Bulgari’s longtime boss Jean-Christophe Babin has just been appointed named chief executive of LVMH Watches, effective April 1. He succeeds Frédéric Arnault, who was recently named to lead Loro Piana.
Mr Babin will lead the watch division in addition to being chief of Bulgari, the Italian jeweller he has led in 2013. With a dozen years at the helm, Mr Babin is one of the longest-serving bosses in luxury. His successor at Bulgari, however, is already in place; Laura Burdese was named deputy chief executive last year.
In his new role, Mr Babin will oversee the three brands that make up the watch division: TAG Heuer, Hublot, and Bulgari.
An offshoot of the cult “restomod” automaker specialising in Porsche 911s, Singer Reimagined has up till now specialised in chronographs powered by the novel, modern AgenGraphe movement. Now the brand is taking the opposite tack with the Singer Reimagined Heritage Collection.
The Heritage chronograph retains the signature Singer style, but is equipped with a rejuvenated and decorated Valjoux 236 movement that was originally made in the 1970s. The “new old stock” movement makes the Heritage more affordable than Singer’s earlier chronographs; it retails for CHF16,700 before taxes.
Initial thoughts
The Heritage chronograph has an appealing design with thoughtful details, which is unsurprising since Singer founder Marco Borracino is a designer by profession. Many of the details evoke 1970s motorsports chronographs, but the watch still manages to look original and capture the Singer house style.
That said, the Heritage is less interesting than earlier Singer chronographs because the movement is pretty straightforward. The Valjoux 236 is a good example of high-quality industrial watchmaking of the mid-20th century, moreover it’s been dressed up well in for the Heritage. But it’s still a fairly basic chronograph movement that doesn’t have the inventiveness of the AgenGraphe found in Singer’s flagship Track 1 chronograph.
But the Heritage chronograph is priced fairly for what it is. The CHF16,700 price tag makes it a competitive proposition. And it enjoys the advantage of having distinctive design, as opposed to most chronograph powered by “new old stock” movements that tend to be derivative in style.
Gently reimagined
Introduced in 1974 as a modernised, high-beat version of the Valjoux 23, the Valjoux 236 is a classical chronograph movement that looks the part. Singer acquired “new old stock” examples of the cal. 236, essentially fresh and unused examples, for the Heritage chronograph.
Each movement is decorated by hand, including with frosting and bevelling for the bridges and cocks, while the steel chronograph levers are straight grained and chamfered. The result is a restrained finish that matches the aesthetics of the watch.
The modifications to the movement are primarily cosmetic, and the cal. 236 remains fundamentally unchanged in technical and functional terms.
The Heritage chronograph sports a case that is suitably vintage in style. It’s a 38.8 mm steel case with a flat front that brings to mind several 1970s chronograph.
Matched with “pump” pushers, the case has a radial brushed finish on the front as was common in the 1970s. And the case does without a bezel, with the domed crystal instead sitting directly on the case middle.
Available in either green or black lacquer, the dial continues the retro-inspired style of the case. It takes after the dial of the preceding Singer Track 1 more obviously, and employs the same hands and oversized cap over the central seconds axis. Another detail transplanted from the Track 1 is the fluted gilt flange around the dial that doubles as a minute track.
Christie’s is continuing with its streak of single-owner watch collections into the 2025 season with Stories in Time. Made up of 160 watches – including a sizeable number of independents – the sale is the culmination of three decades of collecting by one collector.
Representing 47 brands from A. Lange & Söhne to Voutilainen, the collection represents 21st century horology in all its diversity, capturing the evolution of contemporary watchmaking as it developed from the 1990s onwards.
The watchmaking landscape
Establishment brands like Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin are well represented, but equally the independent watchmakers and brands out of the mainstream.
While the brand with the largest number of pieces in the collection is Patek Philippe at 20, the second most numerous brand is De Bethune at 18. The line-up also includes nine watches by Greubel Forsey and seven from MB&F, as well as a few examples of the Harry Winston Opus series.
One of the nine Greubel Forsey watches in the sale, the Double Tourbillon 30° Edition Historique in platinum with an estimate of US$120,000-220,000
Almost every watch in the collection is in pristine condition and accompanied by the original boxes and paperwork, reflecting the collector’s meticulous approach.
This collection will be offered at Christie’s sales across the world over the course of 2025, in Hong Kong, Dubai, Geneva, and New York in the eight auctions during the spring and autumn sales.
