What is Only Watch?
ONLY WATCH is a biennial auction which is organised by the President of the Monégasque contre les Myopathies association – an organisation which supports research into combatting Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). This upcoming edition is set to take place on November 6th in Geneva.
(To get an idea of what sort of timepieces are sold at Only Watch, here’s a recap of the 2019 Edition)
Held in collaboration with Christie’s – the world’s largest auction house – 54 brands are set to participate in this 9th edition, with all the proceeds going to the aformentioned Monegasque Association against Muscular Dystrophy.
All of the timepieces donated by the participating maisons are piece-uniques, or the first exemplars for an upcoming limited series, specifically made for this event.
Only Watch shows the great generosity of the brands but also represents an occasion to showcase each maison’s watchmaking abilities, specifically targeted for elite collectors.
Ranking
Producing an “IWS Top 10” list out of all of the entries was no easy task: we asked all of our team members to make their list (going off of personal preference), and then translated that into a general top 10. Although the usual suspects are there, there are quite a few very interesting appearances.
This is not an objective ranking based on complications, mechanism and esthetics; this list shows the personal preferences of nearly 40 people that make up the Italian Watch Spotter family.
Without further ado, here is our list:
10. DE BETHUNE x VOUTILAINEN – KIND OF MAGIC
Kind of Magic is the product of De Bethune and Voutilainen’s creative vision and artisanal talent.
The two watchmakers, Denis Flageollet (co-founder of De Bethune) and Kari Voutilainen (founder of his own watch brand), decided to unite their strengths and savoir-faire to create a unique piece – or should we say, an actual work of art – with two working faces, for Only Watch 2021.
Kari Voutilainen Denis Flageollet
Even though the watch has not been completely unveiled yet, the sketches alone were enough to convince our team that this watch will be top 10-worthy.
On both sides, one can read the time and admire/identify each of the signature features included by the watchmakers, as well as noticing which are common to both.
De Bethune offers a perfect marriage between elegance and mechanics, with a beautiful skeletonised face, displaying the movement. On the watch, we can also find a disc upon which we can see the 12 hour markers and the minute track.
Voutilatien, on the other hand, opted for a watch face without the second hand (seconds are kept just by a ticking sound). This method departs from the usual time telling found on other timepieces.
9. MB&F – HM 10 PANDA
Just like last time, MB&F’s timepiece hasn’t been fully unveiled yet. In fact, in similar fashion to the previous entry on this list, all we have are these sketches (below), which have also really excited the members of our team – enough to earn itself the 9th spot on our list.
In occasion of the Only Watch auction, MB&F has transformed its Horological Machine N.10 Bulldog into a Panda; the rounder body, in fact, resembles that of the cute black and white mammal. The superior part of the timepiece is coated in white and black lacquer, mirroring the animal’s unmistakable colours.
Although the case would normally be made from titanium, this particular model is made from stainless steel. On the sapphire glass dome, we can find the animal’s ears, made from black ceramic. Instead, we can find the same material on the rear, used for the tail.
Furthermore, two smaller, additional domes are present on the watch face, made with black alumini. These indicate the hour and the minutes, and to represent the inequivocabile eyes of the Asian mammal.
The innovative and interesting watch also shows the legs of the mammal that seem to wrap around the wrist, as if it was a bamboo tree. Speaking of innovation, the power reserve indicator is embedded into the teeth of the bear. If you love pandas, this has to be your watch!
8. F.P. JOURNE x FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA – FFC BLUE
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Caliber Octa 1300 automatic, F.P. Journe presented the definitive version of the legendary model, creating a spectacular timepiece for the Only Watch auction.
The Swiss maison’s masterpiece departs from traditional watch hands, substituting them for a human one!
The idea came to life after an encounter between Journe and Francis Ford Coppola (an American filmmaker). He asked the watchmaker if he could make a timepiece that showed the time with a human hand. Always up for a challenge, it took Journe and his maison seven years to fulfill this request with the FFC.
