Only Watch 2023: Lots 1 – 16
by Ian Skellern
Held every two years, the Only Watch charity auction of exclusively unique pieces has grown into THE most anticipated watch auction worldwide and features some of the most creative and innovative horology on the planet.
Only Watch was created in 2005 by Luc Pettavino and under H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco’s high patronage with one intent: raise funds for research on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) by auctioning one-off timepieces. DMD is a genetic disease that affects 1 in 3,500 boys – amongst which Luc’s and Monique’s son Paul, whose diagnosis was the genesis of the project. The consequences this genetic condition are a progressive weakening of all muscles, including the heart, the loss of the ability to walk and global autonomy.
Since then, thanks to the increasingly formidable mobilization of the watch industry and the support of an entire ecosystem, this initiative has become a very awaited biennial rendezvous in the horology calendar for both brands and collectors. It has allowed the charity organization behind Only Watch, the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies, to raise near CHF/EUR 100 million and fund very significant scientific and medical progress. To learn more about these projects, please see onlyproject.org.
Only Watch 2023 Lots 1 – 16
Only Watch 2023 Lots 1 -16
Lot 1. Andersen Genève: Jumping Hours Only Watch 2023
Platinum, pink gold and jade stone. The hour is indicated through a window at 12 o’clock, while the minutes are displayed on a sub-dial at 6 o’clock.
Andersen Genève: Jumping Hours Only Watch 2023
Case: Platinum Pt950 with pink gold crown — Flanks are satin brushed, while the bezel is mirror polished — Curving lugs made separately in traditional style, and welded to the case
Dial: Jade stone with hand-applied black lacquer coating — Hours indicated through a window at 12 o’clock — Minutes indicated by a pink gold hand on a sub-dial at 6 o’clock — Railway-style chapter ring printed in pink gold, as is the Andersen Genève logo above the hour window
Caliber: Frédéric Piguet 11.50 double barrel automatic movement, with 18K pink gold rotor decorated with “grain d’orge” (barley grain) hand guilloché pattern — 3Hz (21,600 vibrations/hour) — 28 jewels — Power reserve: 72 hours — Jumping Hours mechanism developed, hand finished and assembled in house by Andersen Genève
Bracelet: Hand-stitched black suede strap with platinum buckle
Dimensions: Diameter: 38mm Thickness: 9.22mm
Specificities: One-off dial of black jade stone, cut to 0.40mm thick —Chapter ring, in printed pink gold, as is the brand logo above the hour window
Estimate: CHF 40,000 – 50,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit www.onlywatch.com/andersen-gen%C3%A8ve
Lot 2. Angelus x Chateau Angelus: Chronodate Gold x Château Angelus
Chronodate Gold x Château Angelus is the fruit of a delicate blend. Its dial has been made from freeze-dried lees from the 2022 vintage, named “Le Majestueux” (the majestic). This powdered wine is used as is, delicately deposited on the base of the dial. These lees alone give the piece all its texture and color. At 6 o’clock, there is a red-gold applique bearing a faithful engraving of the Château’s bell.
Angelus x Chateau Angelus: Chronodate Gold x Château Angelus for Only Watch 2023
Case: 18K red gold (5N) 42.5mm complex case with six main components — Movement housed in a container made of carbon composite
Dial: Dial made of freeze-dried wine lees from Château Angelus, with a manufacturing process never used before — 18K red gold (5N) applique bearing a faithful engraving of the Château’s bell
Caliber: Angelus caliber A-500 — 4Hz column wheel chronograph — Self-winding caliber with oscillating weight made to a historic design — Power reserve: 60 hours
Bracelet: Black alligator leather, burgundy alligator leather lining, hand-sewn — Offered with two extra straps: burgundy alligator leather and black rubber — Folding clasp with top cover in 18K red gold (5N)
Dimensions: Diameter: 42.5mm Thickness: 14.25mm
Specificities: Unique concept blending the very essence of watchmaking and winemaking — Dial made of freeze-dried wine lees from Château Angelus, with a manufacturing process never used before.
Estimate: CHF 50,000 – 60,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit www.onlywatch.com/angelus-chateau-angelus
Lot 3. Armin Strom: Gravity Equal Force Only Watch 2023
The Gravity Equal Force is the world’s first automatic watch with a constant force transmission. With its off-centre, transparent green sapphire dial, the one-of-a-kind timepiece offers an extraordinary view of the exquisitely finished manufacture movement, which features superior chronometric performance and exceptional hand-finishing.
