The fall auction season kicks off with online auctions, before the primary live sales that take place in November. Phillips in Geneva just opened its online auction with a 70-lot offering of the familiar and mainstream (think Aquanaut, Royal Oak, and Nautilus), but also the esoteric and independent, ranging from an Alain Silberstein perpetual calendar made by Svend Andersen to a Seiko Izul “bullhead” chronograph.

We round up a few highlights from the sale, which runs from September 5-12, 2024, with the catalogue and bidding available online.

Lot 9 –  Alain Silberstein Marine Perpetual Calendar by Svend Andersen

Part of Alain Silberstein’s Marine series of dive watches, the Marine Perpetual is a COSC-certified perpetual calendar in a case rated to 200 m. It’s equipped with a clever, double-sided perpetual calendar movement developed by Svend Andersen.

Built on an ETA 2892, the perpetual calendar has a minimalist display with only the date on the dial that’s decorated in Silberstein’s trademark style with geometric shapes, primary colours, along with a starfish, crescent, and sun.

On the reverse is the months and leap year in a single register that is mounted on the periphery of the movement, allowing the rotor to travel below the indicator.

The Marine Perpetual was a limited edition of 100 watches, though it is likely fewer were made, since they are rarely encountered. It was one of several collaborations that Alain Silberstein in the 1990s with prominent independent watchmakers of the period, during the brand’s heyday before it went bust a decade ago.

Accompanied by all the original documents, including the guarantee and COSC certificate, the Marine Perpetual has an estimate of CHF5,000-10,000. At time of writing it has no bids, which might make it the most affordable perpetual calendars by an independent watchmaker.

Lot 29 – Parmigiani Ovale Pantographe

Though now best known for the Tonda PF sports watch, Parmigiani once had a diverse repertoire of watches and clocks. Some were influenced by founder Michel Parmigiani’s years spent restoring historical timepieces, including the Ovale Pantographe that boasts novel “expanding” hands.

The hands of the Pantographe are pivoted at several points, allowing them to expand and contract as they travel around the dial, tracing an oval shape over 12 hours. These unique hands were inspired by pocket watches made in the early 18th century by English watchmaker William Anthony who specialised in lavish and complicated timepieces for the Chinese market.

Anthony only made a half dozen or so oval pocket watches with expanding hands, all of which were elaborately decorated with pearls, diamonds, and enamel. The handful that sold at auction from the 1970s to 1990s all achieved record prices, reflecting the importance of pocket watches during that period.

Michel Parmigiani restored one such watch that is part of the collection of the Sandoz Foundation, which also owns the Parmigiani brand. With that as inspiration, he conceived an expanding hands mechanism that he installed on his PF110 movement with eight-day power reserve.

Now long discontinued, the Pantographe has a modest estimate of CHF3,000-6,000. The current bid is CHF9,000, while the original retail price was about CHF60,000.

Lot 31 – Seiko Izul Chronograph

One of the most obscure modern Seiko watches, the Izul is a big, chunky chronograph with a 47 mm titanium case and a “bullhead” configuration.

Launched in 2007, it was inspired by the historical stopwatches Seiko made for Olympic timekeeping in the 1960s, explaining the position of the chronograph pushers as well as the unusual dial that has only a 60-second scale instead of hour markers.

Like most high-end Seiko chronographs from the 2000s onwards, the Izul is powered by a Spring Drive movement. The cal. 5R85 inside is similar to the cal. 9R86 found in Grand Seiko watches. Both calibres are fundamentally the same, with the main difference being the simpler finishing of the cal. 5R85.

Including its original box and papers, the Izul has an estimate of CHF4,000-8,000.

Lot 48 – Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Limited Edition “Paula Rego”

Though seemingly an ordinary Reverso in pink gold at a distance, this has a grand feu enamel dial, a detail only found on limited edition Reverso models. Limited to 40 pieces and made in 2002, this was a tribute to Portuguese artist Paula Rego (1935-2022).

The watch was part of the Reverso Arte Portuguesa series of limited edition dedicated to Portuguese artists. Though born in Portugal, Rego grew up and then spent most of her life in London. She was best known for her paintings and prints inspired by themes from novels, one of which is reproduced on this Reverso.

The 18k pink gold case is in the Grande Taille size, arguably the most wearable and classic of all Reverso cases. The back of the reversible case bears a “banknote” engraving of Loving Bewick, a 2001 lithograph by Paula Rego that depicts Jane Eyre kissing a pelican.

The engraved case back. Image – Jaeger-LeCoultre

Complete with box and papers, the Reverso “Paula Rego” has an estimate of CHF3,000-6,000, a bargain for a Reverso with an engraved gold case and enamel dial.

