Auctions Nine Highlights From Only Watch 2021

The reign of the 15202 as the current production heir to the original Audemars Piguet Royal Oak comes to an end in 2021. What better way to help send it off than with a unique piece featuring a new material combination for the brand?

The watch you see here will be the last unique edition of the 15202 to be powered by cal. 2121, the ultra-thin automatic caliber seen in the Royal Oak of 1972. The case is made of sandblasted titanium, with a Bulk Metallic Glass bezel, a first for AP. The bracelet is made of sandblasted titanium with polished Bulk Metallic Glass studs, and a titanium folding clasp with Bulk Metallic Glass plate. A palladium-based alloy, Bulk Metallic Glass is made through a rapid cooling process, which results in high strength and resistance to wear and corrosion.

Estimate: CHF 160,000 - 320,000

Continuing its tradition of making one-off Black Bay models for Only Watch, Tudor has unveiled a unique steel Black Bay GMT for this year's charity auction. The 41mm case and bracelet have been made using a secret stainless-steel aging technique, and the Pepsi bezel that has traditionally been a part of this watch since its 2018 debut has been swapped out for one in aged stainless steel, with a dark tone that vaguely recalls an old GMT-Master lunette noir with some serious patina.

Tudor's paired this watch with a nice matte black dial, and the Kenissi-manufactured GMT movement, visible on the back, also has an aged / distressed finish. But perhaps most interestingly, this watch is just the second Tudor to be certified by METAS, following the ceramic example we covered earlier this year. That means it's a highly accurate mechanical watch with resistance to magnetic fields up to 15,000 gauss.

As a unique piece from the Rolex / Tudor family, the Black Bay GMT One is virtually guaranteed to bring heavy-hitting bids when it hits the Only Watch rostrum at Christie's Geneva this November. I have to admit that I chuckled when I saw its quaint estimate on the Only Watch site.

Estimate: CHF 4,000 - 8,000

Another regular Only Watch participant that always generates a lot of interest is F.P. Journe, and this time he partnered with perhaps the greatest living film director, Francis Ford Coppola. The idea for the tantalum-cased prototype watch you see here was hatched in 2012 over dinner at Coppola's home in the Napa Valley. He asked Journe if it would be possible to render the time using a hand on a watch.

The result is an Octa Caliber 1300-based automaton watch in which the fingers of the hand instantly appear or disappear in various positions to render the time, and their sole source of power is the watch's mainspring. According to Journe, the fingers are inspired by a mechanical hand created by Ambroise Paré (1509-1590), the father of modern surgery.

Estimate: CHF 300,000 to 400,000

Another contributor to Only Watch that always generates big interest is undoubtedly Patek Philippe. And as we saw with the recent rare handcrafts releases, wristwatches are really just a part of what Patek Philippe does.

This year for Only Watch, the august Geneva manufacture is presenting the unique desk clock ref. 27001M-001, inspired by another clock that was delivered to the man who is arguably its most famous client of all time, the American industrialist James Ward Packard. The movement is the new 86-135 PEND IRM Q SE, a perpetual calendar with displays for the moon-phase, week number, day, month, power reserve, and leap year, in addition to the time. It comes in a sterling silver case with vermeil decorative elements and American walnut inlays.

Its estimate is CHF 400,000 to 500,000

One of the most iconic watches Heuer ever made, the black Monaco Dark Lord, has been reimagined as a carbon fiber unique piece for Only Watch. The original Dark Lord, produced in the mid-70s, was one of the first watches to feature black PVD on its case, giving the automatic chronograph an otherworldly look in a sea of plain steel and yellow-gold chronographs. TAG Heuer went ham on the carbon here, too. It's found not just on the case and dial, which are forged carbon, but inside the unique version of the Heuer Caliber Heuer 02. That's right, the hairspring in this watch is also carbon.

Estimate: CHF 50,000 to 100,000

The 1970s were a funky time for watches, to put it mildly. The digital design you see here is a Bamford take on the Girard-Perregaux Casquette. Like the Heuer Monaco, above, it too features a forged carbon case. But here the display is a tubular LED.

Estimate: CHF 10,000 to 20,000

The Krayon Anywhere, which we covered last year, is capable of telling the time of sunrise and sunset anywhere in the world. For the 2021 edition of Only Watch, Krayon has contributed a version of its sunset/sunrise complication featuring a beautiful unique dial inspired by a Claude Monet painting. The very nicely finished manual-wind movement is the original prototype movement from the development of this watch.

CHF 95,000 to 120,000

Two years ago, Breguet honored the historical, military issued Breguet Type 20 with a unique version featuring a faux-patinated brown / bronze-c0lored dial and a hand-winding Valjoux 235 movement. This was my favorite of the 2019 Only Watch releases, the one I wanted most to own and wear. For the next installment of Only Watch, collectors will get a second crack at something similar. This time, Breguet is honoring a civilian version of the watch from the '50s and '60s. The dial design is slightly different, as is the crown, but I find this watch no less compelling. It's once again powered by the Valjoux 235, which is derived from the Valjoux 222 that Breguet used in that period.

Estimate: CHF 35,000 to 50,000

And finally, for its first time participating in Only Watch, Baltic has come out of the gates swinging. The prototype, unique-cased monopusher chronograph you see here features a 1940s original Venus 150 chronograph movement. Wound by hand and actuated via a monopusher, this 36mm steel chronograph has applied Breguet numerals and complementary leaf hands. The black dial with gilt pulsometer scale exudes mid-century class. The watch is paired with a hand-stitched calf strap and stainless steel buckle.

Estimate CHF 12,000 to 18,000

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