Armin Strom: Gravity Equal Force Only Watch 2023
Case: Stainless steel
Dial: Green-toned, off-centre sapphire dial
Caliber: Armin Strom manufacture — Caliber ASB19 — Automatic winding with micro-rotor, Geneva drive Equal Force barrel, offset display with subdial seconds
Bracelet: Black fabric strap with blue stitching and stainless-steel double folding clasp
Dimensions: Diameter: 41mm
Specificities: Equal Force Barrel — Black movement plate, hand-guillochéd by Kari Voutilainen’s atelier — Green toned sapphire dial with surrounding colourful details
Estimate: CHF 15,000 – 30,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit www.onlywatch.com/armin-strom
Lot 4. Artya: Purity Moissantite
Featuring a unique case in Moissanite, which originates from the heart of a meteorite crater. It is the second hardest material on earth after diamond with a hardness on the Mohs scale of 9.5, making this new watch case the most resistant ever used on the horological stage.
Artya: Purity Moissantite for Only Watch 2023
Case: Faceted Moissanite — With a dispersion index twice that of diamond, this new case presents an extraordinary rainbow effect of brilliance that is maximized thanks to 600 facets (58 facets for a traditional diamond).
Dial: 100% skeletonized to make way for the new Purity manufacture movement
Caliber: The Purity builds on the exceptional architecture of its predecessors to offer a high-flying 4Hz caliber — Skeletonization, hand-beveling, all the know-how of the Geneva-based brand has been concentrated in this manufacture movement.
Bracelet: Handmade leather strap
Dimensions: Diameter: 45mm Height: 13.8mm
Specificities: Moissanite for its fully faceted case, a world first. New ArtyA Purity manufacture movement.
Estimate: CHF 40,000 – 50,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit www.onlywatch.com/artya
Lot 5. Atelier de Chronométrie: AdC30 Only Watch
Time only with sub-seconds encased in a 18K grey gold round case with stepped lugs with a superb two-tone sandwich dial with 18K rose gold and blued steel leaf hands.
Atelier de Chronométrie: AdC30 Only Watch
Case: Handmade 18K grey gold round case, stepped lugs with concave bezel and case back
Dial: Two-tone sandwich dial with 18K rose gold and blued steel leaf hands and engine turned sub-seconds — Dial handmade by the AdC team for the first time
Caliber: In-house time only caliber M284 with a special handmade frosting decoration (different from the regular M284 version)
Bracelet: 2 leathers straps with handmade 18K grey gold buckle
Dimensions: Diameter: 37mm
Specificities: The whole watch (case, calibre and dial) has been especially created for the Only Watch auction 2023. Creating unique timepieces is one of the AdC core values, so the idea to create one so special has again been an honor that will remain in our memories forever.
Estimate: CHF 50,000 – 70,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit www.onlywatch.com/atelier-de-chronom%C3%A9trie
Which are your favorites? Le us know in the comments below.
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Lot 6. Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Flying Tourbillon Openworked Only Watch Edition
The Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Openworked combines a white ceramic case and bracelet with a blue-toned openworked movement.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Flying Tourbillon Openworked Only Watch Edition
Case: White ceramic case — White ceramic caseback with glareproof sapphire crystal — Screw-locked crown — Water-resistant to 50 meters
Dial: Openworked blue movement — White gold applied hour-markers — White gold Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating — Blue inner bezel
Caliber: Selfwinding Manufacture Calibre 2972 — Total diameter: 31.5mm (13 3/4 lignes) — Total thickness: 6.2mm — Number of jewels: 27 — Number of parts: 271 — Minimum guaranteed power reserve: 65 hours — Frequency of balance wheel: 3Hz (21,600 vibrations/hour)
Bracelet: White ceramic bracelet — AP folding clasp in blackened stainless steel
Dimensions: Diameter: 41mm
Specificities: Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Openworked Only Watch edition, with its white ceramic and blue aesthetic
Estimate: CHF 300,000 – 350,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit www.onlywatch.com/audemars-piguet
Lot 7. Baltic: Baltic Experiments – First Perpetual Calendar
Baltic’s first Perpetual Calendar developed in collaboration with the experienced watchmakers of Maclef company. The challenge was to create our own highly legible Perpetual Calendar watch with a perfect balance. The outcome is a 37mm slim timepiece blending steel and titanium, featuring three sub-registers and a prominent pointer date. At the heart, a 100% newly developed perpetual calendar run by the ultra-thin Vaucher 5401 micro-rotor movement.
