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whileiamdying · 7 months ago

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The Strange Journey of John Lennon’s Stolen Patek Philippe Watch

For decades, Yoko Ono thought that the birthday gift was in her Dakota apartment. But it had been removed and sold—and now awaits a court ruling in Geneva.

By Jay Fielden June 17, 2024

The missing watch, now valued at between ten and forty million dollars, was a fortieth-birthday gift from Yoko Ono, along with a tie she knit herself.Photograph by Bob Gruen

For years, John Lennon’s Patek Philippe 2499 has been the El Dorado of lost watches. Lennon was known for collecting expensive things: apartments in the Dakota (five); guitars (one apartment was mainly for musical equipment); country estates; jukeboxes (three); and Egyptian artifacts, including a gold-leafed sarcophagus containing a mummified princess, who Yoko Ono believed was a former self. But the Patek appears to have been his one and only wristwatch.

A gift from Ono, the watch is more than anyone would ever need to tell the time. A perpetual-calendar chronograph, it is, as Paul Boutros, the head of watches at the American arm of Phillips auction house, says, a “mechanical microcomputer, the most sought after of all Pateks.” Between 1952 and around 1985, Patek produced just three hundred and forty-nine of them. The watch, which Ono bought at Tiffany on Fifth Avenue, records time in eight different ways; the dial houses three apertures (day, month, moon phase) and three subdials (seconds, elapsed minutes, date). If you never memorized the mnemonic “thirty days hath September,” no worries—the 2499 Patek hath. Its miraculous ganglia of tiny wheels and levers will adjust its readings to the quirky imperfections of the Gregorian calendar, including leap years. No other watchmaker was able to produce a perpetual-calendar-chronograph movement small enough to fit into a wristwatch until 1985.

What makes this 2499 even rarer—and perhaps the most valuable wristwatch in existence—is how little we know about it. Ono gave it to her husband for his fortieth birthday, on October 9, 1980, two months before he was fatally shot by a deranged man outside the Dakota. For the next three decades, the existence of the watch remained unknown except to a handful of family and close friends.

But, sometime around 2007, in the early days of social media, a new kind of watch obsessive materialized, equipped with native computer skills and an appreciation for the places where pop culture and the luxury market intersect. In those pre-Instagram years, fanboy wonks traded watch esoterica online: an image of Picasso wearing a lost Jaeger-LeCoultre; Castro with two trendy Rolexes strapped to one arm; Brando, on the set of “Apocalypse Now,” “flexing,” as watch geeks say, a Rolex GMT-Master without its timing bezel, a modification he made to better inhabit the role of Kurtz; and—the Google image-search find of them all—two frames of an uncredited snapshot of Lennon and his Patek.

“I’m not a watch guy,” Sean Lennon said. “I’d be terrified to wear anything of my dad’s. I never even played one of his guitars.”Photograph by Bob Gruen

Since its discovery, around 2011, the image has appeared online again and again, fuelling a speculative frenzy about what the watch—which cost around twenty-five thousand dollars at Tiffany in 1980—might bring at auction today, with estimates ranging from ten million to forty million dollars. (Bloomberg’s Subdial Watch Index tracks the value of a bundle of watches produced by Rolex, Patek, and Audemars Piguet, like an E.T.F.; the Boston Consulting Group reported that, between 2018 and 2023, a similar selection outperformed the S. & P. 500 by twelve per cent. In 2017, Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona broke records by selling at auction for $17.8 million.) But all the clickbait posts about the Lennon Patek, as it had come to be known, were regurgitations that contained few facts. There was never a mention of who took the photo, where it was taken, or even where the watch might be.

During the long, dull days of the pandemic, I decided to see what I could find out. Several years went by, as I traced the journey of the watch from where it was stowed after Lennon’s death—a locked room in his Dakota apartment—to when it was stolen, apparently in 2005. From there, it moved around Europe and the watch departments of two auction houses, before becoming the subject of an ongoing lawsuit, in Switzerland, to determine whether the watch’s rightful owner is Ono or an unnamed man a Swiss court judgment refers to as Mr. A, who claims to have bought the watch legally in 2014.

Having reached its final appeal—Ono has so far prevailed—the case is now in the hands of the Tribunal Fédéral, Switzerland’s Supreme Court, which is expected to render a verdict later this year. Meanwhile, the watch continues to sit in an undisclosed location in Geneva, a city that specializes in the safe, secret storage of lost treasures.

Lennon holding up his birthday Patek in the fall of 1980 is one of the happiest moments captured on film in the final years of his life. That summer, he’d begun making music again, during a trip to Bermuda which he’d hoped would help repair the well-publicized strain in his marriage to Ono. Lennon’s “lost weekend”—more than a year spent living in Los Angeles with May Pang, a former assistant who became his lover—was not that far in the past, and Ono had fallen into an infatuation with an art-world socialite named Sam Green. (It was in Bermuda that Lennon wrote “I’m Losing You.”)

