Henry Graves Supercomplication Fetches $24 Million at Sotheby’s Geneva

With all the superlatives attached to it, it was a near certainty that The Henry Graves Supercomplication would go for a world record price at Sotheby’s Geneva sale of Important Watches held Tuesday. It already established the record when it sold for $11 million in 1999. It is also known as the most complicated hand-made watch and the most famous watch in the world.

But still the $24 million it achieved is something special. The auction house said five bidders competed for the timepiece for 15 minutes. It was finally sold to a buyer in the room, who requested anonymity, well above its $16.8 million estimate.

“This evening’s stellar result confirms the ‘rockstar’ status of The Henry Graves Supercomplication. It is more than a watch,” said Tim Bourne, Sotheby’s Worldwide Head of Watches, and Daryn Schnipper, Chairman of Sotheby’s Watch Division. “It is a masterpiece that transcends the boundaries of horology and has earned its place among the world’s greatest works of art. The fascination it has attracted over the past few months, as Patek Philippe celebrates its 175th anniversary, is a fitting tribute to the genius of the Swiss manufacturer.”

Commissioned in 1925 by Henry Graves, a prominent New York banker, and completed by Patek Philippe in 1932, The Henry Graves Supercomplication is the product of three years of research and five years of effort it resulted in a gold openface minute repeating chronograph clockwatch with Westminster chimes. Among its features are a perpetual calendar, moon phases, sidereal time, power reserve, and indications for time of sunset and sunrise and the night sky of New York City. With a total of 24 horological complications, The Graves watch retained the title of the world’s most complicated watch for 56 years and even then was only surpassed by technicians working with the aid of computer-assisted machines.

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Timepiece Tuesday: A new section that focuses on new products releases, events and important issues in the world of watches

Highlights for this week are:

* Swatch to reexamine its procurement of exotic leather;
* Global market for watches and clocks expected to reach $36B;
* Audemars Piguet Sponsored Golf Team Wins Ryder Cup;
* Piaget opens boutique in London;
* Seiko marks a milestone;
* New Italian Sports Watch;
* High-tech watch for the world traveler;
* Bollywood star launches watch line


Swatch and exotic leather controversy
Swatch Group acted quickly following a Swiss Television report on the deplorable conditions associated with the procurement of exotic animal leathers, particularly in Asian countries. The world’s largest watch company said it will reexamine its exotic leather sources to ensure they meet company criteria for “acceptable social and environmental conditions.”

“The Swatch Group FEPS (Far Eastern Procurement Service) Division will immediately attempt to determine if leather from the Far East is used and, should this prove to be the case, will undertake on-site inspections of all sources,” the company said in a statement. “Products from such doubtful sources as those described by Swiss Television have no place in the Swatch Group product offering.”

Emerging Markets to Drive Growth for Timepieces
The global market for watches is forecast to reach $31.5 billion, while Clocks market is projected to touch $5.2 billion by the year 2015, according to a report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Growing demand for watches & clocks in the developing world, particularly the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), and increased acceptance of luxury watches and watches with fashion statement are fueling the growth.

Europe remains the world’s largest market for watches and clocks followed by the United States, according to the report. The fastest growth is seen in Asia-Pacific region. The fastest growth product segments are in watches for under $50 and luxury watches over a $1,000. After a decline in 2009, the European and U.S. markets are expected to slowly regain lost ground, according to the report.

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Audemars Piguet Celebrates Ryder Cup Victory
The European golf team, comprised of four Audemars Piguet ambassadors— Graeme McDowell, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood (pictured from top)—has won the 2010 Ryder Cup, bringing back to Europe the prestigious trophy it lost on the other side of the Atlantic two years ago. Europe beat the American team by 14.5 points to 13.5.

Piaget opens Bond Street boutique
Swiss luxury watchmaker and jeweler, Piaget opened its UK Flagship at 169 New Bond Street, London W1. The two-story store, designed by French architect, Gérard Barrau includes perpendicular horizontal and vertical lines of the showcases and furnishings, a simple coloring scheme and discretely lit wall paintings. The store displays a full range of Piaget watch and jewelry collections. It’s Piaget's 71st boutique launch worldwide and is the first stand alone Piaget boutique.

