A window into the early days of contemporary independent watchmaking, the upcoming Phillips Hong Kong auction offers an unexpectedly diverse line-up, including a single-owner collection of 1990s watches.

The indie selection ranges from Daniel Roth in the late 1980s to Philippe Dufour’s influential finissage. And the historically-minded enthusiast will also notice the catalog includes work from an era when star independent watchmakers, such as Louis Cottier, counted brands as their clients.

Lot 982 – Daniel Roth Ref. 2187 Tourbillon “Double Face”

After helping establish Breguet as a Swiss watchmaker, Daniel Roth established his eponymous brand in 1988 with his inaugural model being the ref. C187/2187, a tourbillon wristwatch with two faces. The front indicates the time and showcases the tourbillon at six o’clock, while the reverse is home to the date and power reserve indicator.

Despite the strikingly exotic look for the time – remember this was the late 1980s – the tourbillon actually employs the familiar Lemania tourbillon calibre, unsurprising given that Mr Roth helped with the construction of the calibre while he was at Breguet. While the bones are Lemania, the aesthetic is uniquely Daniel Roth. The grey dial has a pinstripe guilloche while the three-armed seconds hand indicates the time on a three-layer scale.

Just last year, Louis Vuitton resurrected the Daniel Roth marque with a new generation of the iconic tourbillon powered by an all-new calibre developed by its Geneva manufacture, La Fabrique du Temps. While the latest incarnation is excellent – the new calibre is arguably superior to the original in fact – the modern-day incarnation is missing the reverse dial and the quirky, nineties-era industrial-artisanal feel of the original.

The era of the original was also one where tourbillons were highly regarded for their precision. Rightly or misguided, tourbillons were expected to be accurate, or at lease precise. As such, this watch is accompanied by a timing certificate from COSC’s Le Locle office, dated October 7, 1991. Although the ref. C187/2187 was delivered with this as standard when new, a majority of examples today are missing the certificate.

Also, this particular piece is in pink gold. Though almost indistinguishable from yellow gold at a distance, especially with the passage of time, pink gold iterations are far rarer. With that in mind, the estimate of HK$300,000-600,000 (US$38,500-76,900) makes this early Daniel Roth tourbillon an attractive opportunity.

Lot 1045 -Paul Gerber Ref. 152 Retrograd

A member of the pioneering generation of independent watchmakers who came of age in the 1990s, Paul Gerber combines a Swiss-German sensibility with creative ideas, giving him a diverse repertoire of watches ranging from quirky to complicated.

Image – Phillips.

The ref. 152 represents Mr Gerber’s very first concept as an independent watchmaker. Originally launched as the ref. 150 in 1996, the model was soon after upgraded to create the ref. 152. A little larger than its predecessor, the ref. 152 was cased in gold; this example is in white gold, which is a little less common than yellow.

It features the classical-with-a-twist aesthetic devised for this series. The dial is white lacquer, hands are leaf, while the numerals are Breguet but shrink in size towards the retrograde seconds scale. The seconds take pride of place with an oversized scale at six, which might seem odd today, but the complication was extremely exotic in the 1990s and only offered by independent watchmakers at the time.

The back reveals the Peseux 7001 base movement, a no-frills manual wind that’s nonetheless been dressed up. This version is surprisingly thin thanks to the hand-wind calibre; Mr Gerber subsequently developed an automatic version with his patented double rotor that is thicker.

The manual wind movement helps the watch keep a low profile. Image – Phillips

Image – Phillips

Complete with its original box and papers, this ref. 152 has a modest estimate of just HK$64,000-95,000 (US$8,200-12,200), which is good for a gold watch with a “small” complication and even better for a good example of 1990s independent watchmaking – though this example dates to 2013.

Lot 981 – Philippe Dufour Simplicity 37 mm

With its current six-figure value, the Simplicity has become a regular offering at major auctions, but this example is unusual with its combination of a pink gold case and dark grey dial, which gives it a more modern aesthetic than the most common silver or lacquer dial. According to Phillips, only two examples like this are known.

The rest of the watch is classic Simplicity. Simple in form and all polished, the pink gold case is the larger, 37 mm size, which wears better for most than the 35 mm original.

The dial features a guilloche centre and applied gold markers that match the case, and bears the “Metalem” signature at six o’clock, a distinguishing feature of the original, 200-piece edition. According to Mr Dufour, he consented to the dial maker putting its name on the dial, in contrast to prevailing practice, in return for a lower price on the Simplicity dials.

Consigned by the collector who bought this new from Mr Dufour in 2012, the watch is one of the last examples delivered from the original 200-piece run. This includes its original certificate and box. The estimate is HK$2.0-3.2 million (US$256,000-410,000).

Lot 993 – Patek Philippe Ref. 2597/1 “The Australian Pink Travel Time”

Independent watchmaker Cottier is credited with popularising world time watch genre, producing his first for L. Baszanger of Geneva in 1931. From 1937 to 1965 he modified a little under 400 movements for Patek Philippe, mostly adding travel or world time works.

According to Louis Cottier’s records, held by the Musée d’art et d’histoire de Genève, this movement was one of ten cal. 12-400 movements sent by Patek Philippe in 1961 (792’430 – 49) to be endowed with Cottier’s travel time system. Pressing the pins in the case band jumps the hour hand forward or back in one hour increments without disturbing the minutes or seconds.

Image – Phillips

Patek Philippe used these movements in the second generation of the ref. 2597 travel time watch, the ref. 2597/1 which added a second, blued steel hour hand for “home” time as standard, which tucks away under the local hour hand when both show the same time, as seen here.