Lennon had spent the previous five years holed up in the Dakota as a self-proclaimed “househusband,” raising his son Sean so that Ono, whom Lennon called Mother, could take her turn at being the decision-maker of the music-business enterprise they’d named Lennono. While Ono dealt with Beatles headaches, controlled the purse strings, and invested in real estate, Lennon occupied himself by watching soap operas, eating bran biscuits and rice, smoking Gitanes, and listening to either classical music or Muzak. “If I heard anything bad,” he later explained, “I’d want to fix it, and if I heard anything good, I’d wonder why I hadn’t thought of it.”

In the photograph, Lennon, trim and fit from a macrobiotic diet, wears jeans and a loosely knotted striped knit tie adorned with a jewel-encrusted American-flag pin. The picture was taken in the Hit Factory, where he and Ono had been recording “Double Fantasy,” his first album in five years. The room is dim, but he has on sunglasses, celluloid horn-rims recently bought in Japan. Buckled on his left wrist is the Patek 2499.

In order to find out more about the photograph, I tracked down Jack Douglas, the noted record producer who oversaw “Double Fantasy,” and sent him the picture by e-mail. He replied right away. “Bob Gruen took the photo,” he wrote, referring to the well-known documenter of the seventies and eighties rock scene.

When I contacted Gruen, who is now seventy-eight and lives in New York City, he had no idea that his photograph had become the talk of the horological world or why he’d never been given credit for it; he’d published the image in a book, titled “John Lennon: The New York Years,” in 2005. But he remembered the night he took the photo—Lennon’s fortieth birthday. Since late that summer, Lennon and Ono had been spending a lot of time in a multiroom studio on the sixth floor of the Hit Factory building, then on West Forty-eighth Street. “I was one of the few people who had an open invitation,” Gruen told me. “They liked to work late.” Gruen, who said he was living on a “steak-and-Cognac diet” in those days, showed up after midnight, having attended the thirty-sixth-birthday party of the singer Nona Hendryx. “I thought I’d bring John a piece of her birthday cake,” he said.

When Gruen arrived, Lennon was enjoying his presents: the knit tie, which Ono had made herself (a copy of the one he wore at school in Liverpool); the flag pin; and the Patek, in yellow gold, which had a rare and highly coveted double-stamped dial, meaning that both the watchmaker’s and Tiffany’s logos were printed on it. Gruen remembered Lennon being abuzz over the tie and the pin, a nod to Lennon’s fourth anniversary as a green-card holder. He doesn’t recall talking about the watch. But Lennon nonetheless strapped the black lizard band onto his wrist when Gruen reached for his Olympus OM4.

A few other photographs that Gruen took that week have never been seen by the public. One shows Lennon at a mixing board with Douglas, who is wearing a recognizable watch himself, a Porsche Design Chronograph I—stainless steel and coated in black—which Porsche had presented to him and to the members of Aerosmith in 1976, after the band’s German tour for its album “Rocks.” Douglas told me that he and Lennon later wrist-checked each other. “Although I thought his watch was beautiful,” he wrote in an e-mail to me, “I told John it didn’t have the pizzazz of my black beauty, and we had a good laugh.

After Lennon’s death, Ono had a full inventory taken of her husband’s possessions, a document that amounted to nearly a thousand pages. She then put the Patek in a locked room of her apartment. And there the watch remained for more than twenty years.

I found a clue as to what happened next by putting together shards of information from various members of the watch intelligentsia who had all “heard” that the Patek had been stolen. “I think the guy was Turkish,” one said. Another remembered “something about a chauffeur.” This led me to a 2006 article in the Times about a man named Koral Karsan (Turkish: check), who had served as Ono’s chauffeur (check two) for the previous ten years. Karsan, a veteran member of Ono’s oft-shuffled staff—trusted enough that he had full access to her apartment—had simply gone berserk in December of that year, threatening to release embarrassing photos and private conversations he’d been recording unless Ono paid him two million dollars; he allegedly said that if she refused he would have her and Sean killed.

A tall, square-jawed man with a thick burr of white hair, Karsan, then fifty, was arrested. In a series of preliminary hearings in a Manhattan courtroom, he defended himself against charges of extortion and attempted grand larceny by claiming, as the Times reported, that Ono had “humiliated and degraded him, wrecking his marriage and making him so nervous that he ground eight of his teeth to the bone.” A letter he’d written to Ono describing himself as her “driver, bodyguard, assistant, butler, nurse, handyman and more so your lover and confidant” was also entered into the record. Ono disputed Karsan’s claims about a romance, but the prosecution allowed him to plead guilty to a lesser charge, and he was ordered to return to his native Turkey.

According to a story that Karsan would later tell, Ono—who was known to consult psychics—became worried one day in 2006 that a forecasted heavy-weather event might endanger some meaningful Lennon items, including two pairs of Lennon’s eyeglasses and several New Yorker desk diaries (which he used as journals during the last five years of his life); she asked Karsan to find a safer place to keep them. Unbeknownst to Ono, when Karsan was subsequently deported, these items, along with the Patek, followed him.

Ono, who is ninety-one and lives in seclusion in upstate New York, declined to comment. Of Karsan, Sean Lennon told me, “He took advantage of a widow at a vulnerable time. Of all the incidents of people stealing things from my parents, this one is the most painful.”

