Like a hurricane, a "post" swept everything away, suddenly dragging the 10th edition of the Only Watch auction with it. Faced with attacks on social networks, the Monegasque Association against Muscular Dystrophy (AMM) has decided in extremis to postpone the tenth edition of the Only Watch auction, initially scheduled for 2024 November 5 in Geneva, to spring 2023.
In nine editions, the initiative launched by Luc Pettavino has raised €100 million to accelerate the search for a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The Monegasque Association against Muscular Dystrophy (MA) was created in 2001 by a group of parents following the diagnosis of their children, with one objective: to accelerate research into a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare genetic disease. It was in 2005 that the WMA organized the first edition of Only Watch. But over time, this charity sale has also become a global showcase for the art of watchmaking, with creations from the greatest houses as well as young independent labels, making a major contribution to building or increasing the value of certain brands.
The piece created by Bell & Ross for the Only Watch 2023 sale. Only Watch
Recently, a few have asked for clarification on how the funds raised are being used. Governance, transparency, conflict of interest, allocation of funds... The issues raised are legitimate, and an independent audit will be able to resolve them. But the answers given by the WMA have not convinced its detractors, and the attacks have become more violent, as are these days. At the speed of the Internet and social networks, immediacy reigns supreme, and compliments and reproaches alike go around the world in a few minutes.
"A few days before the sale, questions have emerged about the allocation of funds and the governance of the patient family association that is the MA," the association said in a statement. Answers were provided on the financing strategies chosen, on the structures and projects supported, on the association's accounts and its budget. However, the time for certifications, governance changes and the impending sale do not coincide. We cannot bring ourselves to leave any doubt about the sincerity of the commitment of all the stakeholders in this project, nor for this beautiful story to be rewritten. From
now on, whether the facts and decisions alleged against the WMA are proven or not, the damage has been done, and the image of Only Watch has been tarnished. Irrecoverably? Not necessarily: in watchmaking, as elsewhere, eternity lasts a long time. If tomorrow, the WMA's two decades of fundraising and decisions are validated by independent expert opinions, goodwill in the service of a good cause will resume next year, almost as if nothing had happened. And brands that wish to do so will continue to offer unique pieces for the benefit of research. In the meantime, everyone can, if they wish, have the unique piece created and offered on the occasion of this sale returned.
"We will continue to move forward, providing even more information on the virtuous and extraordinary actions we have carried out thanks to this dynamic," reacted Luc Pettavino in announcing this postponement. The agility that characterizes us has enabled exceptional progress. One of our greatest joys is to know at the time of writing that a group of children and young adults are enrolled in a clinical trial made possible by the Only Watch funds. It is tangible, concrete and offers hope for healing. That's the bottom line.
As for the money raised, it will, in any case, be used for medical research purposes. In the future, Only Watch will remain the example of a charity watch sale with a unique concept, and with spin-offs that will have benefited the entire watch industry for two years. One does not replace the other, the consequence is not the cause. But the fact is that this sale will have done double good, both for research and for watchmaking. Wasn't it during one of these auctions in 2019 that the most expensive watch in the world, a Patek Philippe, was sold for 31 million euros? Already, what Luc Pettavino has built is beyond him and will endure, one way or another. We hope to see, next spring, finally the rainbow of creations imagined for this 2023 edition of Only Watch. A rainbow in a blue sky, after the storm.