Our shopping list for this week’s watch auction at Bonham’s
By The Prodigal Fool, published on 30 November 2009
As we told you last week, the small selection of the Porsche watch collection that Bonham’s exhibited at SalonQP was enough to entice Straight-Six and The Prodigal Fool to clear the decks on 2 December. We pretty much decided in the taxi on the way back from the event that we had to be at the auction. A week or so later, a day’s holiday from our day jobs was booked and a lunch reservation at Scott’s was secured.
Yes, that’s right, we’re off to our first proper watch auction and we’re doing it in style.
Truth be told, we’re not expecting to come away with anything other than a better understanding of how auctions work and a long list of losing bids. There will, we suspect, be watch fans in the room with deeper pockets than ours.
But that’s no reason not to be serious about it. So, in Prodigal style, we’re pleased to share with you our carefully considered shopping list:
Lot #80: IWC Fliegeruhr Doppelchronograph (2006)
We’ve had something of a penchant for IWC’s pilot’s chronos for a long time. The rattrapante mechanism and ceramic case of this one add to its already considerable appeal.
Lot #59: Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox (1940s)
We’ve already recommended this as a potential bargain. The Memovox is a true classic. The lineage with today’s models and the interest of the alarm mechanism guarantee this watch a place on our list.
Lot #148: Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris (1960)
This is our favourite thing in the sale. We’d absolutely love to be taking this puppy home. We loved last year’s Tribute to Polaris but here’s an opportunity to own the real thing and with the added bonus of an association with the Porsche collection. The £5,000 – £7,000 estimate that Bonham’s have put on it strikes us as too low. We’ll see what it goes for on the day.
Lot #223: Rolex Explorer (1958)
We already own a couple of classic Rolex sports watches but the Explorer has so far escaped us. And if you’re going to have an Explorer, you really owe it to yourself to have a vintage one. Rolex at its simplest, most rugged best. A class act.
Lot #280: Rolex Explorer (1966)
Ahem, see previous entry. The additional interest here is the condition of this particular watch. It looks flawless and comes with original box and full papers.
We’re not suggesting for a second that this list represents the best of the auction. They just happen to be the pieces that caught our eye given our tastes and the existing pieces in our collection.
If you’re a watch fan, regardless of whether you’re taking part in the auction or not, we thoroughly recommend devoting half an hour or so to browsing the online catalogue. It’s a joy.
Our shopping list for this week’s watch auction at Bonham’s
As we told you last week, the small selection of the Porsche watch collection that Bonham’s exhibited at SalonQP was enough to entice Straight-Six and The Prodigal Fool to clear the decks on 2 December. We pretty much decided in the taxi on the way back from the event that we had to be at [...]
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7 Responses to “Our shopping list for this week’s watch auction at Bonham’s”
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Matthew
4 December 2009
so come on…. what did you get?
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You should check out my Twitter feed for details.
To cut a long, embarrassing story short, Straight-Six got drunk at lunch then bid on an IWC pilot’s watch that he didn’t even want. Ahem…and won. We then we had to make a rather premature and hasty retreat from the auction room.
The Polaris that I was so in love with went for just short of GBP 10,000. Too much for me.
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Straight-Six
8 December 2009
The conclusion to my inebriated debacle? I will have to shell out £400 to make up the difference between myself and the only other underbidder available…
And I will leave the final words to Bonham’s watch dept. rep.: “We certainly won’t forget YOU, sir!”
They’re a class act indeed.
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[...] CEO, and a visit to SalonQP. Both were fantastic fun and ultimately led to our attendance at Bonham’s auction later in the month. This is a sale which Straight-Six would rather forget: after partaking in one too many glasses of [...]
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mike
14 November 2010
Want a Polaris!..Well, there’s another being auctioned at Bonhams on the 15th December 2010 which is in even better condition than last years one….marvelous!
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You’re right, there is and I got up close and personal with it at SalonQP last Friday. It’s lovely but I disagree that it’s in better condition than the one they auctioned in 2009.
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Dell Deaton, jbw007.com
30 November 2009
Couldn’t help but notice that the venerable Rolex Explorer made 2 of your 5 picks here. You’re in good company, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere (and published a few times now in magazines that care to be on top of things): The Rolex 1016 Explorer was not only the personal choice of Ian Fleming, but also the only piece he specifically looked to as reference for the original James Bond watch, in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (1963).
Of further interest is that this was in direct contradiction to what he saw as the movie-choice for 007 while visiting the set of “Dr. No” in Jamaica, well-before he’d gotten to the watch parts in OHMSS.
Why? Several reasons, I think. As you point out, this watch was (and is) Rolex at its rugged best. In fact, in the 1960′s, I believe it was marketed as such. It has every bit as much depth-resistance as a secret agent would need for ad hoc dives, while not gratuitously screeming, “I was in the Navy, ya know!” from his wrist; not something James Bond would ever need (or want) to do. Versatile, subtle. As I wrote for “WatchTime,” it seemlessly goes from casino to combat.
Ian Fleming owned a lot of watches, though only one Rolex. You don’t have to positively ID them to see he liked dark dials, no complications. The time is evident at an immediate, even subtle glance. That’s a help when timing escapes or bomb detonations to great precision. No date complication to re-set when crossing time zones. No diving bezel to advertise the fact that Our Man will be taking a swim to plant mines on your smuggling ship after hours.
You gotta live a bit dangerously with your watch if you want to be like James Bond on the Rolex Explorer, however. The one worn by Ian Fleming had a radium dial, which is a rare bird indeed. That’s the choice I made in acquiring mine.
Another great Blog here, PF!
Dell Deaton
http://www.jamesbondwatches.com
http://twitter.com/bondbranding