The fingers appear and disappear in the blink of an eye, showing the exact hour in specific positions. The minutes can be read at the 12 o’clock position thanks to a rotating disc and a pointer.
The F.P Journe FFC features an ultra-slim 42mm by 10.7mm case made from tantalum. Despite its relatively “small” stature, the FFC contains a highly complex movement. This timepiece is powered by the cal. 1300.3 FFC, which oscillates at 21.600 vibrations/h with a 160h power reserve.
This beautiful movement can be admired through the transparent case back, which has of course been decorated with the typical Journe graphics. The oscillating weight, made from solid gold, bears an engraving of the names of F.F Coppola and Ambroise Paré (the father of modern surgery).
7. BREGUET – TYPE XX
Breguet has decided to release a timepiece resembling the pilot’s watch Breguet XX from the ’50s and ’60s for this year’s Only Watch.
The case, which bears a lot of resemblance to the original timepiece, has a diameter of 38.3 mm and is made from brushed steel. The bidirectional bezel has a notched profile with the 12 hour markers engraved on it, which are used for flight calculations. The flat crown, as found in all the models type XX utilized for civil use, bears an engraving with the name of the model as well as the name of the Only Watch event.
The bronze hue of the watch face, hands and arabic numerals, as well as the general profile of the piece, are clear recollections of the (now) ultra rare original models. The type XX is equipped with the small seconds complication located at the 9 o’clock position, and the chronograph sub-register at 3, the latter of which has a slightly larger diameter, more luminous indices as and a teardrop-shaped hand.
This unique piece is animated by the Valjoux 235 movement, a vintage manually wound caliber, derived from the Valjoux 222 that Breguet utilized in the ’50s. This chronograph movement also presents the emblematic flyback function that allows the user to measure short, intermediate time intervals with ease.
6. RICHARD MILLE – RM 67 CHARLES LECLERC PROTOTYPE
Charles Leclerc is a Monegasque Formula 1 pilot, currently racing for Scuderia Ferrari. Richard Mille has always sponsored the youngster, and for the Only Watch 2021 auction, the futuristic maison has decided to celebrate their relationship with the RM 67-02 prototype. This watch actually features experimental technology which may be adopted in future models.
The RM 67-02 Charles Leclerc is sort of symbolic of Richard Mille’s desire and unrivalled ability to make superlative sports watches. The distinctive traits that catch our attention are the satin-finished edgeless hands, the halo-reminiscent structures, and the ultra-thin CRMA 7 movement, exuding force.
The rotor is made from narrow lines of TPT Carbon and white gold, whilst the bridges and the base plate are made from titanium.
The watch’s colour scheme is not only reflective of the Monegasque flag (red and white), but also align themselves with the red Ferrari theme.
The materials and surface finishings are exclusive to Richard Mille, and make this watch highly resistant to any sort of wear.
Finally, the strap, which to date is the lightest one ever produced by the maison, perfectly adapts to every wrist.
5. AUDEMARS PIGUET – ROYAL OAK “JUMBO” EXTRA-THIN
Audemars Piguet’s Only Watch piece-unique offering is the last ref. 15202 to be powered by the cal. 2121 – the one used in the very first Royal Oak back in 1972. In the years that this movement was released, at 3.02mm, it was the thinnest automatic movement to feature a date function and a central oscillating mass.
For this piece unique, the maison has combined Bulk Metallic Glass with Titanium for the first time. BMG is a palladium-based alloy that, when quickly cooled, displays glassy behaviour: high corrosion and wear resistance.
The hand polished Bulk Metallic Glass is utilized for the bezel, the caseback and the bezel’s rivets, creating a clear contrast with the 39mm titanium case and bracelet links.
The dial, debuting a new shade of grey, utilises the unmistakable “Petite Tapisserie” motif, and is adorned with the “Audemars Piguet” and “Automatic” signatures up top, and the “AP” logo below.
