All the Indies for sale at the 2023 Autumn New York Auctions

What’s happening, watch fans? It’s official, Formula1 came to a close with another Redbull and Verstappen victory, and the Hong Kong Auctions are behind us. 

An MB&F LMX - Photograph by Author

Coming up we have the last auctions of the year in New York. Christie’s kicks off the New York auction week on December 5th, followed by Sotheby’s Important Watches on December 7th, with the Phillips The New York Watch Auction: NINE bringing the week to a close on December 9th and 10th. 

These last auctions of the year are thick with indies, and with performances in Hong Kong suggesting more realistic pricing across the market, there could be some interesting finds this week in New York.

Of note to me at Christie’s are Lot 23, a Harry Winston x F.P. Journe Opus Project Piece Unique for Opus 1. I wrote about the Opus Project here, and I still think it is one of the most important parts of independent watchmaking history. It’s importance cannot be underestimated, it was the first collaboration in the series and would determine the fate of the rest of the series. Luckily for all parties involved, these watches remain highly sought after. 

At Sotheby’s, the greatest attraction to me is Lot 77, the Richard Mille RM002 in Rose Gold. They didn’t make many of the RM001 and that watch acted as a prototype for the RM002. This is a chance to own a piece of the brand’s history and the watch that truly started the machine that is Richard Mille. It is an incredible timepiece and one that I think is historical, important, and worth noting. Phillips also has an RM002V2 for sale in white gold (Lot 109).

Meanwhile over the weekend at Phillips there are a number of lots I am watching, and I am curious to see the large number of MB&F pieces consigned to this auction. Shockingly, I remain most interested in seeing how Lot 156 performs. Lot 156 is the F.P. Journe Ferrari Centigraphe, with a dial that is painted with the specific rossa corsa, or racing red of Ferrari, with yellow hands to match. This watch is so important for the history of motorsport, because it resulted from Journe's close relationship with Jean Todt, then head of Scuderia Ferrari. It’s an important watch from Journe, my favorite reference of the Centigraphe, and the only watch that turns your jab into a cross because of its heft. 

It’ll be a great week at the auctions with indies for everyone! There are 23 Journe’s for sale, 10 De Bethune, 8 Richard Mille, 7 MB&F, 2 George Daniels, and a single Philippe Dufour Simplicity. In short, there is a lot at auction and a lot to love from the independents!

Christie’s Important Watches New York - December 5th, 2023 - 108 Total Lots

Lot 20 - F.P. Journe Rose Gold Centigraphe Souverain #239-CT

Lot 21 - F.P. Journe Centigraphe Linesport Titanium #366-CTS

Lot 22 - F.P. Journe Linesport Chronograph Rattrapante Rose Gold #116-CM

Lot 23 - Harry Winston x F.P. Journe Opus One Piece Unique Mother of Pearl with Diamond and Gem Setting

Lot 24 - F.P. Journe Octa Reserve De Marche Platinum Brass Movement #200-02A

Lot 25 - F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance “Pre-Souscription” Platinum Brass Movement Case # 031/00R

Lot 26 - F.P. Journe Tourbillon Remontoir D’Egalite Platinum Case, Brass Movement #27

