Phillips Reloaded auction brings the best of neo-vintage to the market
Russell SheldrakeAuctions can bring all sorts of watches out of the woodwork, and the recently announced highlights for Phillips’ Reloaded auction shows some real big hitters are about to come to market. The auction world can be a confusing one to navigate at times, with all sorts of terminology being thrown around, and seemingly identical watches being sold for vastly different prices, with sales happening all over the world. But every now and then, a few watches break through the noise and remind us that there are still some real gems out there to be found.
I will caveat this article by saying that these watches are at the very top end of the market. All of these are estimated to sell in excess of CHF 1 million, and it’s not these prices that make these watches worth talking about. The days of overpriced, hype watches are thankfully passing. These watches all carry significant stories from the period this auction focuses on, 1980-1999, an era known as neo-vintage in the collecting community.
But what is neo-vintage? The term started to be used among collectors a few years ago to describe this transitional era in watchmaking, where vintage aesthetic codes, design choices, and styles were still being used, but modern materials, practices, and advancements were being introduced. Like many things in collecting circles, it doesn’t have a set definition in terms of time period, so it will depend on who you ask as to the exact years it began and ended. This is why I find it easier to define it by characteristics, rather than years. And while these watches were looked down on for a time by serious collectors who much preferred the traditional vintage models or true modern watches, they are now having something of a renaissance. Similar to how ’90s fashion is coming back through Gen-Z, neo-vintage watches are finding a new well-spring of appreciation
This brings us nicely to these four watches, and why collectors are reacting the way they are, when we still have nearly two months until the auction takes place. So let’s get into them and find out more about these lots.
F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain à Remontoir d’Egalité 15/93
The name F.P. Journe has been elevated above nearly all other independents recently, and rightfully so. The brand is constructed entirely around the singular vision of François-Paul Journe, a French watchmaker who has seemingly never faltered from his original ideology. And this watch represents the very first steps Journe took in reaching the level he is at now. The Tourbillon Souverain is a legendary model in the Journe catalogue, as it was the first watch that he brought to market when he launched his brand. In an incredibly brave move, he went out to instantly prove his watchmaking prowess, and this watch marked 15/93 on the dial was the third wristwatch he ever made, with the first having 11/91 and a different type of power reserve indicator.
These watches acted as prototypes that Journe would display in places such as the AHCI booth at Basel Fair in 1991, as he began to formulate the idea of the brand we know today. Collectors are obsessed with these early glimpses into a brand’s origin. Just as we’re all desperate to know the hometown of our favourite celeb, or discover the earliest discography of our favourite band, watches such as this play a crucial role in the formation of a brand that now has global recognition.
Having been made in 1993, this was actually the first watch that Journe ever sold, and predates the Souscription series of 20 Tourbillon Souverain models that were delivered in 1999 to friends and family of Journe for the discounted price of CHF 27,500. Souscription number 2 sold last year for CHF 2.7 million, which was the first time it had appeared on the open market, fetching a hundred-fold return on the investment. That may give you some indication as to what this watch may achieve in November when it makes its debut on the open market, the estimate is in excess of CHF 2 million.
Philippe Dufour Duality
Given the amount of information and research that is now freely available online on rare and collectible watches, it’s amazing there are still watches coming out of the woodwork that were previously unknown. This Duality made by the man often referred to as the godfather of independent watchmaking, Philippe Dufour, was not believed to exist, with many believing only nine to have been produced. But with this watch now coming to market, we now know he made ten.
The Duality was the second model that Dufour released under his own name, with the first being the Grande et Petite Sonnerie. Both of these watches proved to be firsts, with one being the first time a Grande et Petite Sonnerie had appeared in a wristwatch, and the Duality being the first wristwatch to hold two escapements. While they were coupled by a differential gear, the Duality did not make use of the phenomenon of resonance, like F.P. Journe’s later introduced Resonance line, or the pieces from Armin Strom.
Dufour has built his reputation through an unmatched level of finishing that he’s able to achieve on his movements. Completing all of it by hand, he uses techniques that date back centuries to achieve a near flawless result. While his watchmaking is also of an incredibly high calibre, it’s how he is able to make light dance on the various plates and bridges that has elevated him above nearly everyone else. While this watch has a previously unseen combination with a dark grey dial and rose gold indices and hands, it’s the back of this watch where the party is really at. The estimate for this watch is placed at CHF 800,000 – 1,600,000, and given that A Collected Man recently listed another of the ten Duality watches known to exist for £1,415,000, it seems like that estimate will more than likely be passed.
Urban Jürgensen Oval Pocket Watch by Derek Pratt
Personally, this is the most exciting watch from these four, hand made by the late Derek Pratt for Urban Jürgensen, a brand that he was the Technical Director of and owned by his business partner Peter Baumberger. According to Dr. Helmut Crott, the current owner of this watch, Pratt produced a total of 34 pocket watches for Urban Jürgensen, with this one proving to be the standout. Crott bought the watch 21 years ago from the original owner and Baumberger, who was the owner of the company at that time. Crott tells me that it was a bit of an impulse buy, but it also helped finance the next developments at Urban Jürgensen. Interestingly enough, Crott would go on to run Urban Jürgensen a few years later after the sudden death of Baumberger, so he is incredibly connected to this watch.
When speaking to Crott about it, he told me how he used the watch to help grow the appreciation and recognition of the brand, bringing it out to display at trade shows and fairs such as Basel Fair, where it would get pored over by great watchmakers such as Michel Navas and Philippe Dufour. With the brand about to undergo a revival at the hands of Kari Voutilainen, and Crott feeling like he had got all of the enjoyment out of the watch that he can, it felt like the right time to let it go to a new home.
Inside this eccentric-looking pocket watch, there is a lot going on. There is a flying tourbillon that holds a remontoir and a detent escapement – two things you rarely see in a watch, and for good reason, as they are notoriously difficult to produce. It’s understandable that it took Pratt from 1983 to 2005 to complete this watch. It’s important to reinforce here that Pratt made this watch entirely by hand, from scratch. No CNC machines, no shortcuts, and using traditional tools, he shaped sheets and rods of raw material into the watch that is about to go up for public sale for the first time, with an estimate in excess of CHF 1 million.
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Rainbow
Just like the Journe we spoke about earlier, this Rolex is another example of a watch that was the genesis of something that has become legendary. The Rainbow Daytona watches have proven to be extremely divisive in the industry, with some seeing that being the epitome of flashy, gaudy tastes that is no more than an opulent display of wealth, while others see them as being the fun side of Rolex, where colour and fine gemology meet the high levels of precision that Rolex is known for. Either way you look at it, the Rainbow Daytona has made a sizeable impact on the industry, with a slew of brands following suit and producing their own multicoloured timepieces.
This watch was made as a one-off special commission by Rolex for someone we can only assume was a massive client of the brand in the ’90s. While there had previously been El Primero-driven Daytonas that were set with diamonds, they would only hold one, or maybe two colours of stones. To evolve from what is already a fairly outlandish design to this full spectrum of colour was a bold choice.
While this model made it to the collector’s wrist in the ’90s, it would take until Baselworld 2012 for the publicly available versions to come to market. The power of this design is being clearly signalled by the incredibly strong estimate in excess of CHF 3 million being placed on this white gold model. Rare and unique Rolex models will always draw crowds and plenty of bids, and this lot will prove no different.
The sale itself, Reloaded: The Rebirth of Mechanical Watchmaking, will take place on 8th November at the Hotel President in Geneva, with previews happening around the world during the lead up with the full catalogue to be announced soon.