4. ZENITH X FELIPE PANTONE – DEFY DOUBLE TOURBILLON
Zenith has been supporting the Only Watch auction since 2005, and for this year’s event, it has decided to collaborate with the contemporary artist Felipe Pantone to create a unique watch.
The result is an edition of the Defy 21 Double Tourbillon like no other. This timepiece features a 46mm case made entirely out of sapphire, and a two-tourbillion El Primero 9020 caliber, boasting a 50 hour power reserve. The first tourbillion, for the regular time, oscillates at 36,000 VpH, meanwhile the second, regulating the chronograph, operates at 360,000 VpH.
The finishes that we can observe are PVD “Rainbow” dotted throughout, and an additional Rainbow lacquered motif for the indices.
The watch will be sold in a special Felipe Pantone box, signed by the artist himself.
3. BVLGARI – OCTO FINISSIMO PERPETUAL CALENDAR TANTALUM
A world record. An extremely rare grey-and-blue metal. A very unique creation
To celebrate its debut at the Only Watch auction series, Bvlgari has created the Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar Tantalum.
For this creation, Bvlgari has chosen one of the rarest materials on Earth – one that his highly resistant to corrosion and biocompatible, but most of all, looks so good: tantalum. The case, made entirely out of this material, measures 40mm across and an incredulous 5.8 mm thick.
The watch is powered by an equally incredulously thin 2.75mm caliber, which by some engineering miracle is able to sport the perpetual calendar complication. On the deep blue dial, therefore (which is also in line with the case colour), we can find a retrograde date indicator in the top half, the month indicator at 4 o’clock, the day at 8, and the leap year indicator at 6.
One of many entertaining peculiarities of the watch is the modification of the November month abbreviation: instead of “NOV”, it reads “NOW”, reflecting the initials of the Only Watch event (OW).
The watch is accompanied by a beautiful blue crocodile strap, whose buckle is also made from case-matching tantalum.
2. TUDOR – BLACK BAY GMT ONE
Tudor brought an amazing piece to this year’s edition of Only Watch: a unique Black Bay GMT with fascinating (and secret!) age-accelerating stainless steel surface finishings.
The entire watch has a patinated look, including the bezel and most of all, the watch face. These finishes and treatments make the watch look like it’s been through war, in a volcano, trapped in a wildfire and all the way back. The face contains hints of lighter gray for contrast.
The distinctive feature of this timepiece is the “GMT Master Chronometer” certification, seen on the lower half of the dial. This precious accolade means that the Tudor caliber MT5652 has been through, and passed some of the most rigorous standards of the industry, and guarantees a precision of plus or minus 5 seconds, an anti magnetism rating of up to 15.000 Gauss and an impressive power reserve.
The fact that Tudor obtained this certificate is a testament to their technical expertise, and that they are much more thant “Rolex’s little brother”
Aside from the aformentioned finishing techniques, and the clear caseback, the timepiece is very similar to the regular Black Bay GMT. This function/complication allows the Tudor Black Bay GMT ONE to track 3 different time zones at the same time thanks to the two hour hands and the graduated bezel.
1. BALTIC – PULSOMETER CHRONOGRAPH MONOPUSHER
And the winner is….. Baltic!
Baltic?
That’s right! Despite their relatively lesser known status, Baltic’s pulsometer monopusher chronograph takes the top spot in our list.
This 36mm steel timepiece has a clear caseback which allows you to see the masterful Venus 150 caliber from the ‘40’s at work – a movement which has been completely restored and rennovated in Switzerland.
The watch face presents Breguet indices that give the watch a superbly elegant and vintage look. In addition to this, two subdials display the small seconds complication at 9 o’clock and the chronograph minute counter at 3 o’clock.
The watch face also shows the pulsometer scale, used to provide medical information along with the chronograph feature.
You can learn more about this piece, and the maison which manufactured it here!
Author: Lorenzo Manenti
Translated by: Tommaso Metzger
