The watchmaking world is abuzz about the Only Watch situation. The tenth edition of the Only Watch charity event, scheduled to take place in Geneva on November 5, 2023, has been postponed to 2024. Let’s try to understand what happened and why…

What is Only Watch?

First, for those who don’t know, let’s explain what Only Watch is and what it represents for fans of the industry.

Only Watch was founded in 2005 by Luc Pettavino, former founder of the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies (AMM), with the aim of raising funds, through the sale of watches, for research related to Duchenne muscular dystrophy (or DMD). This is an X-chromosome-related recessively transmitted neuro-muscular disorder characterized by progressive degeneration of skeletal, smooth and cardiac muscles. This disease unfortunately affected Luc Pettavino’s own son, Paul, who passed away in 2016 at the very young age of 21. Since the first edition, accompanied by the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco, the watch industry has not stopped supporting the initiative, which has become a not-to-be-missed biennial gathering for both collectors and manufacturers.

In past editions, Only Watch has in fact brought together major collectors and the most prestigious watch manufacturers-both “big” and independent brands-who make unique and super-exclusive pieces available for auction.

For example, in the November 2019 edition, a Patek Philippe “Grandmaster Chime” Ref. 6300A-010 in steel, created especially for the event, was auctioned off and sold for 31 million Swiss francs (32.83 million euros), the highest price ever for a watch in a charity sale.

The 2023 Edition

So we have arrived at the tenth edition of OW, originally set for Nov. 5, 2023 at the Palaexpo in Geneva.

Ahead of this event, the 62 lots offered by watchmaking bigwigs for the auction had already been unveiled. To see them all, we recommend the article All The Watches At Only Watch 2023 | Italian Watch Spotter. Only Patek Philippe still has to unveil its creation for the auction.

The allegations

In the second week of October 2023, strong doubts were exposed about the management of the financial resources raised by Only Watch during the charity auctions. Initially, the doubts were brought up by Jose “Perezcope” Pereztroika and a collector known on Instagram by the nickname Santa Laura.

The most prominent accusation is that of non-transparency regarding the use of funds, the choice of a tax haven such as Monaco as the association’s registered office, and finally the absence of an independent auditor in the past years to check that the use of funds was appropriate and in line with what the association professed: “99 percent of the proceeds go to charity, only 1 percent is used for the association’s administrative expenses.”

Only Watch financial situation

According to a Watch Pro article, Only Watch had raised 100 million to date. Of this, about 50 has been used to fund clinical trials and research from 2013 to date. Most interestingly, most of this money, about 39 million euros, has been paid to SQY Therapeutics or a subsidiary of the latter. This is a pharmaceutical company controlled 49 percent by the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies and 51 percent by parents and association representatives for patients with DMD.

So, about 50 million euros are missing from the roll call, which remains in Only Watch’s coffers “to make sure we are ready for the next steps,” in the words of Luc Pettavino.

Appointing an auditor

Following media pressure, the association decided to meet the community’s demands and thus pinned down Bettina Ragazzoni of KPMG Monaco. It is not yet clear whether light will be shed on previous financial years or whether this is a measure aimed solely at the future.

Audemars Piguet Steps Back

Following these allegations, Audemars Piguet on October 17 announced that it was withdrawing its watch, thereby canceling its participation in the OW auction, without providing further explanation. This decision obviously triggered an earthquake of conjecture and speculation.

AP’s announcement was commented by Only Watch with a terse message in which the organization announced: “Audemars Piguet has decided not to participate in Only Watch this year. We respect that choice and are grateful for your support to date.”

François-Paul Journe Support

Following this media “earthquake,” many producers sided with Only Watch. Francois-Paul Journe, for example, expressed his full support for Luc Pettavino and Only Watch in an official statement on October 18.

The decision to postpone Only Watch

In this climate of high tension and controversy, the official communiqué then intervened on October 23 in which the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies (AMM) decided to postpone (until a date to be determined) the 10th edition of OW 2024, originally scheduled for November 5.

In the statement, Only Watch points out that the past two years have seen a significant evolution in the research pathway, with validation by French and European health authorities of clinical trials funded through funds raised by Only Watch.

The release then highlights how these results are the fruit of years of work thanks to the synergy of watch brands, donors, buyers who participated in the auctions, and event partners.

However, the statement says, “a few days before the auction set precisely for Nov. 5 next year, questions were raised about the allocation of funds and governance of the AMM association…. However, the timing for certification, changes in governance and the upcoming auction do not coincide. We cannot afford to question the sincerity of the commitment of all parties involved in this project, nor can we allow this wonderful history to be rewritten.

Finally, Luc Pettavino said, “We will continue to move forward, providing further information on the virtuous and extraordinary initiatives and results achieved so far through the project,” noting satisfaction with the clinical results achieved.

Now what?

As pointed out by Olivier Mueller, director of LuxeConsult, no one wants one of the most prestigious unifying events in the watch industry to disappear, but everyone agrees that the time has come to professionalize an event that in recent years has taken on dimensions that require great scrutiny and a firm sense of ethics.

Therefore, we hope that Only Watch will be able to dispel any doubts about the destination of the funds raised through this initiative, through transparent and truthful disclosure of its activities, in order to continue to ensure, for charitable purposes, the fundamental support for research to defeat such a serious disease, with the hope of finding decisive treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

So we look forward to the date (now in 2024) being set for Only Watch: we at IWS will be there and look forward to hearing the gavel of adjudications of the magnificent watches strike.