40th Anniversary Auction Of Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Watches

Audemars Piguet Grand Complication, Piece Unique

Antiquorum Auctioneers’ May 13 sale of Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces at the Grand Hotel Kempinski in Geneva will include a special collection of Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks in honor of the iconic model’s 40th anniversary.

The Swiss luxury watch brand collaborated with Antiquorum on this sale by having each timepiece in this section sent to the manufacture in Le Brassus to be checked for authenticity. They will be delivered with an Audemars Piguet certificate of origin.

Highlights of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak sale include the following:

Royal Oak Jumbo “A Series,” No. 88. Produced in 1972, this example is a rare and octagonal, self-winding, water-resistant, stainless steel wristwatch with date and a stainless steel Audemars Piguet bracelet. The Royal Oak A series is the earliest serial number ever to be offered at auction. Estimate: $16,000 – $20,000.

Royal Oak Jumbo Skeleton. This watch, produced in 1991, is a rare, water-resistant, tonneau shaped, 18K yellow gold self-winding wristwatch with 18K yellow gold Audemars Piguet bracelet accompanied by the original warranty, instruction booklet and fitted box, and an Audemars Piguet Certificate of Origin. Estimate: $22,000 – $33,000.

Grand Complication, Piece Unique No. 1/1, 18k White Gold and Diamond (top picture). Produced as a unique piece in 1994, this timepiece is a large minute-repeating, water-resistant, self-winding, 18k white gold and diamond set wristwatch with co-axial round button split-seconds chronograph, register, perpetual calendar with indication of the weeks, moon phases, and an integrated 18k white gold and full diamond – set Audemars Piguet link bracelet. It is accompanied by an Audemars Piguet Certificate of Origin. Estimate: $650,000 – $1.1 million.

Other Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watches as part of the sale include:

* “Royal Oak Offshore, Automatic – End of Days,” No. 343/500. Estimate: $27,000 – $38,000.

* Royal Oak Chronograph, Giorgio Armani, No. 001, White Gold. Estimate: $45,000 – $65,000.

* Royal Oak Jumbo retailed by Bulgari, Former Property of President Venezuela Carlos Andres Perez. Estimate: $33,000 – $45,000.

* Royal Oak, Paris Boutique, Limited Edition of 50 pieces. Estimate: $27,000 – $38,000.

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Jaeger-LeCoultre Creates Raffles Hotel Anniversary Reverso Watch

Swiss luxury watch brand, Jaeger-LeCoultre, has created two editions of its iconic Reverso timepiece for Raffles Hotel Singapore, to honor the establishment’s 125th anniversary.

The double-sided watch can be turned over and be worn like a jewel with a personalized engraving. To mark Raffle Singapore’s 125th anniversary, Jaeger-LeCoultre created an exclusive engraving for the hotel that reads: “Raffles Hotel 1887-2012 Singapore.” The engraving is available on the men’s Reverso Grande Taille and the ladies’ Reverso Lady Ultra Thin.

Pierre Jochem, general manager of Raffles International, noted that the watch brand, which is 180 years old, shares a commitment with the hotel to heritage and innovation. “Timelessness is about moving with the times and adapting to the world around us—but never forgetting out heritage—which is priceless.”

Named after Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore, Raffles started out as a 10-room bungalow and grew to become the landmark of the city-state, known throughout the world for attracting tycoons, rouges, adventurers and movie stars. Well known authors and journalists—including Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham and Noel Coward—wrote about the hotel’s Long Bar, Palm Court and Billiard Room, spreading its legend and acclaim throughout the world.

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Chopard Unveils 65-Carat, $1.58 Million Happy Sport Anniversary Watch

Chopard is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its successful Happy Sport watch line by releasing the Happy Sport Diamantissimo—an 18-carat white gold timepiece set with 958 baguette-cut diamonds and 1,978 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 65 carats. It retails for 1.5 million Swiss francs ($1.58 million).

And it’s not just another pretty face as this timepiece is driven by a Chopard L.U.C 96.17-L in-house movement. The company said in a statement that this watch combines its expertise in high jewelry and fine watchmaking.

It took more than 4,500 hours of work to create the watch—with 1,700 hours dedicated to gem setting. The dial, bezel, case and bracelet links are covered with diamonds using the “invisible” setting technique. This involves each stone being cut and adjusted to create a seamless diamond-studded surface showing no spaces and no setting prongs.

Caroline Scheufele created the Happy Sport in 1993 and it has since been reinterpreted in elegant and even humorous ways, appearing in a number of identities, including Happy Beach, La Vie en Rose, Happy Spirit and Mystery Pink.

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