It is one of those horological Grails which suddenly reappear at an auction before disappearing and undoubtedly joining one of the largest collections in the world.
Gérald Genta's own Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the Picasso of watches, is more than just another collector's timepiece.
It is in itself the symbol of a page in contemporary watchmaking history, the embodiment of his talent and his constant search for the best.
Ten years after his death, and while the cult watch from the Manufacture in Le Brassus is celebrating its 50th anniversary, Evelyn Genta, his widow, has in fact decided to put up for sale not only some of the designs of the famous watch designer, but also his own watch.
A unique piece in essence, which he himself had modified.
But why did you customize this watch?
“He wore it for a very long time,”
explained Sébastian Vivas, Museum & Heritage Director at Audemars Piguet recently.
I think its creator is one of the few legitimate people who can transform the Royal Oak.
Shortly before his death, he told us that he had modified the bezel on his own, without speaking to Georges Golay, then marketing director of the manufacture.
He considered that the American market was not ready to buy a steel watch at the price of gold, that the perception of value passed through the color yellow, the color of luxury.”
This lot n°72, an elegant reference to the year of release of this piece, will have established at Sotheby's, in Geneva, a new price record for a vintage Royal Oak.
With four bidders on the phone, one in the room and three online, the bidding battle lasted six minutes before crossing the two million euro mark.
That is more than four times its initial estimate.
A new record for a vintage Royal Oak.
Sotheby's
Produced around 1978, this Royal Oak ref.
5403 Jumbo in steel is the only one to have a yellow gold bezel, added by Gérald Genta himself in his workshops.
A piece he had bought from the manufacture, Paradoxically, it seems that the man who designed this watch in the early 1970s will have waited several years before owning one himself!
"In addition to the Royal Oak, the hundred exclusive goods offered for sale by Sotheby's include designs for ladies' watches, jewellery, complex watches, Mickey's, best-sellers, as well as previously unseen designs
, explained Evelyn Genta before this sale.
In addition, their declination in digital NFTs will give them an innovative digital and artistic dimension that would have pleased Gérald.
I will keep more than 3200 original, authentic and unpublished drawings.
As for his Royal Oak watch, this original piece is incredible for collectors because it is completely unique.
In
total, the creator's personal archives have so far brought in 4.3 million euros at auction.
Part of this amount will be used by the Gerald Genta Heritage association to launch the first edition of the Gérald Genta Prize for Young Talent.