Jean Todt’s watch collection will be auctioned by Christie’s this November. A more unique than rare opportunity, which includes 111 lots of an incredible variety, ranging from Girard Perregaux, TAG Heuer, Patek Philippe, F.P. Journe until you get to Richard Mille.
A variety of unique pieces and prototypes never before seen by the public that will make any collector and enthusiast dream.
In reality, the brands that the former Ferrari team principal bought were really varied and not very trivial, some even minor brands. Did you ever expect an Ebel in the collection? Different Chopards or Baume et Mercier?
Hold on tight because this auction will amaze you.
Who was Jean Todt? The golden age of Ferrari
Jean Todt is one of the most important names ever in Formula 1 and in Ferrari history. Team Principal of the Cavallino team for 14 years, he approached motors for the first time as a child, dreaming of becoming a rally driver. Over time, however, his great strategic and organizational skills emerge, which have led him to the successful career he has had.
Ferrari has won 14 world championships under his leadership, Schumacher has won 5 in a row, as well as having totaled 72 of the 91 victories in his team with Todt.
An incredible passion for watches
Motors and watches can almost be considered a cliché, but in reality the meaning in this case is stronger than ever and far from banality. Jean Todt’s relationship with watches probably began in the same years that the rally approached, although we would like to find out for himself one day how the passion began.
We are pretty sure that he really rocked his watches like no one else, just look at this shot where he winds up the movement of his Patek Philippe 5040J.
In 30 years Todt has managed to develop important relationships with watchmaking firms, which allowed him to free all his fantasies and transform them into unique watches. Although several collections of prominent personalities have been auctioned in the past, he is one of the few characters to have frequently worn the watches he bought or commissioned. A passion that went beyond the mere beauty to be admired in a safety deposit box once in a while.
Jean Todt’s watch collection is marked in particular by his relationships with Ferrari, therefore with the watchmaking sponsors that the Cavallino has had over the years, such as Girard Perregaux, Hublot and Richard Mille, but not only. Some were “simply” special requests, like the Vacheron Constantin Mercator with a dial featuring a Ferrari Enzo.
Highlights of Jean Todt’s watch collection
111 watches are a very important number, there are few enthusiasts (actually almost none) who can boast such a treasure of unique pieces. In our opinion the following are some of the most important Jean Todt watches that will be auctioned off at Christie’s.
F.P. Journe Sonnerie Souveraine for Jean Todt
The history of this watch is sensational and we read it just a few days ago from The Journe Guy, a collector of the independent watchmaker’s creations (which we recommend you follow).
According to their conversation, at the launch of his brand in the 90s, Journe had initially thought of creating watches in steel with a blue dial, which was not yet a popular configuration. At the same time, however, the fashion for steel was coming and the independent watchmaker wanted to stand out: he chose platinum, a precious but very elegant and discreet metal.
The idea of blue, he says, was abandoned. He couldn’t get the perfect hue he had imagined, so he decided that his dials would be different (seeing the first products, the choice was just right).
When Jean Todt ordered a Sonnerie Souverain in 2008, François-Paul Journe figured he might want a rosso corsa dial, given his tie. During the conversation Todt exclaimed “I hate red, anything but red”.
Journe then contacted his dial-maker to fulfill the request for a blue dial for this Sonnerie Souverain. It so happened that exactly the tone that F.P. he was looking for in the 90s and from here the Jean Todt’s F.P. Journe was born.
The watchmaker then asked permission to use it for his other watches, the then FIA President gave the green light and from there the Chronomètre Bleu was born as well.
Jean Todt’s F.P. Journe is estimated at CHF 2,400,000 – CHF 4,400,000.
Girard Perregaux Vintage Tourbillon Ferrari
Girard Perregaux has a special place in the hearts of watch enthusiasts Ferraristi, the brand was in fact sponsor of the team from 1993 to 2004.
If we talk about that historical period, the pairing Schumacher and Todt becomes the undisputed protagonist. As we told you, Schumi won 72 of 91 races under the guidance of his team principal and 5 world championships in a row between 2000 and 2004. To celebrate this incredible feat, Jean Todt commissioned 3 Vintage Tourbillon Automatique watches, each with a design different.
Among the Jean Todt watches at the auction there is the number 2 and features a red Ferrari dial, the number 1 with the Cavallino logo, the driver’s helmet with five laurel wreaths representing the world championships won by Michael Schumacher. On the back we find the commemorative engraving “Manufacturé spécialment Pour Jean Todt. M. Schumacher, 5 Times World Champion”.
The watch is estimated at CHF 80,000 – CHF 120,000
Richard Mille RM 56-01 in sapphire (prototype)
A truly exceptional piece appears in the Jean Todt watch collection, a prototype of the RM 56-01 in sapphire with a blue alligator strap. The former Ferrari director has undertaken, since the dawn of Richard Mille, an important collaboration relationship. In fact, already in 2006 it was possible to find him wearing different pieces of the brand that revolutionized the world of watchmaking with its tonneau inspired by the world of racing.
What makes the collection with reference RM 56 exceptional is the use of sapphire throughout the construction of the case. From a single block, Richard Mille derives all the components that make up the watch, with a crazy transparency effect: it’s like having X-rays.
The one that will be auctioned from Jean Todt’s collection is the PR00 prototype, as the back of the case suggests. What makes it special is also the blue alligator strap, which is usually intended for the more “classic” models of the brand, often in the early 2000s. The sapphire is usually equipped with a transparent rubber strap.
Jean Todt’s Richard Mille estimate is CHF 2,500,000 – CHF 4,500,000.
The brands that the Ferrari Team Principal bought
At the beginning we anticipated how the purchased brands were special, this is an overview of all the brands that we found in the catalog of Jean Todt’s watch auction, there are 29 different Maisons. In alphabetical order:
A. Lange & Sohne, Asprey, Audemars Piguet
Baume & Mercier, Blancpain, Boucheron, Breguet, Bulgari
Cartier, Chaumet, Chopard
Jaeger-LeCoultre, Ebel
F.P. Journe, Franck Muller
Girard-Perregaux, Harry Winston, Hublot
IWC, Montblanc, Omega
Panerai, Parmigiani, Patek Philippe
Richard Mille, Roger Dubuis, Rolex
TAG Heuer, Vacheron Constantin
Where and when the “The Collection Of A Lifetime” auction will be held
The auction of Jean Todt’s watch collection “The Collection Of A Lifetime” will be held on November 6, 2022 in Geneva, at Christie’s. We will be live from there to let you discover all the pieces firsthand. We cannot summarize them all in this article, even if they would be worthy of a dedicated episode, one by one. Have you ever expected such an auction? What’s your favorite piece?
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