Grand Seiko 50th Anniversary Collection
Japanese watch brand Seiko will launch of a series of six limited edition timepieces to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its Grand Seiko watch range. The Grand Seiko Anniversary collection includes spring drive, quartz and mechanical watches. Each timepiece features the Grand Seiko lion emblem on the dial (pictured), as well as the inscription “50th Anniversary 1960-2010.’ The spring drive and mechanical models include an 18-ct. gold lion emblem on their oscillating weights.

Parmigiani Fleurier Gets Sporty
Swiss luxury watch brand Parmigiani Fleurier has launched a sports watch in a limited series of 17 watches with a platinum case. There are 17 watches in the series because Bugatti produced 17 models of the Coupé Atalante between 1934 and 1940.

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World Time e-ink watch
This curved, ultra-thin watch from Phosphor contains electronic ink, the same technology used for e-book readers, for its curved display, which shows the time in two time zones (home and away).

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Bollywood star launches watch line
Bollywood star Salman Khan has launched a limited range of luxury watches named after his “Being Human” charitable foundation. Salman reportedly designed the 24 models himself and the money from their sale will support education and healthcare initiatives.

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The Ernst Benz ChronoScope

The newest version of the Ernst Benz ChronoScope timepiece honors the tradition of the authentic aviation chronographs and famous wrist timers worn by pilots in the 1940’s.

The automatic Valjoux 7750 movement measures elapsed time in seconds, minutes and hours, while displaying the day and date. The dial is housed in a brushed and polished stainless steel case and is available in 47mm, 44mm and 40mm. The dial comes in no fewer than 11 colors and styles and strap is available in leather or steel.

The ChronoScope was initially created in response to the demands the Swiss watch brand received from aviators for a reliable and easily legible chronograph. It has evolved since its release, both aesthetically, while maintaining the styling and character of the original model.

Legibility was one of the most important criteria of timepieces in the 1940s. The dials were designed to resemble those of the era’s aviation instruments while their diameter allowed for large numerals and oversized hands for instant readability. A highly functional timekeeper and also a visual experience, a chronograph is a complicated watch, endowed with an additional mechanism enabling it to calculate the duration of an event.

Geo.Graham Tourbillon Orrery: A Watch Built For the Cosmos and for the Centuries

The watch displays the rotations of the Earth, Moon, and Mars with exceptional accuracy.

Nearly all the talk among the nine tradeshows at “Las Vegas Jewelry Week” involved jewelry, which, of course, is natural. However, watch brands of all types and stripes were in the mix in “Sin City.”

The most prominent watch gathering in Vegas is JCK Swiss Watch, which accommodates the discretion of the luxury watch industry by holding the event in private suites in the Mandalay Bay Resort complex. Entrance to the brands is by appointment only. The Couture Show at the Wynn Las Vegas also provides private space for a smaller group of watch brands. In addition, there are two shows in Vegas that deal in the collectibles market for watches: International Watch and Jewelry Guild Show at the Tropicana Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show at Paris Las Vegas.

Many of the new releases in Vegas were actually unveiled at Baselworld in April, which I covered extensively. What’s left is an exceptional timepiece I did not see at Baselworld because it was shown offsite.

It’s more than a timepiece. It is also an orrey, a device that shows the relative positions and motions of bodies in the solar system by balls moved by clockwork. There’s currently only one available and it was on the wrist of Eric Loth, CEO of the watch brand, Graham, who was in a suite at the Wynn Las Vegas, separate from the tradeshows on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Geo.Graham Tourbillon Orrery shows the orbital patterns of the Earth, Moon and Mars rotating around the Sun, represented by 18k fiery pink gold lattice design. Beneath the sun, slightly visible, is the tourbillion. The moon, represented by a steel rhodium ball, rotates around the earth as the earth, represented as a clear blue sapphire ball, rotates around the “sun.” Mars, represented by a round red ruby, circles the sun on the outer edge of the dial.