Baltic: Baltic Experiments – First Perpetual Calendar for Only Watch 2023
Case: Steel and titanium mid-case
Dial: 3 registers Perpetual Calendar — Big pointer date — Very well balanced date — Silicium moon-phase sub-dial
Caliber: Modular Perpetual calendar developed 100% in-house in collaboration with Emmanuel Bouchet — Vaucher 5401 movement based — 122 years precise moon-phase
Bracelet: Steel integrated mesh band — Leather strap included
Dimensions: Diameter: 37mm Thickness: 9.8mm excluding the glass
Specificities:Modular Perpetual calendar developed 100% in-house in collaboration with Maclef — Unique way of reading all information on the dial (Pointer date + 3 registers & permanent second) — Silicon moon-phase register, precise on 122 years — Bi-material titanium/steel case — Mesh band integrated in the case
Estimate: CHF 20,000 – 30,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit www.onlywatch.com/baltic
Lot 8. Barbier-Mueller: Mosaïque II
In platinum with a diameter of 41mm, decorated with a dazzling mosaic of stones and powered by the fabled 1304 movement signed F.P.Journe.
Barbier-Mueller: Mosaïque II for Only Watch 2023
Case: 41mm case is in platinum, engraved for Only Watch 2023 Unique Piece, is made by Les Boîtiers de Genève and is decorated with a mosaic of stones using the champlevé technique, including the case middle, and equipped with a clamshell back.
Dial: “Lotus Flower” motif, designed by the Geneva-based designer Eric Giroud, entirely made of hard stones by Les Cadraniers de Genève, using the champlevé technique. Two-hand watch, hours and minutes.
Caliber: Exclusive F.P.Journe movement – the only collaboration ever made by the independent Geneva-based watchmaker — Manual caliber 1304 made of 18K rose gold, designed and manufactured in Geneva— Power reserve: 56 hours ± 2 hours
Bracelet: Brown alligator leather, hand-padded, hand-stitching — Platinum pin buckle engraved with the Sphinx family emblem
Dimensions: Diameter: 41mm Thickness: 10.85mm including the clamshell back
Specificities: Exclusive collaboration with François-Paul Journe who has agreed to equip the watch with the legendary 1304 caliber designed, produced and assembled in Geneva by the Manufacture F.P.Journe.
Estimate: CHF 150,000 – 250,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit www.onlywatch.com/barbier-mueller
Lot 9. Bell & Ross: BR03 Cyber Rainbow
Avant-garde flair and a daring use of vibrant colors, Bell & Ross presents a remarkable timepiece fitted with a manufacture movement, inspired by the iconic BR 03.
Bell & Ross: BR03 Cyber Rainbow for Only Watch 2023
Case: Black DLC titanium grade 5
Dial: Indices metalized inside the sapphire glass — Visible movement — Multi-colored bridges
Caliber: Automatic BR-Cal.383 specially developed for this watch — Power reserve: 48 hours
Bracelet: Black rubber varnished with soft and colored material in a mosaic pattern
Dimensions: 42 x 43.7mm
Specificities: Bridges designed for the case — Manufacture movement designed for Bell & Ross — Perfect match between the bridges and the case to highlight the skeleton of the movement
Estimate: CHF 45,000 – 55,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit www.onlywatch.com/bell-ross
Lot 10. Biver: Catharsis
A unique interpretation of the minute repeater carillon tourbillon with no visible display of time. Made of titanium, the piece combines unusual handcrafts with a unique type of invisible gem-setting, stone marquetery and guilloché.
Biver: Catharsis for Only Watch 2023
Case: titanium and water resistant to 50 meters. The bezel and the back are concave and polished, the horns are welded according to the criteria of traditional watchmaking art.
Dial: The lower part of the dial represents an agitated sea made of sapphires. The upper part of the dial is a sunset representing a starry sky made of meteorite, silver obsidian, and opal.
Caliber: Automatic minute repeater carillon with a tourbillon and micro-rotor made of platinum — Tourbillon cage made of titanium — 374 components — Power reserve: 72 hours
Bracelet: hand stitched leather
Dimensions: 42mm x 13.9mm high
Specificities: An unusual minute repeater representing a sunset over a rough sea with its hand for hours located on the back of the watch.
Estimate: CHF 500,000 – 700,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit www.onlywatch.com/biver
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Lot 11. Blancpain: Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 1 Unique Piece
Blancpain is celebrating the 70th Anniversary of its iconic Fifty Fathoms which publicly debuted in 1953, it is fitting that it has created a special edition, with a unique blue themed color motif, of the 70th Anniversary Act 1 timepiece that launched earlier in 2023.