This watch’s history is unusually well documented, accompanied by correspondence between the first owner, an Australian, and Swiss retailer Gübelin. The Australian purchased a yellow gold ref. 2597/1 in 1970, which was stolen in 1976. While in Saint Mortiz the following year, he asked to Gübelin boutique to order a replacement.

While production ended over a decade ago, it used to be common for manufacturers to have niche watches and movements in inventory for years or longer – unthinkable in today’s just-in-time world. Gübelin passed this inquiry on to Patek Philippe, who responded they still had a ref. 2597/1 in stock, but it was rose gold.

Image – Phillips

The Australian evidently found this acceptable, and Patek Philippe sold it to Gübelin in 1980, where it was marked with the retailer’s signature and forwarded to owner.

Retailer signatures are in vouge these days, that along with the condition and the 2597/1’s general desirably contribute to the high HK$2 – 4 million (US$256,000 – 513,000) estimate for this single owner example.

Lot 953 – F.P. Journe Répétition Souveraine “Black Label”

The Répétition Souveraine is one of the more unusual minute repeaters on the market. Most independents rely on a handful of contemporary specialists like Le Cercle des Horlogers, or near century-old ebauches for repeaters.

In his inimitable style, Francois-Paul Journe did it his own way, smartly and elegantly. He turned to the Chronomètre Souverain as a base and created his first stand-alone minute repeater. Although the height and width of the red gold main plate was increased to accommodate the striking works, the watch remains impressively thin in the typical F.P. Journe style.

Image – Phillips

In fact, the 8.5 mm tall Répétition Souverain was briefly the thinnest minute repeater wristwatch when launched in 2008. A key aspect of its thinness was the unconventional repeater mechanism. Mr Journe was clearly inspired by the repeaters of A.-L. Breguet’s day, which were in turn based on the work of English watchmaker Matthew Stogden. Such Breguet’s minute repeaters chimed the hours and quarters on the same gong, and then the minutes on a second gong.

Image – Phillips

Mr Journe’s approach is slightly different but still employs the distinctive “flat” gong found on early Breguet repeaters that allows the gongs to sit flat under the dial Here the hours, minutes, and the note for the quarters use the same gong, while the first quarter note is on a second gong.

Image – Phillips

This example, however, is no ordinary Répétition Souveraine. It is a Black Label.

The Black Label Collection of watches with black dials – practically any model in the catalogue can be given the Black Label treatment – that are available only to existing customers and made in tiny numbers. Each of the brand’s 12 boutiques receive only 12 black label watches per year, and no more than two of each reference.

That means there is a hard limit of 144 Black Label watches per year. Since there 10 different regular production Black Label models, that actual number is certainly much lower.

The special “Black Label” certificate, signed by Francois Paul Journe. Image – Phillips

Black Label watches have black dials and platinum cases – except for the striking models that have steel cases, which includes the Répétition Souveraine. In that light, the estimate of HK$2.4-4.8 million (US$308,000-615,000) estimate is unsurprising, though arguably low in today’s market.

Lot 1041 – F.P. Journe Chronomètre À Résonance, “Parking Meter”

Perhaps the most desirable brand of the moment, F.P. Journe is now a fixture in major auctions, so rare F.P. Journe models pop surprisingly often. This Resonance, however, is rarer than most.

For one, it features the “parking meter” dial that was derided at launch for being illegible and spoiling the signature symmetry of the Resonance. Today this dial type is one of the rarest for the model.

Image – Phillips

And then there’s the 38 mm case that makes this even rarer. Majority of “parking meter” Resonance examples were delivered with in a 40 mm case, which was already the prevailing standard when the “parking meter” dial was introduced in 2010.

Image – Phillips

This Resonance is complete with its original box and papers dated 2011. The estimate is HK$950,000-1.6 million (US$$122,000-205,000).

Lot 1043 – Laurent Ferrier Galet Micro-Rotor Kamine Edition

One of Japan’s most venerable retailers, Kobe-base Kamine is now in its 119th year and still family run. Though it represents establishment brands like Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, Kamine is also a longtime retailer of independents; it was one of the first retailers to carry Philippe Dufour for instance.

This Galet Micro-Rotor was a limited edition for Kamine’s 110th anniversary. Unsurprisingly, it is exceedingly elegant and reflective of the prevailing Japanese preference for refined, classical style.

Image – Phillips

The white gold galet (or pebble) case has a white grand feu enamel dial featuring applied Breguet numerals and Breguet hands. Both the hands and numerals are solid white gold to match the case.

And inside is the FBN 229.01 movement that’s one of the brand’s best. Though Laurent Ferrier has introduced simpler movements since, or simpler finishing on its earlier movements, this FBN 229.01 is top quality.

Image – Phillips

Numbered “1/3”, this Kamine edition includes all its original packaging, including a certificate dated 2016, and has an estimate of HK$160,000-240,000 (US$20,500 – 30,800).

Preview and auction

The sale and preview exhibition will take place at Phillips Hong Kong in the West Kowloon Cultural District.

Preview
Open daily November 15-23, 2025, from 10:00 am-7:00 pm

Auction
November 21 – 2:00 pm (Session I lots 801 – 901)
November 22 – 2:00 pm (Session II lots 902 – 1014)
November 23 – 2:00 pm (Session III lots 1015 – 1123)

(All times are local to Hong Kong, GMT+8.)

G/F WKCDA Tower
Cultural District
8 Austin Road West
Kowloon, Hong Kong

For the full catalogue, visit Phillips.com.

This was brought to you in partnership with Phillips.