Karsan, back in Turkey, was in the market for a house. Around 2009, he showed Lennon’s watch to a Turkish friend visiting from Berlin named Erhan G (as he came to be known owing to German privacy laws). Karsan let Erhan G flip through the diaries, including one marked 1980, which includes Lennon’s final entry. Karsan threw out an idea: he’d give the Lennon Patek to Erhan G as collateral for a loan. Erhan G agreed.

One evening in 2013, in Berlin, Erhan G met an executive who worked for a new, much hyped digital auction platform called Auctionata. He couldn’t resist boasting about the Patek 2499 and the rest of the Lennon trove—some eighty items. In short order, a dinner was arranged with Oliver Hoffmann, Auctionata’s twenty-eight-year-old director of watches. “He told me the story of how he’d gotten the watch,” Hoffmann recalled, of his meeting with Erhan G. “It was strange, but it felt whole and true. It was credible because of the many details.” Erhan G, who said that he was the watch’s rightful owner, per an agreement with Karsan, didn’t strike Hoffmann as a man desperate for money. “He owned a successful business and lived in a large apartment in a building close to Potsdamer Platz,” Hoffman said. (Erhan G could not be reached for comment.)

Auctionata, which live-streamed its auctions, was one of Germany’s dot-com darlings, lauded in the press for disrupting the old auction-house model, dominated by Christie’s and Sotheby’s, which had yet to develop a digital-first business. Investors including Groupe Arnault, Holtzbrinck Ventures, and Hearst Ventures had put up more than a hundred million dollars of venture capital for the company. Hoffmann says that the C.E.O., Alexander Zacke, recognized what a publicity boon selling John Lennon’s lost watch would be and pushed for a way to do it with or without notifying Ono. (Zacke did not respond to a request for comment.) Teams of lawyers studied the watch’s provenance and puzzled over how to offer it for sale without raising eyebrows. A document called an extract was obtained from Patek Philippe, which meant that the watch had not been registered as stolen, and Karsan himself travelled to Berlin, where he signed a document in front of a notary testifying that Ono had given him her husband’s Patek as a gift in 2005. As for the authenticity of the watch, there was no doubt: on the case back is an identifying inscription that has never been made public outside Germany.

In late 2013, in preparation for an auction, Auctionata had the watch professionally photographed. (In the photo, the watch floats in a vacuum, a carefully lit token of commerce, divorced from all human and emotional context.) But Erhan G got cold feet. Some years earlier, Ono had sued a former employee who had slipped out of the Dakota with Lennon memorabilia; Frederic Seaman, Lennon’s last personal assistant, confessed to having stolen diaries similar, if not identical, to those which Karsan and Erhan G had stashed away. (He later returned them.) Searching for a private buyer, Hoffmann approached Mr. A, a man he knew from the rare-watch circuit. A deal by “private treaty”—a sale undisclosed to the public—was reached, and in March, 2014, Mr. A agreed that he would consign a selection of Rolex and Patek watches from his own collection, whose sale proceeds would go toward payment for the Lennon 2499, which was priced at six hundred thousand euros (about eight hundred thousand dollars). “This, in some ways, was more helpful than auctioning the watch,” Hoffmann told me, explaining that Auctionata’s watch department needed the inventory. The vintage watches Mr. A consigned, most of which Hoffmann valued at between twenty thousand and forty thousand euros apiece, were in total likely worth more than the 2499.

Mr. A told Hoffmann that he planned to keep Lennon’s watch in his collection, which has included pieces owned by Eric Clapton. But, within months, he took the Lennon Patek to the Geneva office of Christie’s. As part of the auction house’s appraisal process, a Christie’s representative reached out to Ono’s lawyer, who promptly notified his client. Ono rushed to check the locked room, only to discover that the Patek wasn’t there. She had no idea how long it had been gone.

In August of 2023, a reporter named Coline Emmel, who works for a small but enterprising Web site in Switzerland called Gotham City, found something interesting in a backlog of documents filed that summer by the Chambre Civile in the canton of Geneva—an appellate judgment in a civil case that had been going on for five years. European privacy laws, especially those in Switzerland, make legal documents unusually hard to decipher. The Swiss judiciary uses a system of letters and numbers to create pseudonyms for appellants, respondents, and anyone else involved, turning a case file into a cryptogram. Emmel knew enough about Beatles history to recognize that “C_____, widow of late F_____, of Japanese nationality and domiciled in [New York City]” was, in fact, Yoko Ono. Although the appeals court affirmed the lower court’s decision that Ono was the “sole legitimate owner of the watch,” Mr. A—“a watch collector and longtime professional in the sector, of Italian nationality”—was launching another appeal. Emmel posted a brief synopsis on Gotham City, along with the news that a final judgment was now being awaited from the Swiss Supreme Court.

“Mystery solved!” was the gist of the message that ricocheted around the watch world. But, to me, the mystery had only deepened. The basic itinerary of the Patek’s odyssey and its current location had been discovered, but the human detail of how it had passed from wrist to wrist, hiding place to hiding place, still hadn’t been reported. What’s more, where had Ono ever got the idea of giving a guy like John Lennon—eater of carob-coated peanuts, singer of a song about imagining no possessions, peacenik—a watch that was a status symbol of lockjawed good taste? And what was its famously secret inscription?

