Phillips START-STOP-RESET Auction

LouS

Would be interesting to see what kind of estimates we would put on a whole catalog of sterilized chronographs.

jordn

Incredible watches all (well maybe except for the Hublot 😉) - rare, every single one of them, and in top condition for the most part. As a collector it is hard not the be frustrated with the high estimates that are going to be indubitably crushed, but this once again showcases Aurel Bacs' exquisite taste in watches and his understanding of the market. Steel chronographs are where it's at right now, and while these are all watches that have been actively sought after by certain collectors, Bacs is creating a "new-to-market" effect for his high-end clients and forcefully educating them on watches other than Rolexes and Pateks. I can certainly waste time complaining about the Bacs lemmings that allows others to create their tastes for them, but I'd rather talk about the watches themselves.

My favorites:

Longines 13zn-12 (personal grail): 40k-80k

I'd be surprised if this doesn't hit six figures. One of the best watches ever made imho and in stunning condition.

Eberhard Split-second Valjoux 86: 25k - 50k

My favorite split-second chronograph in the whole auction. Lovely dial and stepped bezel 40mm case

Movado Sub-Sea M95: 12k-24k

Because of the use of the same casemaker as the Patek 1463 (Francois Borgel), some have considered this watch a sort of Poor-man's Patek. Some of the details like the Breguet numerals, the serpentine "kris" hands, and the superior in-house M95 movement makes this one more attractive to me than even the world-shattering-ly beautiful 1463 in this same auction.

Patek 1579: 450k-900k

This should reach 7 figures easily. Aesthetically one of best watches ever made and super rare in steel.

Universal Film-Compax: 12k-24k

One of the rarest UG watches ever. It's too bad that the case has been slightly over-polished, but the dial is one of the better ones I've seen.

Zenith cal. 143-1-3 (Excelsior Park): 10k-20k

Yowza. me want

Can't not talk about Omega watches:

Speedmaster 2999-1: 25k-50k
Speedmaster 145.012-67 Racing: 30k-60k
Speedmaster 145.022 Racing: 15k-30k

Still room for growth on these even after the recent jump?

Omega CK988 Cal. 33.3: 20k-40k

One of the best chronograph movements of all time and one of my favorite Omega references. Pretty sure that is an incorrect minute register hand though.

More favorites than time to be sure. I fully expect most of the hammer results to exceed the estimates as most of these are blue chip watches, but the watches that I am most curious about are the more obscure manufactures.

Grana Split Second: 20k-40k
Record Split Second: 15k-30k
Juvenia Split Second: 15k-30k
Cyma: 8k-16k

I wasn't even aware that there was a Grana split-second chronograph in existence. Are the estimates for the Recond and Juvenia too high? too low? The estimate for the Cyma is way too high imo considering the lack of exposure and knowledge about these watches.