Lot 50 – Roger Dubuis La Monégasque Big Number

Equipped with one of Roger Dubuis’ most interesting movements, the La Monégasque Big Number is a value-buy chronograph. The dial was inspired by the roulette weeks of Monte Carlo hence the red, black, and gold livery. Sporting a black-coated titanium insert on its bezel, the 18k pink gold cushion-shaped case is modelled on the earlier Sympathie model.

The highlight, however, is the RD78 movement bearing the Poincon de Geneve, or Geneva Seal, that is one of the brand’s most interesting movements, and its first-ever in-house chronograph calibre.

While the brand’s earlier watches are well liked for their vintage-inspired style, all were equipped with stock movements, mostly from Lemania. The RD78, on the other hand, was entirely Roger Dubuis, a product of a period when the brand was aggressively expanding by building an expansive new manufacture in Geneva.

Developed by Roger Dubuis while it was still an independent brand, the RD78 is a traditional chronograph with both a lateral coupling and column wheel. But unusually for a traditional chronograph, it is also automatic with a micro rotor below a Celtic cross-style bridge.

Too expensive to produce economically, the RD78 was eventually abandoned in favour of a more cost-efficient chronograph calibre, leaving it relatively rare.

The RD78 has strong appeal thanks to its finely finishing and sophisticated construction, but it has a relatively wide diameter, resulting in a chunky, 44 mm case.

The Monegasque chronograph includes all of its original boxes and papers, including the COSC certificate. It has an estimate of CHF3,000-6,000, and is currently still under CHF9,000, a fraction of its original retail.

Lot 51 – MB&F Horological Machine No. 2

The second model created by MB&F, the HM2 is now 16 years old. Resembling an instrument panel, the oblong case is somewhat dated, yet it has a retro charm possessed by some of the exotic examples of independent watchmaking of the period.

At almost 60 mm in width, the case is chunky and heavy, but it is logically laid out for the double retrograde display. The left window contains the retrograde date display and moon phase, while the right window shows the jumping hours and retrograde minutes.

Like many of the brand’s HMs of the period, the HM2 is powered by a Girard-Perregaux base movement, but with a purpose-built module on top. The module was developed by Agenhor, the Geneva complications specialist founded by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht and now run by his two sons.

Complete with box and papers dated 2010, the HM2 is an affordable entry into sci-fi independent watchmaking with an estimate of CHF17,000-34,000, with currently no bids.

Lot 57 – Audemars Piguet [Re]Master01 

Like the Roger Dubuis Monegasque above, the Remaster01 is an under-appreciated chronograph with a fine movement. Launched in 2020 as a 500-piece limited edition, the Remaster01 is essentially a remake of the ref. 1533 that AP made in the 1940s.

Like the vintage original, the Remaster 01 has a two-tone case of steel and 18k pink gold with teardrop lugs, but the movement is the latest generation cal. 4409.

The execution of the dial reflects the attention to detail in its conception, with the typography and print replicating the original almost exactly. Even the printed baton hour indices have serifs, just like on the vintage examples.

Inside is the cal. 4409, a self-winding flyback chronograph movement that’s also found in the Royal Oak and Code 11.59. It’s one of AP’s newer movements and sports the features expected of a modern high-end movement, including a vertical clutch and large, free-sprung balance.

The full specs of the movement mean it is large, which results in a relatively thick case at odds with the vintage design. That said, the Remaster01 is executed well and perhaps the most affordable AP chronograph with this movement.

The Remaster01 includes its box and papers, and has an estimate CHF18,000-36,000. At the time of writing it has no bids yet, which means it could potentially be had for the low estimate.

Lot 68 – L’Epée 1839 Grenade desk clock

One of the many clocks in novel shapes made by L’Epee 1839 (recently acquired by LVMH), the Grenade is shaped like a hand grenade and comes complete with a pin. Standing about 12 cm high, it is bigger than an actual grenade, but sized perfectly as a desk clock.

It indicates hours and minutes on two cylinders within the frame, with a pointer shaped like a stick grenade indicating the current time.

The body contains the vertically-arranged movement that has the mainspring at the base of the grenade, along with an exposed balance wheel on the front.

Sold just last year, the Grenade has its box and papers. It’s Estimated at CHF2,000-4,000 with no reserve, and it’s currently still below the high estimate.

Auction information

Watches Online: The Geneva Sessions, Fall 2024 is live from September 5-12, 2024. The lots close progressively starting from 2:00 pm CEST on September 12.

Made up of 70 lots, the catalogue and bidding are available online at Phillips.com.