I had already been in contact with Mr. A; three days before Emmel posted her scoop, he’d cancelled a planned meeting with me in Italy. Instead, we arranged to speak over Zoom. Seated in a panelled room, he told me that, when Ono had found the watch missing, her counsel demanded its return. It was a tricky legal situation, because Ono, having never realized that the watch was gone, hadn’t reported it stolen, and because the case spans several national jurisdictions. Mr. A explained that he didn’t return the watch because he didn’t believe it to be stolen property. He mentioned the inventory that had been taken of Lennon’s possessions after his death, which was referred to in the judgment; he claimed that only two watches were listed—a gold watch (presumably the Patek) and another that Mr. A said was a pocket watch Ono had auctioned through Sotheby’s in 1984, two decades before Karsan swore she gave him the Patek.

Mr. A pointed to Ono’s own version of the story. “Following the death of the late [John Lennon],” the Swiss court’s judgment reads, in a summary of a deposition that Ono gave to investigators from Berlin at the German consulate in New York City, “[Ono] wanted to give something belonging to her to those who had worked very faithfully for her. So, she told [Karsan] to take a watch.” Ono, however, added that she in no way meant the “watch she’d given the late [John Lennon].” What watch did she mean? Mr. A asked rhetorically. “There was only the Patek.”

Christie’s, informed that the watch had been stolen, kept the 2499 secured in its Geneva vault, where it sat for several years. The judgment states, “On December 17, 2015, the parties and [Christie’s] SA entered into a consignment-escrow agreement under which the Watch would be consigned to [Mr. A’s lawyer], until agreement or right is adjudicated on the property.” (Christie’s did not respond to a request for comment.) Mr. A told me that he eventually decided to go on the offensive. In 2018, he initiated a civil lawsuit against Ono to prove that he was the Patek’s rightful owner.

What Mr. A never expected was that his fate would become intertwined with that of Auctionata, which went bankrupt in early 2017. A German court brought in a bankruptcy expert and lawyer named Christian Graf Brockdorff, who, in a review of the company’s inventory, stumbled on the eighty-odd other Lennon items that Erhan G had consigned for a high-six-figure sum. “I doubted that everything that had happened in the past was legally correct,” Brockdorff told me in an e-mail. He contacted the police; a criminal case was opened, and Erhan G was found guilty of knowingly dealing in stolen goods. He served a one-year suspended sentence, having admitted that the story that Karsan had told of how he got the Lennon items “did not correspond to reality.” (A Europol warrant was issued for Karsan, whose whereabouts are unknown; he could not be reached for comment.) That the case itself ever came to be is curious, but its verdict set a legal foundation that the Swiss judgment cited in declaring that Mr. A is not the watch’s rightful owner. According to Guido Urbach, a knowledgeable Swiss attorney, it is unlikely that the Supreme Court will decide any differently.

The secret dedication that Ono had inscribed on the back of the Patek Philippe 2499: “(JUST LIKE) / STARTING OVER / LOVE YOKO / 10 • 9 • 1980 / N. Y. C.”

In a series of follow-up e-mails, I asked Mr. A about what John Lennon’s Patek meant to him. “I’m more of a Rolling Stones man,” he replied, mentioning that he has played bass in a local band for years. Still, “to own the JL watch is really a double good feeling,” he said, adding that he remained hopeful that he could “wear it as soon as possible.”

But, if the Supreme Court confirms the appellate court’s ruling, the watch will likely return to New York. “It’s important that we get it back because of all we’ve gone through over it,” Sean Lennon told me. He added, “I’m not a watch guy. I’d be terrified to wear anything of my dad’s. I never even played one of his guitars.” He paused. “To me, if anything, the watch is just a symbol of how dangerous it is to trust.”

The watch never seems to have given anyone peace and happiness for long. When Lennon was in Bermuda, writing what he described as the best kind of songs—“the ones that come to you in the middle of the night”—Ono was spending time with Sam Green, whom the Times once described as “an unabashed poseur blessed with good looks.” Green had a way with rich and eccentric women. He’d had an affair with the Bakelite heiress, Barbara Baekeland, and by 1980 he was spending his time juggling Greta Garbo, Diana Vreeland, and Ono.

Looking through Green’s papers, which are at Yale’s Beinecke Library, I got an eerie feeling. I found a number of diary entries that corroborated his close relationship with Ono (“Yoko all day and night,” numerous notations read), and a handwritten tally for more than twenty-five thousand dollars—the cost of furniture that Green had sourced to appoint the Hit Factory studio. Whether Green was the one who suggested the Patek as a birthday present for Lennon is hard to confirm, but the cursed history of the watch invites speculation.

The secret engraving, which I found in the never-published Auctionata photo of the watch, is haunting in another way:

Was there a new start? By the time “Double Fantasy” was finished, Ono had lost interest in Green, and Lennon, who had just written and recorded no fewer than four love songs about her, appeared to be a happy man. The weeks they spent together at the Hit Factory that year had been charmed, which means that the Lennon Patek captures a measure of time that no other watch ever will—the little they had left together. ♦

Published in the print edition of the June 24, 2024, issue, with the headline “In Search of Lost Time.”