Graham is a maker of automatic watches, the mechanical movement that powers this timepiece was made exclusively for Graham by independent watchmaker, Christophe Claret. Its accuracy is uncanny. Loth explained that the earth revolves at exactly 365 ¼ days so there is no adjustment for the leap year. Corrections to the orbital patterns are minimal and are planned and indicated on the back of the watch. For the moon it’s every seven years, for Mars it’s every 25 years and for the earth (wait for it) every 1,152 years. The moon and mars have self correcting indicators. Loth said the orrery should be functional for 300 years before needing to be taken to a watchmaker for a minor adjustment to the perpetual calendar.

The dial also contains the months on an outer disc track with the inner track indicating the 12 astrological signs.

There’s an historical aspect to this timepiece. It honors the 300th anniversary of the invention of the orrery by British clock and watchmaker George Graham, the company’s namesake.

When the timepiece goes into production, it will be limited to 20 pieces at a cost of $330,000.  

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Watch Review: Equipe Caters to Gearheads

No one would ever accuse the watch brand, Equipe, of not knowing its market. The company’s new line of watches are made to appeal to people who like to spend their afternoons under the hood of muscle car and their evenings showing off their polished high-performance vehicles to women who are as attractive as the bikini models on the company’s pinup calendar. For a little extra fun on a hot summer night, they might turn to street racing.

A company that caters to such a specific set of American-car fanatics could only be headquartered in the Motor City. Detroit seems to be in the midst of revival as commercials and television shows are showcasing the city’s grittiness and survival instinct. So maybe the timing is right for such a watch company to appear from the belly of automotive beast. But while the city and American cars may be experiencing a revival, this is a company that is also trying to jump on the nostalgia bandwagon—taking people back to a place when cars with large engines built for straight speed and power were the symbol of status and cool for many America males.

The folks at Equipe sent four watches to me for review. Pushing the car theme to extreme limits, all their watches are named after car parts. The ones they loaned to me were named: Balljoint, Paddle, Dash XXL and Hemi. In addition, each watch has its own VIN number and they come with a “presentation case” that the company says resembles a tool box, but to me looks more like an elaborate portable safe with its own combination lock. The four watches retail from $399 to $899, which makes them quite accessible compared to watches from European manufacturers that cater to car buffs.

All the watches made of surgical stainless steel with screw-down crowns and screw-in casebacks. They use Miyota automatic movements made by Citizen. The company says the watch hands are luminous but I did not notice this. They all include date indication, chronographs and dual time zones functions. Watch straps are either made of leather, silicone or surgical stainless steel.

Setting all the watches and using the chronograph features was fairly easy with the exception of one glaring, vitally important issue: With the exception of the Dash, the crown on each watch was extremely difficult to pull into the third position for setting the time. It was nearly impossible to move the crown to the second position for setting the date. 

Ballpoint
This was my favorite of the four watches. It is also the most expensive at $899. The price is because it has four flexible lugs that move 360 degrees, adjusting to the movement of the wrist. The design is nice as well, with a round yellow dial, chronograph dials designed to look like a timing chain and silicon wristband fitted my wrist the best of all models. 

Paddle
My second favorite of the four gets its name from the lever-shaped bars above and beneath the crown that emulate paddle shifters, which control the chronograph hands. The round white dial is attractive and the uni-directional rotating bezel is interesting and the leather strap is nice. It’s a watch that felt good on my wrist. It retails for $399.

 Dash XXL
The most car-authentic watch in the group has an elongated watch face that is designed to look like the dashboard of a vintage auto, such as the Chrysler Imperial and Lincoln Continental, the company says. It’s certainly something to look at while driving. It was also the easiest to set and use. The drawback for me was the feel. The watch spreads across the wrist and the silicone strap had a lot of stretch to it. I found myself adjusting the watch often. It retails for $499.

Hemi
Guess what this watch is named after? The design of the oversized round black watch is interesting. Like the Balljoint, the subdials of the chronograph are designed to look like a timing chain. The crowns and pushers are made to resemble the contours of the piston of the famous Chrysler engine. The metal bracelet fully closed was too large for my wrist. It has a magnified crystal cover that makes the watch appear even larger. It’s a large watch for a large person who likes large things. It retails for $599.