Gérald Genta’s Personal (And Unique) Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Ref. 5402 Auctioned By Sotheby’s For Record-Setting CHF 2,107,000

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“May I have your full attention? This is one of the most important watches ever.” As Sotheby’s auctioneer Benoît Colson opened lot 72 on May 10, 2022, the room seemed to hold its collective breath for a moment. He continued, “The personal Royal Oak of Gérald Genta – you could not dream of a better provenance for a Royal Oak, an Audemars Piguet, or even any wristwatch.” And here’s how the world record price for a vintage AP Royal Oak went down from an eyewitness.

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Phillips Geneva XV And Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 50th Auctions Feature Watches With Serious History

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Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo will hold the Geneva Watch Auction XV in Switzerland on May 7 and 8, 2022. What’s particularly interesting about Phillips’ traditional late spring auction this year is that it is preceded by an “appetizer” on May 6, the Royal Oak 50th auction with a catalogue so rich it could arguably serve as the main course. Brendan Cunningham went to the New York City preview and shares a few of his highlights with us here.

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Ikepod Megapode

Ikepod Megapode: Marc Newson’s Smartest Watch (And Perhaps My Smartest Rolex Trade) – Reprise

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Ikepod launched in 1994 so co-founder and designer Marc Newson could create his own playground, which is exactly what he did. And there is no better example of his joyful design than the Ikepod Megapode launched in 1999. But to trade a Rolex for it?

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Piaget Upstream

Dandy Watches Of Piaget – Reprise

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Dandies and Piaget have always enjoyed a natural alliance. There are several reasons for this: precious metals and manufacture movements that are as small and thin as possible – allowing nearly unprecedented freedom for the brand’s designers. Martin Green takes a look at some dandy Piaget models from now and then!

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Why I Bought It: Vintage Rolex Day-Date Reference 1803

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Sometimes with watches it’s like it is with pets: you don’t choose them, they choose you. When Martin Green strapped on this vintage Rolex Day-Date quite by accident, everything fell into place for him. Here he explains how and why he bought it.

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Vanessa Redgrave’s Rolex Reference 5513 Submariner With Explorer Dial: Should It Be The Female ‘Paul Newman’ Daytona? – Reprise

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Are there special vintage watch dial variations named after notable women in a vein similar to that of the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona? Nick Gould was wondering just that and researched. Finding a photo of Vanessa Redgrave wearing a Rolex Submariner Reference 5513 with “Explorer” dial in 1966, he ruefully opines that this rare model would sound so much cooler as the Rolex “Vanessa Redgrave” Submariner rather than what collectors call it now: Rolex Reference 5513 Submariner with Explorer dial.

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Khanjar And Qaboos Rolexes: Are They The Vintage Watch Industry’s Blood Diamonds? (Updated With New Information) – Reprise

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Increasing demand for timepieces, especially Rolexes, with the Omani emblem is understandable given the high quality, good condition, demonstrable provenance, and rarity of most of these watches, combined with the fact that they had often been presented to their first owners in the 1970s by Sultan Qaboos in person as a token of gratitude for services rendered. Colin Alexander Smith takes a very close look at the meaning behind these rare timepieces and in this updated version of the article debunks one theory behind the dial symbol.

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Why I Bought It: Collector Koen Simon And His IWC Reference 504 ‘Türler’

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Every day Koen Simon looks out for special watches, and a couple months ago he noticed an IWC on an online marketplace that looked rather odd because of three things: the shape of the case, the dial, and a “Türler” signature. So he investigated the history of this beautiful watch and now shares his rather personal love story with it here.

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The Grail Of Attic Finds: Reunited With The First Watch I Ever Owned, A West End Watch Co Sowar Prima – Reprise

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Colin Alexander Smith is reunited with his first watch and discovers an intriguing watch manufacturer that has been producing mechanical watches in Switzerland continuously since 1886.

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Why I Bought It: Vintage Mathey-Tissot Type 20 Big Eye Chronograph – Reprise

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This is the story of GaryG’s pursuit, and eventual capture, of a classic vintage watch: a Type 20 “big eye” flyback chronograph manufactured by Mathey-Tissot.

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