It's a mixture of habit, communication and even the collective unconscious: when we hear about a watch, we spontaneously imagine what it must - undoubtedly - look like.
This common taste, which sometimes leads certain watch enthusiasts to play the sheep of Panurge rather than cultivating their difference and therefore their own style.
We then imagine that a Patek Philippe will resemble a Nautilus, a Rolex like a tool watch and an Audemars Piguet like a Royal Oak.
This in itself sums up centuries of watchmaking and jewelry creations, with a few decades of successful models.
What could be more reductive, but how can we go against what is liked, what is asked, what is bought?
A sale of atypical watches at Sotheby's.
Sotheby's
It is this opposite that Sotheby's chose by imagining an auction of deliberately atypical pieces, in collaboration with Heist Out, a concept magazine created in 2023 by two watch enthusiasts, Maxime Couturier and Lorenzo Maillard.
A sale which will be held on April 11 in Geneva, when the major watchmaking event of the year, Watches & Wonders, will be in full swing there.
Called
“Rough Diamonds”
, this sale only offers avant-garde or disruptive vintage timepieces.
Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin… “These
“rough diamonds”
are among the most unexpected timepieces produced by the most respected watch brands,” explains the auction house.
The biggest names are there for this atypical session whose estimates vary from €2,000 to €105,000.
“The vintage watch market is seeing more and more collectors looking for differentiating pieces,”
said Josh Pullan, head of the Luxury division at Sotheby’s.
A sale of atypical watches at Sotheby's.
Sotheby's
In total, this sale, designed to be an event, will only include 24 watches, one for each hour of the day.
Each must respect a list of strict criteria: having been created at least 30 years ago, and offering at least two of the following qualities: technical innovation, exceptional design, rare materials, historical importance, notable provenance, quality craftsmanship. peak or scarcity.
In this sale we find an Audemars Piguet in white gold, diamonds and emeralds designed by Jacqueline Dimier around 1995 (Est. €42- –84,000).
She, who was at the head of product design at Audemars Piguet from 1975 to 1999, marked three decades of watchmaking creation with her influence and her artistic outlook.
A sale of atypical watches at Sotheby's.
Sotheby's
The visionary Gilbert Albert, for his part, imagined the incredible Patek Philippe reference 3290 in 1962. A unique set combining a necklace, a ring and a watch, all three in yellow gold, decorated with enamel and pearls (Est. 31 – €52,000).
Another famous watch designer: Jean-Claude Gueit, who in 1975 imagined a superb Piaget Reference 12773 A18 in yellow gold, coral and diamonds.
(Est. 5200 – 11000 €).
A real watchmaking journey to the island of St Barthélémy, and an example of design from the 1970s. At Vacheron-Constantin, the ref.
72709/760 with atypical lines was designed by Daryoush Shafa around 1988. (Est 10,500 – 21,000 €).
For the auction house,
“its design inspired by sunrays and its trapezoidal dial capture the imagination.
It's not just a watch.
It is a symphony of style, a testament to Daryoush Shafa's quest for aesthetic excellence.
»
For enthusiasts, all these pieces will be exhibited from April 8 to 10 at La Corne à Vin, Rue de Lausanne, in Geneva.
www.sothebys.com/roughdiamonds