#The New Yorker #John Lennon #Yoko Ono #Patek 2499 #Patek Philippe #Jay Fielden

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xtruss · 9 months ago

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Bulgari Sets A New Record (Again) For The World's Thinnest Watch With The New Octo Finissimo Ultra

A Mere 0.05mm Later, and the New Ultra Supplants Richard Mille's 2022 Efforts and Also Claims the Record as World's Thinnest Chronometer-Certified Watch.

— Danny Milton | April 08, 2024

World's thinnest watch 2024, the Octo Finissimo Ultra Cosc by Bulgari. Bulgari has developed the thinnest mechanical watch ever produced

I remember it like it was just yesterday. Richard Mille came out absolutely nowhere delivering a watch in partnership with Ferrari that snatched the throne as the world's thinnest watch, beating out the then-recently (like four months recently) released Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra by a mere 0.05mm.

We wrote pretty extensively about the Bulgari upon its release in March 2022, especially considering it not only held the thinness record at the time, but also featured a QR code for an NFT (remember those?) on the dial. The Ferrari then came roaring in with the new record and an engineering achievement, having built the movement into the case rather than going the route Bulgari went, using the caseback as a mainplate for the movement. And so, since July 2022, RM has held the record. That changes today.

The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra returns and is thinner than ever – literally. As of today, the new Ultra boasts a thickness of 1.7mm, beating the RM by another .05mm. And just like RM delivered its record-setting watch with a bit of flare via the architecture, here Bulgari is raising the stakes by COSC-certifying the new Ultra, thereby making it not just the thinnest watch ever made, but also the thinnest chronometer-certified watch ever made. By my count, that's two records (though I am not sure anyone was waiting on the latter).

Of course, this should come as no surprise, as the attainment of records has been core to the Octo Finissimo line since its creation and has been a key factor in its meteoric rise as a collection that now stands shoulder to shoulder with the likes of AP and Patek in its class (integrated bracelet sports watches).

And no matter where you stand on the need to have these records or their importance in the larger scheme of things, you can't deny the fact that Bulgari and Octo Finissimo achieved records for the thinnest tourbillon, minute repeater, self-winding watch, self-winding tourbillon, chronograph GMT, tourbillon chronograph, and perpetual calendar.

And while they may have lost the throne for the thinnest watch, full stop, for a brief period, the brand is back on top. And can add a "COSC-certified" wristwatch" to the above list. So now we know the new Ultra is the standard by which all thin watches (and thin chronometers) are to be measured. What about the watch itself? Well first off, for a complete breakdown of the original Ultra, much of which applies to this watch, I implore you to give this story a read.

Of course, the high-level points are the titanium case and the use of the caseback as a mainplate for the movement. And that caseback needed to be made of an especially hard and dense material: tungsten carbide. One hundred and seventy components of this manually wound movement are assembled and built into the watch. On the previous Ultra, as noted above, there was a QR code on the ratchet, which has now been changed to a Datamatrix, allowing the owner to experience the full details of the Ultra through photo, video, and advanced data.

Making this a COSC-certified movement added complexity to the assembly and construction of this ultra-thin watch but the caseback, used in the previous iteration, still provided enough stability for the now thinner watch. And that's because it was not the movement or the architecture that served as the area where the new thinness was achieved.

No, that would be the sapphire crystal. According to Bulgari the case was reworked to "optimize" the crystal. A careful meticulous process allows the engineers to do away with one-tenth of a millimeter necessary to achieve the record.

But it gets more interesting still, as Bulgari has made it even easier to set this piece. You quite literally place it in a dedicated case with a digital readout. Bulgari describes it as having a dedicated watchmaker at home, noting in its press release that once the watch is in the case, "the desired time is then programmed, and the adjustment cycle launched at the touch of a button. In a matter of seconds, the watch is perfectly adjusted and wound with impeccable precision." That is pretty damn cool.

This new record-breaker will be in a set of 20 pieces and will cost $529,000. In addition, Bulgari is also releasing an Octo Finissimo Ultra in platinum. It boasts the same 1.80mm thickness as the previous Ultra, which is now also a record for a platinum watch. No small deal for sure. One thing is certain, Bulgari has not lost its competitive edge and we'll have to wait and see which records are still left to beat.

The Basics:

Brand: Bulgari

Model: Octo Finissimo Ultra

Diameter: 40mm

Thickness: 1.7mm

Case Material: Titanium

Strap/Bracelet: Bracelet

The Movement:

Caliber: BVL 180

Functions: Hours Minutes Regulator Display

Thickness: 1.5mm

Power Reserve: 50 Hours

Winding: Hand-winding

Frequency: 4Hz

Chronometer Certified: Yes

The release marks Bulgari's ninth record for watch thinness

Pricing & Availability:

Price: $529,000

Availability: TBD

Limited Edition: Yes, 20 Pieces

#Bugari #Breaking News 🗞️#Introducing #New Watches 2024 #Watches and Wonders 2024 #Hodinkee.Com

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theluxurylifestylemagazine · 2 years ago

