8 Of The Most Unique Timepieces at Only Watch 2023 Auction

by Lynette Koh

Photos: Hublot, Bulgari, Biver Watches

Since its launch in 2005, the biennial charity auction Only Watch has raised nearly 100 million Swiss francs (S$154 million) for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. It was started by Luc Pettavino following his son’s diagnosis of the condition. His son sadly passed away in 2016.

Featuring unique timepieces created by top fine-watchmaking names, many hammering for way above their estimates, Only Watch has become one of the most anticipated events on the horology calendar. This year, 62 creations — including 16 collaborations — have been made for the event by 73 watchmakers and brands. They will be auctioned by Christie’s in Geneva and online on November 5.
Here are our picks of the most interesting pieces.

1. Bulgari: Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Marble

Used in the interiors of its great cathedrals and sculptures such as Michelangelo’s David, marble is a quintessential part of Italian art and culture. As a house that is famously proud of its Roman roots, Bulgari has long made marble a part of its design language: As early as 1934, stone was introduced in its revamped Via dei Condotti flagship boutique. In 2012, marble was used in Bulgari’s B.zero1 jewellery collection.

Now, the brand uses the sculptural material on its most sculptural of timepieces — the Octo Finissimo, a modern icon that has bagged eight world records for thinness over eight years. Comprising 110 facets, the 40mm case and bracelet of the ultra-slim watch have been covered with a thin layer of marble. And not just any marble, mind you, but Verde Alpi, a green marble that comes from the Aosta Valley, which connects Switzerland and Italy.

The undertaking took some five years of research. The facets of the case and bracelet are covered with a veneer of marble, each 0.4mm to 0.5mm thick. Each of these slivers had to be machined, smoothed, and polished by hand before being affixed. Only the underside of the bracelet links, left uncovered, gives a hint as to the underlying material of the watch — polished, black DLC titanium.

2. Biver Watches: Catharsis

In the past, minute repeaters served to tell the time via chimes that could be activated on demand because electricity and light were not readily available for reading the time. With Biver Watches’ Catharsis, you have to activate the minute repeater to know the time, even in broad daylight; the watch has no hands or indexes.

Instead, the dial is a gem-set work of art depicting a starry, moonlit sea. Eighty-nine sapphires, each different in size and weight, are set irregularly to depict moving waves. The dark sky is represented by silver obsidian, while opal stars and a meteorite moon light up the poetic scene.

3. F.P. Journe: Chronometre Furtif Blue

Here’s the perfect watch for the territorial: The Chronometre Furtif Blue by F.P. Journe features a translucent blue Grand Feu enamel dial with laser-engraved matte numerals that can only be seen when light is directly reflected off it.

Aside from this unusual design, the 42mm timepiece stands out with a case of tantalum — a seldom-used material in watchmaking because it is difficult to machine. And that’s not all: The new timepiece is powered by a brand new movement, Calibre 1522. Formed from 18K rose gold, the movement integrates a power reserve and moon-phase displays at 12 and 6 o’clock.

4. Frederique Constant X Christiaan van der Klaauw

Hublot’s ongoing partnership with Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami reaches a sparkling new milestone with its unique piece for Only Watch. The watch features a central tourbillon — a first for Hublot — highlighted to stunning effect by Murakami’s signature smiling daisy. Set atop a sapphire-crystal case, a 42mm-wide stainless steel bezel in the form of a 12-petalled flower is adorned with 444 coloured gemstones.

Completing the Murakami flower are smiling eyes and a big grin, created via laser-engraving on the underside of the watch’s domed sapphire crystal. The 12 lumed indexes of the time display pick up on the colours of the flowers, which are meant to be a play on the brightness of the hues and the gemstones rather than the gradient effect of typical gem-set “rainbow” watches.

Like several other Hublot statement timepieces, the new manually wound movement HUB9015 has a pretty impressive power reserve: Two mainspring barrels, mounted on a single plane, give the watch an impressive 150-hour power reserve.

6. Gerald Genta

The late renowned watch designer Gerald Genta apparently designed thousands of watches in his lifetime. Then there were also the concepts that he had considered but never produced under his namesake brand. One such concept was a combination of two Genta signatures: A retrograde display with Mickey Mouse’s swivelling arm pointing at the minute scale and a minute repeater.

That concept is now reality, thanks to high-end movement-makers La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. Featuring a dial created using champleve enamelling, the 40mm octagonal white-gold watch celebrates Disney’s 100th anniversary as well as the 50th anniversary of the first watch bearing Gerald Genta’s name.

7. Konstantin Chaykin: Stargazer Only Watch 2023 Piece Unique

Konstantin Chaykin has earned a loyal following with his Wristmon timepieces featuring expressive characters like the Joker, Minion, and Minotaur. For Only Watch 2023, he pulls out all the stops with his most complicated timepiece yet, the Stargazer — a 16-complication edition featuring the Joker’s familiar grinning visage.

The displays for these complications, which include 11 astronomical functions, are divided between the two faces of the 42mm reversible steel watch. Some of the astronomical functions are more familiar (celestial chart, sidereal time) while others are patent-pending firsts in watchmaking (an eight-stage discrete moon phase, azimuth indicators for sunrise/sunset).

8. Tudor: Prince Chronograph One

In 1976, Tudor launched its third series of chronographs, which came to be known as “Big Block” because of their blocky cases. This thickness was required to house the modified Valjoux 7750 movements powering these chronographs, which were also the first Tudor self-winding chronographs.

Marking the impending return of this series, the Prince Chronograph One comes in a new 42mm yellow gold case powered by Tudor’s new, first in-house chronograph calibre. Making things even more exciting for Tudor fans is that the column-wheel Calibre MT59XX within is a prototype numbered zero — a stealthy mark of an early adopter (with very deep pockets, if previous Tudor Only Watch results are any indication).

This story originally published on The Peak Singapore.