a carbon-based coating which absorbs 99.965% of all visible light, making the dial look like a black hole. Better yet, this one-off model is presented in a warm red gold casing which makes the whole watch a lot warmer.
Konstantin Chaykin Joker Selfie
Estimate: US $18,000 – US $24,000
Why we love it: If you’re in the market for a Rolex ‘Batman’ and can’t stomach the waiting list, why don’t go for his arch-enemy instead? The Joker Selfie is one of the most unusual watches on the market – you tell the time by looking at where the pupils of each eye are looking, with the two dials showing hours and minutes respectively. The iris of the pupils are based upon that of its creator, making a one-off piece. The piece also has a custom day/date indication using Emoji (seriously) and a red moon phase window.
Hermès Arceau Moonlight Only Watch
Estimate: US $35,000 – US $55,000
Why we love it: Can we all now start taking Hermès seriously as a watch maker? Its Arceau Moonlight one-off has detailed moon phases showing the position of the moon in both of the Earth’s hemispheres, giving the watch incredible depth. The moons, made from mother-of-pearl, rotate around the grey textured meteorite dial. If you can pull your eyes away from these lunar marvels, you can admire both the date and the time on two raised dials which are easy to read.
MB&F + L’Epée Tom & T-Rex
Estimate: US $20,000 – US $40,000
Why we love it: Okay so it’s not exactly a wristwatch, but this is still an awesome bit of horlogical flexing for charity. The T-Rex clock is inspired by everything from spaceships, to time travel, to of course, dinosaurs. The legs of the piece take after that of the famous T-rex and are even adjustable. The clock is shown in a deep blue glass with a boy sitting atop representing someone afflicted with muscular dystrophy.
Breguet Type 20 Only Watch 2019
Estimate: US $35,000 – US $50,000
Why we love it: French and proud, Breguet is a brand that loves to remind its wearers about history and have you take a trip down memory lane. Its Only Watch entry, the one-off Type 20, is a faithful yet modern recreation of an aviation watch of the same name back in the fifties. It’s a highly legible chronograph with all the little details added you’d expect from a titan like Breguet like the awesome 3D effect of the sloped dial. It even uses a Valijoux 235 movement, directly derived from the Valijoux 222 movement used in the fifties, talk about accurate!
Bovet 1822 Récital 23 “Hope”
Estimate: US $50,000 – $80,000
Why we love it: This watch may sit more on the ladies end of watch making, but we could not ignore the stellar craftsmanship Bovet is showing here. With its stretched out oval dial, the watch showcases a fairy seated on a crescent moon, this detail is directly painted onto glass, all done by hand. The aventurine dial, which is a sort of copper-infused glass, is engraved with stars and finished with diamonds to show the hopes and dreams of those with the disease the charity is combating.
Rebellion Re-Volt Only Watch
Estimate: US $35,000 – $55,000
Why we love it: If you’re in the market for something a bit more sporty and substantial, look no further than Rebellion’s charitable entry. Made from a block of titanium and sapphire crystal, the watch is both rugged and lightweight. The dial of the watch is entirely skeletonised and thus the brand has taken great care in giving you strong, robust mechanisms to admire. Every part of the watch’s inner-workings is strong and adds depth. The blue colour scheme adds something a bit extra to the current lin-eup of gray, red, and black Re-Volts.
De Bethune x Urwerk Moon Satellite for Only Watch 2019
Estimate: US $120,000 – US $150,000
Why we love it: How can you not love a watch that is born out of the collaboration between two maverick watch names? Urwerk, a brand that focuses on satellite displays and wandering hours, is in fact the watch of choice for Iron Man. This watch has the dial and display of Urwerk, but the case of a De Bethune. The case is made of a blacked metal that is super reflective, giving the watch almost a mirror-like look. The watch blends designs from both brands, taking Urwerk’s overall feel and throwing in De Bethune touches like the casing and the 3D spherical moon display at the 6 o’clock. This merges crazy styles in the best way.
Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic
Estimate: US $30,000 – US $50,000
Why we love it: There exists thin watches, there exists super thin watches, then there exists Piaget watches. Clocking in at 4.30mm thick, the Altiplano Ultimate Automatic is one of the thinnest mechanical watches in the world. Unlike most watches that create a movement and a casing around it, this Piaget combines the movement as part of the case and the dial. This method creates a highly unusual kind of skeletonised dial, with the bridges, which are usually on the back, taking centre stage alongside the dial. This one-off piece is finished in a nice rose gold and blue colour scheme.