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The Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication is one of the most complicated mechanical pockets watches ever created. The 18-karat gold watch has 24 complications and was assembled by Patek Philippe. It was named after banker Henry Graves Jr. It took three years to design, and another five years to manufacture the watch, which was delivered to Henry Graves on January 19, 1933. The timepiece contains 920 individual parts, with 430 screws, 110 wheels, 120 removable parts, and 70 jewels, all of them handcrafted on a tiny scale. The piece was sold for the first time in December 1999 for $11 million, smashing its low estimate of $3 million as part of the “Time Museum” sale. It then took the place of the most expensive pocket watch in auction history when it was put on sale again in November 2014. The chronograph sold for more than double its previous record, selling for $24 million at Sotheby's in Geneva. By: @patekphilippe https://www.instagram.com/p/CnU-SsNv05H/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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moonwatchuniverse · 2 years ago

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Gold Apollo 11 tribute Omega Speedmaster n° 6 for sale ! One of the original 1959 “Mercury 7″ NASA astronauts, US Navy Lieutenant Scott Carpenter flew onboard “Aurora 7″ spaceflight mission in May 1962. For that 5 hours long orbital spaceflight mission, Scott Carpenter contacted Breitling America in order to have a chronograph made with a clear 24 hours dial and a larger bezel to be used while wearing space suit gloves. After his flight, Breitling brought up the name “Cosmonaute” to be added to their Breitling Navitimer chronographs range. The name “Astronaut” was already used by Bulova on their Accutron GMT tuning fork pilot watch which was issued to all Mercury astronauts. After a 1963 meeting with French oceanographer & marine conservationist Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Mercury 7 astronaut Carpenter got interested in underwater research. In September 1965, Mercury 7 astronaut Scott Carpenter trained as an Aquanaut and lived for a record 30 days onboard the experimental underwater habitat of the US Navy SeaLab II project. During his stay, Carpenter had radio contact with the Gemini V crew in orbit and received congratulations from the US President Lyndon B. Johnson. As an aquanaut, Carpenter was involved with ocean research and follow-up on Rolex dive watches, often wearing a Rolex Submariner 5512. Carpenter also worked on the Rolex Sea Dweller development. His story can be read in “ For Spacious Skies”. In this June 1972 photo, Carpenter holding a trichogramma card, wore his Gold “Apollo 11 tribute” Omega Speedmaster chronograph which was offered to those 23 NASA astronauts who had already made a spaceflight by November 25, 1969. This Gold Speedmaster n°6 is offered at WindVintage.com (Photo: AP/US Navy)

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cleverhottubmiracle · 3 hours ago

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Written by Menswear Style in Get the Look on the 2nd December 2024 At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the competition was matched only by the spectacle of luxury, as some of the world’s top athletes and celebrities showcased exquisite wristwatches that made a lasting impression. Rolex and Omega timepieces took the spotlight and adorned the wrists of record-breaking athletes and former professional sports stars among other luxury brands. From the Speedmaster Aqua Terra to the GMT-Master II, some stylish Omega watches and Rolex watches celebrities wear to sports events like the Olympic Games capture everyone’s attention. Noah Lyles – Omega Speedmaster Apollo 8 Noah Lyles, the American track sensation, brought his signature speed to the Paris Olympics and his Omega Speedmaster Apollo 8 truly completed his track look. Worn at the highly-anticipated 100m men’s finals, Lyles wore the ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ Speedmaster as he crossed the finishing line and won the gold medal. His watch choice was simple and sleek with a black skeletonised dial and bold perforated leather strap, this model complements Lyles' powerful yet refined style. The Apollo 8 takes inspiration from the lunar missions that made the luxury brand famous. Its name reflects the watch’s striking, all-black design and its connection to space exploration, a heritage dating back to NASA’s Apollo missions. Armand Duplantis – Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M ‘Ultra Light’ Armand Duplantis took sportswear to new heights with his Omega Seamaster at the Paris Olympics. Duplantis impressed crowds by not just defending his Olympic title but taking home another gold medal, beating his previous record, and setting a new world record for pole vault. But, as eyes were fixed on his jumps, eagle-eyed watch collectors spotted Duplantis debuting a brand-new Seamaster on his left wrist. Grade five titanium provides a light watch that is corrosion-resistant and can withstand extreme temperatures, properties which make it a strong and durable watch for many different uses. Its blue anodised dial, complemented by yellow accents, reflects the Swedish flag and matches the Olympic kit Duplantis wore. Stephen Curry – Rolex President Day-Date II Stephen Curry, the NBA superstar known for redefining basketball, brought a touch of refined elegance to the Paris Olympics with his choice of wristwatch. Off-court, Curry was spotted during the Olympics walking around Paris wearing a stylish Rolex President Day-Date II. This 41mm masterpiece in rose gold, featuring a sunburst dial, is a choice that speaks to Curry’s blend of style and precision on and off the court. The 1950s were a historical moment for the prestigious watch brand as several iconic Rolex models were introduced, including the Rolex Submariner, GMT-Master, and Explorer. Released in 1956, the Rolex Day-Date has become one of the most iconic Rolex watches celebrities wear, particularly U.S. Presidents, hence why it’s often referred to as the ‘President’. Stephen Curry chose to wear a Day-Date to the Olympics but Presidents like Lyndon B. Johnson and John F. Kennedy wore the model during their presidencies. Michael Phelps – Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Another sporting great wore Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra during the Olympics this year. Legendary swimmer Michael Phelps is no stranger to the Games as he has won 23 gold medals and is the most decorated Olympian of all time with 28 medals in total. Phelps was spotted attending the Paris event this year wearing a Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M. The 44mm chronograph in 18k red gold, with a grey dial inspired by luxury boat decks, suits Phelps’ storied career and enduring influence. This model is a tribute to the watch brand’s maritime heritage and combines a stylish timepiece with the qualities of a durable sports watch. A strong supporter of Omega, Phelps was part of their latest campaign for the Olympic Games this year alongside Léon Marchand. The campaign, ‘Legends Inspire Legends’ highlights the two different swimming generations between the two athletes and showcases the new Seamaster Aqua Terra timepieces. Tom Brady – Rolex GMT-Master II Tom Brady, seven-time Super Bowl champion, opted for the understated elegance of the Rolex GMT-Master II at the Paris Olympics which stirred excitement among watch collectors. Brady’s GMT-Master II, launched at Watches & Wonders 2024, features a rugged yet sleek Oystersteel case with a striking new colourway, a watch suited for everyday style rather than exclusivity. Going against the ultra-rare and vintage treasures in Tom Brady’s watch collection, this model instead embraces subtlety and understated elegance. The watch stands out among the other flashy and jaw-dropping Rolex watches celebrities wear, including Brady, and doesn’t try too hard - making it the perfect piece for everyday wear. Matching his laid-back outfit, this particular GMT-Master II looks right at home on his wrist. Shaun White – Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Another former athlete who chose Omega as their watch brand of choice for the Olympic Games is gold medal winner Shaun White. Known for his snowboarding and skateboarding, White was another celebrity attending Paris 2024 this year wearing a statement wristwatch. At the opening ceremony, White wore an Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch on his wrist. A key material in White’s wristwatch is Omega’s exclusive ‘Moonshine Gold’, an 18k yellow gold alloy created in 2019. The Moonwatch Professional is one of Omega’s most iconic timepieces, chosen by NASA in 1965 for its manned space missions. Notably, it was the first watch worn on the moon during the Apollo 11 landing. The Paris Olympics didn’t just set records on the track and field, it showcased a new level of celebrity fashion, as current and former sports icons wore timepieces that symbolised prestige and personal style. At high-profile events such as the Olympic Games, it’s clear to see that Rolex and Omega’s innovative wristwatches capture the eye of many celebrities. /* */ Source link