Blancpain: Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 1 Unique Piece for Only Watch 2023
Case: 42.3mm stainless steel case — Sapphire case back — Blue unidirectional bezel — Water-resistant to 30 bar (300 meters)
Dial: Subtly graduated blue dial
Caliber: Blancpain caliber 1315 featuring three mainspring barrels, giving the timepiece a 5-day power reserve, and a free sprung balance fitted with a silicon hairspring, for greater precision and robustness. Haut de gamme finishing of the movement with its extra-large jewels and the 18K gold winding rotor, coated with a NAC platinum-based alloy and inscribed with the Only Watch legend.
Bracelet: Blue nylon NATO-style strap
Dimensions: Diameter: 42.3mm
Specificities: Special edition of the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 1
Estimate: CHF 20,000 – 30,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit www.onlywatch.com/blancpain
Lot 12. Boucheron: Joy de Lumière (Joy of Light)
Cascading spinels and diamonds paved Art Deco patterns, the Joy de Lumière unique jewelry watch is sparkling like a crystal-clear night. More than 260 round diamonds are set on white gold, on the watch and bracelet. The flexible part of the bracelet is composed of 5 rows of black spinels which can be twisted by hands, from 1 to 3 twists. A jewelry clasp is integrated in the 12 o’clock link.
Boucheron: Joy de Lumière for Only Watch 2023
Case: 18K/750 polished white gold set with 42 round diamonds (0.56cts) — Sapphire crystal with antireflective treatment on the inner side — Caseback in 18K/750 white gold with «Boucheron», «JE NE SONNE QUE LES HEURES HEUREUSES», «Swiss Made» and “1/1” engravings
Dial: Full paved with 142 diamonds: approx.0.35cts
Caliber: Quartz ETA E01.701/h3, hour and minute functions, with push button (time setting on the case’s side at 10.30 o’clock)
Bracelet: Twisted bracelet in black spinels
Dimensions: Diameter: 17.6mm Thickness: 5.7mm
Specificities: This Joy Watch is enhanced with a full paved dial reflecting Boucheron’s Savoir-Faire and creative boldness in high jewelry.
Estimate: CHF 35,000 – 45,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit www.onlywatch.com/boucheron
Lot 13. Bovet 1822: Orbis Mundi
The dial of the Orbis Mundi is guilloché, covered with seven layers of vibrant magenta lacquer. On the world time dial, Monaco, where Only Watch is based, replaces the Geneva time zone, and this is in magenta as well, helping it to stand out as a beacon to the world.
Bovet 1822: Orbis Mundi for Only Watch 2023
Case: 18K red gold — Fleurier type of case — Crown at 12 — Waterproof to 30 meters — Sapphire caseback
Dial: Magenta guilloché base dial with 7 layers of lacquer, applied by hand — White lacquered with Roman numerals world time display, with cities representing the 24 time zones — Monaco city in Magenta — X index in Magenta for the 10th edition of Only Watch — Exposed in-House hairspring and escapement — Power reserve indicator
Caliber: 15BM01HU Caliber — hand-winding manufacture movement — Diameter: 15 1/3 ’’’ — Frequency: 21,600 vibrations/hour — Power reserve: 7 days with a single barrel — Functions: Hours, minutes, world timer with 24 time zones including Monaco, small seconds, power reserve indicator — All functions can be set using the crown
Bracelet: Alligator strap — Red gold ardillon buckle — Strap attachment’s points set with sapphire cabochons
Dimensions: Diameter: 42mm Thickness: 11.25mm
Specificities: Easy to read and set world timer — Magenta guilloché base dial with colored Monaco for CET timezone and X for 10th edition of OW — Manufactured high-watchmaking Bovet movement — Timepiece with more than 95% of in-house components
Estimate: CHF 52,000 – 65,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit https://www.onlywatch.com/bovet-1822
Lot 14. Breguet: Marine Hora Mundi
Instant-jump time-zone display. This technical feat is accomplished via the pusher and the crown. Having selected the first city’s time and date, the owner of the watch needs only to set the second city. The watch mechanism then calculates the time and date by means of a clever system of cams, hammers and an integrated differential. At that point, simply pressing the pusher is enough to travel from one end of the planet to the other, all without disturbing the accurate running of the watch.