Lot 27 - Grönefeld 1941 8 Second Remontoir Rose Gold #77/188

Lot 28 - De Bethune DB27TIS3V2 Titan Hawk #004

Lot 29 - De Bethune DB28 Grand Sport Blue

Lot 30 - De Bethune DB28XP Steel Wheels No. 12/25

Lot 31 - Richard Mille RM018 Piece Unique to Celebrate Boucheron

Lot 32 - Urwerk UR-102 Stainless Steel, Case No. 13

Lot 33- Urwerk UR-105M Iron Knight no. 25/77

Lot 34 - MB&F Legacy Machine No. 2 Rose Gold, Blue Dial #/04/12

Lot 35- Christophe Claret Maestro ref. MTR.DMC16, #17/88

Sotheby’s Important Watches - December 7th - 158 Total Lots

• Lot 10 - Richard Mille RM035 AN AL-CA “Baby Nadal” #146’143

• Lot 67- M.A.D. Editions M.A.D.1 Founders Edition

• Lot 71 - F.P. Journe Chronomètre Optimum Rose Gold #037-CO

• Lot 72 - F.P. Journe Octa Calandrier - Platinum - #244Q

• Lot 73- F.P. Journe Chronmètre à Résonance”Ruthenium” - Platinum Case - 66/99R

• Lot 77 - Richard Mille RM002 AF PG - Rose Gold #121 

• Lot 78 - Richard Mille RM36-01CA-Ti AO G-Sensor Tourbillon Sébastian Loeb

• Lot 79 - MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual 03'W63'202

• Lot 80 - Grönefeld 1941 Decennium Tourbillon Platinum #62'806

• Lot 81 - H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Chronograph

• Lot 82 - H. Moser & Cie. Pioneer Center Seconds Rose Gold, Blue Fumé Dial

• Lot 83 - De Bethune DB28 Kind of Blue Tourbillon

• Lot 84 - De Bethune DB25 Starry Varius No.1

• Lot 85 - MB&F Horological Machine No.9 Sapphire Vision Flow

• Lot 86 - Kari Voutilainen 217QRS White Gold Retrograde Date 06/10

• Lot 87 - Urban Jurgensen Reference 3 Perpetual Calendar Platinum

• Lot 88 - Vianney Halter Classic Liberty in Titanium

• Lot 92- Ferdinand Berthoud FB 2RSM.1 White Gold with Blue Dial no. 03/20

• Lot 98- De Bethune DB27 S1 Titan Hawk 

• Lot 99 - H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Perpetual Calendar Ref. 1800-0202, White GOld Green Dial

• Lot 100 - Ludovic Ballouard Upside Down, Jump Hour, Platinum with Blue Dial

• Lot 118 - Richard Mille RM016 Titanium #594

• Lot 120 - De Bethune DB27 Titan Hawk Black Dial, no. 015

• Lot 121- Romain Gauthier Logical One Yellow Gold, #⅕

• Lot 141- Richard Mille RM011 “Felipe Massa” White Gold & Titanium, #246

Phillips New York Watch Auction NINE - December 9 & 10, 2023 - 156 Lots in total

• Lot 1 - S.U.F Helsinki Ref V1.001 Stainless Steel Vetehinen Blue Dial #19/26

• Lot 2 - Naoya Hida & Co Type 1C Stainless Steel #17

• Lot 4 - De Bethune DB25WS3 White Gold Blue Dial No. 23

• Lot 5- Urwerk 110PT ‘Torpedo’ Platinum Bezel Titanium Case

• Lot 6 - MB&F Horological Machine no.7 Titanium Blue Bezel no.07/50

• Lot 7 - F.P. Journe Octa Automatic Reserve Platinum, no. 002-AR

• Lot 8- Kari Voutilainen Observatoire White Gold, Brown Guilloche Dial

• Lot 9 - De Bethune Dream Watch 5 Titanium

• Lot 10 - F.P. Journe Chronmètre à Résonance Platinum 38mm, no. 351-RN

• Lot 11 - F.P. Journe T-30 Tourbillon Anniversaire Historique  no. 97/99

• Lot 12 - George Daniels Millennium in Yellow Gold

• Lot 14- George Daniels Anniversary in Yellow Gold no. 16/35

• Lot 66- De Bethune DB25SJ Starry Night White Gold with Diamonds

• Lot 68 - Richard Mille RM007 White Gold with Diamonds

• Lot 72 - Grönefeld Parallax Tourbillon Stainless Steel no. 9/12

• Lot 73- F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain Rose Gold on Bracelet 069-04TN

• Lot 100 - Lang & Heyne Georg Rose Gold No.1 

• Lot 101 - Speake Marin The Piccadilly Ref. PWG3G7 White Gold

• Lot 102 - Hajime Asaoka Tsunami no. 007 Stainless Steel

• Lot 103 - MB&F Horological Machine No. 8 “Can-Am” in Pink Gold and Titanium

• Lot 104 - F.P Journe Chronomètre Souverain Black Label Platinum Black Dial no. 235-CS

• Lot 105 - F.P. Journe Octa Calendrier Platinum #536-Q

• Lot 105A - Grönefeld 1941 Principia “Special Edition” for Cellini Meteorite Dial 1/12

• Lot 106 - Kari Voutilainen Vingt-8 Optical Illusion, Platinum case with blue dial

• Lot 107 - Harry Winston x Jean-François Mojon Opus X

• Lot 108 - F.P. Journe Vagabondage 1 Platinum 44/69V

• Lot 109 - Richard Mille RM002-V2 White Gold, movement  #80, case #126

• Lot 110 - F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain Platinum, no. 43/99T

• Lot 111 - F.P. Journe Chronmètre à Résonance “Pre-Souscription” 43/00R

• Lot 130 - F.P. Journe Octa Automatique Lune Platinum, no. 182-AL

• Lot 131 - MB&F Legacy Machine No. 2 in Rose Gold

• Lot 133 - F.P. Journe Octa Chronographe Platinum, brass movement, no. 090-03C

• Lot 134 - MB&F Horological Machine No.4 “Thunderbolt” Titanium

• Lot 135 - Philippe Dufour Simplicity no.178 in Platinum

• Lot 155 - F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain Ruthenium on bracelet, no. 47/99-01T

• Lot 156 - F.P. Journe Centigraphe Souverain Ferrari, Platinum, on bracelet, no. 318-CT

Happy bidding everyone, see you after the auctions for some wrap up content. I’d love to know what you’d like to see in these guides going forward and in 2024. Please reach out and drop me a line - I want to make this a helpful resource for anyone looking for specific independent pieces! Happy bidding and enjoy the auctions!