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Top 10 Iconic Rolex Models of All Time

Rolex is synonymous with luxury, precision, and timeless appeal. Over the decades, the brand has introduced numerous watch models that have not only stood the test of time but also shaped the history of horology. Here’s a closer look at the top 10 iconic Rolex models that have captivated watch enthusiasts worldwide.

1. Rolex Submariner

Introduced: 1953 The Rolex Submariner is arguably the most iconic dive watch in history. Renowned for its rugged design and water resistance, it has become a favorite among divers and collectors alike. With its classic unidirectional bezel, luminous markers, and robust stainless steel case, the Submariner is both functional and stylish.

2. Rolex Daytona

Introduced: 1963 The Daytona is a masterpiece designed for motorsport enthusiasts. Its chronograph functions and tachymetric scale allow drivers to measure average speed, making it indispensable for racing. The Paul Newman Daytona, in particular, has achieved legendary status, fetching record-breaking prices at auctions.

3. Rolex Datejust

Introduced: 1945 As the first wristwatch to feature an automatically changing date window, the Datejust revolutionized watchmaking. Its versatile design, available in various sizes and materials, makes it suitable for both formal and casual settings. The Cyclops lens over the date is a signature feature.

4. Rolex Oyster Perpetual

Introduced: 1931 The Oyster Perpetual embodies the essence of Rolex—elegance, precision, and durability. As the world’s first waterproof wristwatch, it laid the foundation for all modern Rolex watches. Its simple yet timeless design appeals to purists.

5. Rolex GMT-Master

Introduced: 1955 Developed for pilots, the GMT-Master allowed users to track multiple time zones simultaneously. Its iconic two-tone bezel, often called the "Pepsi" or "Batman" depending on the color scheme, remains a favorite among travelers and collectors.

6. Rolex Explorer

Introduced: 1953 Born from Rolex’s association with the first successful ascent of Mount Everest, the Explorer symbolizes adventure and resilience. Its clean, legible dial and sturdy design make it a reliable companion for explorers and outdoor enthusiasts

7. Rolex Yacht-Master

Introduced: 1992 The Yacht-Master is a luxurious maritime-inspired timepiece. Combining sporty aesthetics with premium materials like Everose gold and platinum, it’s designed for sailing enthusiasts. The Yacht-Master II, with its regatta timer, takes functionality to the next level.

8. Rolex Milgauss

Introduced: 1956 Engineered for scientists and engineers, the Milgauss is resistant to magnetic fields up to 1,000 gauss. Its signature lightning bolt-shaped second hand and green sapphire crystal give it a distinctive and modern look.

10. Rolex Day-Date (President)

Introduced: 1956 The Day-Date, also known as the "President," is synonymous with power and prestige. Worn by numerous world leaders, it features a full day display alongside the date. Crafted exclusively in precious metals like gold or platinum, it exudes luxury.