Breguet: Marine Hora Mundi for Only Watch 2023
Dial: 3 superimposed components: base made of gold with a waved hand-guilloché pattern, sapphire plate with gold hour markers along with engraved navy blue continents, external flange holds the three components in place
Caliber: 77F1 — Hour, minutes, central seconds, dual pre-set time zones with instant jump and synchronized date, day/night and city display — Selfwinding — 4Hz — Power reserve: 55 hours — Escapement wheel and spiral in silicon
Bracelet: Rubber strap and triple-blade folding clasp in red gold
Dimensions: Diameter: 43.9mm Height 13.8mm
Specificities: 43.9mm gold case — Water-resistant to 10 bar (100 meters) — Gold dial — Self-winding movement visible through the sapphire case back— Rubber strap and rose gold folding buckle
Estimate: CHF 70,000 – 80,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit https://www.onlywatch.com/breguet
Lot 15. Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Marble
The 1.95mm thin movement makes this flying Tourbillon the slimmest on the market since 2013. Produced as a one-off and with no equivalent in the watchmaking world, Bulgari intends to etch the 2023 edition of Only Watch in stone for all time. The green marble used for this spectacular watch, named Verde di Alpi, comes from the Aosta Valley, the natural passage linking Switzerland and Italy, though the Alps. Its dominant color in nature, evoking abundance, growth and energy, is offset with white veins, recalling the serpentines of alpine forests and snowy peaks.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Marble for Only Watch 2023
Case: DLC titanium case covered with a layer of 0.5mm of Verde di Alpi green marble — 110 facets
Dial: Dial covered with a 0.6mm layer of Verde di Alpi green marble — Gold-plated hands
Caliber: BVL 268: World’s thinnest manual movement with flying tourbillon and special ball bearing system — Functions: hours, minutes, tourbillon — Caliber diameter: 36.2mm — Caliber thinness: 1.95mm — Frequency : 3Hz (21,600 vibrations/hour) — Components: 253 — Jewels: 13 — Power reserve: 52 hours
Bracelet: DLC titanium bracelet covered with a layer of 0.4mm of Verde di Alpi green marble on both the edges and the top of the link
Dimensions: Diameter: 40mm Thickness: 6.9mm thin
Specificities: The Art of Miniaturization is one of the core talents of Bulgari watchmakers, including the thinnest tourbillon into a timepiece in marble, is the demonstration of their high-watchmaking craftsmanship. Covering the piece with thin layers of real marble without cracks with a great design is true art and required 800 hours for both development and production.
Estimate: CHF 150,000 – 250,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit www.onlywatch.com/bulgari
Lot 16. Carl F. Bucherer Manero Tourbillon Double Peripheral Only Watch
The Manero Tourbillon Double Peripheral Only Watch has a high-tech, forged carbon case, boasting a distinctive carbon-flecked/black marbled appearance with an urban feel. It is complemented by an almost completely all-black line-up of components. On the front of the watch, a flash of color at 12 o’clock highlights CFB’s signature ‘floating’ tourbillon – its second hand and cage arms executed in an eye-catching green.
Carl F. Bucherer Manero Tourbillon Double Peripheral Only Watch 2023
Case: Forged carbon case with titanium container — Domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides — Case back with sapphire crystal and anti-reflective coating — — Water-resistant to 3 bar (30m)
Dial: Domed deep black mat — 3 anthracite wedge index marks made of 18K gold
Caliber: Automatic — Manufacture Caliber CFB T3000 — Chronometer COSC — — 33 jewels — Power reserve: 65 hours — Floating Tourbillon — Hour, minute, small seconds with seconds stop
Diameter: 36.5mm — Height: 4.6mm
Bracelet: Hybrid rubber strap with ‘carbon’ texture — Quick release system — DLC-coated titanium and stainless steel pin-lock folding clasp
Dimensions: Diameter: 43.1mm Height: 12.3mm
Specificities: Forged carbon case with titanium container — Unique caliber (reduced in colors) — Unique Only Watch green elements in tourbillon cage and oscillating weight — Unique deep black mat dial with 3 anthracite wedge index marks made of 18K gold
Estimate: CHF 60,000 – 100,000
For more information or to place a bid, please visit www.onlywatch.com/carl-f-bucherer
For more information on all of the watches in the 2023 Only Watch charity auction, please visit www.onlywatch.com/2023collection
Which watches are your favorites? Let us know in the comments below.
You can check out Only Watch 2023 Lots 17-32 at Only Watch 2023: Lots 17 – 32, Including My Favorite Watch of Them All
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