Conclusion

Each of these Rolex models has left an indelible mark on the world of horology. From the depths of the ocean to the summit of mountains, Rolex watches are more than timepieces—they are symbols of excellence and ambition. Whether you're a seasoned collector or an aspiring enthusiast, these models represent the pinnacle of watchmaking.

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seagullwatches · 5 days ago

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Sea-Gull Rattrapante: China's first-ever split-seconds chronograph

The rattrapante, a rare and intricate watch complication, has long been revered in the world of horology for its ingenuity and craftsmanship. Historically reserved for the elite, this split-second chronograph function has been synonymous with luxury and precision. Now, Seagull Watches has redefined the landscape with the introduction of the Seagull Rattrapante Split Second Chronograph, offering a high-quality rattrapante at an unprecedented price point. Let’s explore what makes this release a game-changer in the world of mechanical watches.

What Is a Rattrapante?

The term "rattrapante" derives from the French word meaning "to catch up." Also known as a split-second chronograph or double chronograph, this complication includes an additional seconds hand superimposed over the primary chronograph seconds hand. When the chronograph is activated, both hands move together. However, with a press of an additional pusher, the secondary hand stops, allowing the user to measure split times or intervals. Pressing the pusher again lets the secondary hand "catch up" with the primary hand, resuming synchronized movement.

This functionality is ideal for timing multiple laps in a race or comparing events that start simultaneously but end at different times. The intricate mechanics required to achieve this precision make the rattrapante one of the most challenging complications to produce.

A Glimpse into Rattrapante History

The rattrapante’s origins trace back to the 19th century, with Swiss watchmaker Adolphe Nicole credited for its invention. In 1922, Patek Philippe introduced the first rattrapante chronograph wristwatch, a milestone that cemented the complication’s prestige. Over the decades, rattrapante watches have become highly coveted collector’s items, fetching astronomical prices at auctions. For example:

In 1999, a Patek Philippe rattrapante sold for $1.9 million.

In 2016, a Rolex 4113 split-second chronograph broke records at $2.3 million, becoming the most expensive Rolex ever sold.

Such prices reflect the exceptional craftsmanship and exclusivity of this complication—a hallmark of horological mastery.

The Seagull Revolution: Making the Rattrapante Accessible

While traditional luxury brands like Patek Philippe and A. Lange & Söhne continue to dominate the high-end market, Seagull Watches has democratized the rattrapante with its Seagull Rattrapante Split Second Chronograph. Powered by the newly developed ST1961 manual-winding movement, this watch is designed to offer enthusiasts an affordable entry into the world of split-second chronographs.

Key Features of the Seagull Rattrapante Split Second Chronograph:

Cost-Effectiveness: Priced at just $3,499, this timepiece is the most affordable rattrapante chronograph available, making it accessible to a wider audience.

Mechanical Excellence: The ST1961 movement exemplifies Seagull’s dedication to precision engineering and meticulous craftsmanship.

User-Friendly Design: A secondary pusher at the 10 o’clock position allows easy control of the split-second hand, making the functionality intuitive and practical.

Transparent Case Back: The intricate mechanics of the ST1961 movement are on full display, providing enthusiasts with a window into the artistry behind the complication.

Versatile Aesthetic: Its classic design ensures it transitions seamlessly from professional settings to casual outings, appealing to a broad spectrum of watch lovers.

Why the Seagull ST1961 Movement Stands Out

The ST1961 is a new chapter in the evolution of rattrapante movements. Historically, the complexity of split-second chronographs has required extensive expertise, limiting production to only a few elite manufacturers. With the ST1961, Seagull has achieved the impossible: delivering a reliable and precise manual-winding rattrapante movement at a fraction of traditional costs. This achievement solidifies Seagull’s reputation as an innovator in the horological world.

Advantages of the ST1961 Movement:

Affordability: Redefining value in high-end complications.

Craftsmanship: Each movement is crafted with precision, reflecting Seagull’s commitment to quality.

Accessibility: Bringing a traditionally exclusive complication to a broader market.

A New Era for Rattrapante Watches

The introduction of the Seagull Rattrapante Split Second Chronograph marks a turning point in horology. While legacy brands like Patek Philippe and IWC continue to dominate the upper echelons of watchmaking, Seagull’s innovation bridges the gap between exclusivity and accessibility.

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a rattrapante watch but found the prices prohibitive, the Seagull Rattrapante Split Second Chronograph offers a compelling opportunity to experience this marvel of mechanical ingenuity. Combining heritage, innovation, and affordability, it’s a testament to Seagull’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in watchmaking.

The Seagull Rattrapante Split Second Chronograph is a rare and intricate timepiece that brings the renowned rattrapante complication within reach of a broader audience. Revered in the world of horology for its ingenuity and craftsmanship, the rattrapante function—historically reserved for the elite—has always been a symbol of luxury and precision. Now, Seagull is redefining the landscape with the most affordable rattrapante chronograph, priced at just $3,499. Powered by the newly developed ST1961 movement, this timepiece showcases exceptional craftsmanship and precision, reflecting Seagull’s commitment to quality. With only 500 pieces globally, it is a must-have for collectors and enthusiasts alike. Don’t miss the chance to own a piece of horological history.

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