Mid Summer 2023 Watch Industry Update

Auction Fatigue, New Releases, and What’s on the Horizon

What’s happening, watch fans? 2023 has already held plenty of excitement in independent watchmaking and in the watch industry broadly. Auction season got off to an incredible start this year and it seemed like there was an auction every other week. Auctions in Geneva, Hong Kong, and New York dominated the scene and from what I saw, and have personally experienced, there is a lot of auction fatigue setting in. In Hong Kong, it seemed that many bidders did not show up to the first day of auctions.

That opening of auction season was a whirlwind with load of hero lots and incredible watches. So much so, it was hard to keep track of which watch was at which auction house. That said, I am grateful for a break from watch auctions.

The auction houses have not published their calendars for the rest of the year, but we know that Only Watch, the biennial watch auction to support research for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, will occur on November 5th, and will be auctioned by Christie’s.

Only Watch and participating brands have announced their pieces for the auction, and there are some stunners in the auction this year. Some personal favorites from the lots (which can be viewed here) include the De Bethune Dream Watch 5 Seeking Perfect Tourbillon, for the obvious reason that the case was made during our production of Seeking Perfect.

**De Bethune Dream Watch 5 Seeking Perfect Tourbillon — Courtesy of Only Watch**

I am also excited to see the lots from Grönefeld, Bulgari, Urwerk, and the MB&F x H. Moser collaboration. I am also very excited to see the lots from Patek Philippe, which always seem to raise the most money, and the lot from Rexhep Rexhepi. There is no shortage of lots to adore in the Only Watch auction. I will write an article after I have seen the collection and have handled the watches with some more thoughts and guesses as to what might be big winners on the day.

Following Only Watch, The Grand Prix of d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) awards will be presented on Thursday the 9th of November. This likely means that Phillips will have their Geneva auction on the 11th and 12th of November. Sotheby’, too, will likely host their Geneva auction during this time. These auctions, like their spring counterparts, will also include Hong Kong and New York editions to close out the year.

Geneva will likely be quite the auction scene this year with Only Watch, and I am curious to see whether the auction houses go all in on their fall auctions or pare back and wait for Spring 2024. What will be most telling is whether the auction houses can sustain the volume of lots they have been selling in the last few years and if the money is flowing as liberally in the fall auctions as it has flowed in the last five years.

Turning away from the auctions, there have been some industry shifts in the last month. Audemars Piguet CEO François-Henry Bennahmias will be stepping down at the end of the year and Audemars Piguet has announced the appointment of Ilaria Resta to the role of CEO. Ms. Resta, a Swiss-Italian national, will enter the company as CEO on 1 January, 2024. Resta comes to AP from from the cosmetic industry, most recently serving as the President, Global Perfumery and Ingredients at Firmenich.

Ms. Resta brings a skill set that I believe is necessary in the watch industry- she understands managing and sourcing hundreds of thousands of components, the intricacies of such a system, and how to manage a team that is working with so many small parts. There is a lot of crossover between the sourcing methods for these two worlds and I think this will be of great value to Audemars Piguet.

It is worth nothing here, too, that this is a major change for the watch industry. Ms. Resta is only the second female CEO of a major watch brand, with Jaeger-LeCoultre being the other major brand helmed by Catherine Rénier. (Christine Hutter is also the force behind Moritz-Grossman and its CEO and is worth mentioning here, too.)

I look forward to seeing where Ms. Resta guides the brand. With so much emphasis and work put into the Royal Oak Offshore and Code 11:59 lines, I look forward to seeing where Ms. Resta pushes the brand. I, for one, hope there will be more collaborations, like the work the brand did with Carolina Bucci, and a move away from the extreme novelty pieces the brand has been producing in recent years.

**Audemars Piguet Royal Oak with the Frosted Gold finish of Florentine jewelry designer Carolina Bucci**

New Releases

There have been three releases from independent watch brands in the last few weeks and I wanted to highlight them here. Two belong to MB&F, one to Urwerk, and one to H. Moser & Cie.

MB&F

MB&F have launched three watches in the last few weeks. The first was the LMX Paris Edition, in collaboration with long-time retail partner Chronopassion. Not necessarily a new watch, MB&F has done a number of limited edition collaborations with retailers who have supported the brand for a long time. At Geneva Watch Days 2022 they released the Legacy Machine Split Escapement Evo Beverley Hills Edition with WesTime.

Having seen both the LMX and the purple Paris Edition in the metal, and having put both on my wrist, I am smitten with the purple limited edition LMX. Released in a series of 15 pieces, the watch is available exclusively through Chronopassion. It is a great pieces and the purple dial feels viscerally like MB&F. I don’t dislike the steel and brass or red gold and black editions, but the purple feels much more adventurous, much more playful, much more like an MB&F to me.

They also have release the Horological Machine 8 Mark 2 in a limited edition of 33 pieces in British Racing Green and a production series in white. Having put both these watches on the wrist, there is an advancement here from MB&F and I can see the subtle changes coming from the design department and from Max Büsser. He is moving towards a smaller, slimmer aesthetic. This watch is most likely the most wearbale Horological Machine on the market. It is thin, it is lightweight, and it is encroaching on the territory of — dare I make the comparison — Richard Mille. It’s not the same thing at all, but HM8 Mark 2 fits neatly under a shirt cuff (but why bother?) and it is delightful on the wrist.

**MB&F HM8 Mark 2 Production version in white**

**MB&F HM8 Mark 2 Limited Edition in British Racing Green**

Cars have been in Max’s blood for a long time and this expression of automative design in a watch is easy to appreciate. It is also so easy to glance at your wrist and see the time with this watch on. In a meeting you don’t have to turn your wrist to get a look at the dial. A subtle look down will give you all of the info you need to know.

MB&F have also released a 5-piece limited edition of the Legacy Machine Flying T in 18k white gold with dial ‘Cœur de Rubis’, or anyolite. It is. a stunning ruby dial set against an 18k white gold case. The diamond setting around the case gives the watch a very beautiful shine. Available only at PMY The Hour Glass in Bangkok, I am certain this edition was pre-sold and it is a beautiful addition to the Flying T Series, which receives and update nearly every year, however this marks the second special edition of the Flying T to launch this year (the Emmanuel Taprin edition being the first).

**MB&F Legacy Machine Flying T ‘Cœur de Rubis’**

Urwerk

Urwerk has released a new color way in their UR-120 “Spock” in Space Black. The Space Black edition is my favorite color way and the watch I wished Urwerk had originally released. For a long time, I said I could never wear an Urwerk because they only made watches in black and I almost never wear black, save for the occasional (and I mean very occasional) tuxedo. But there is just something that feels so Urwerk, so Swiss-German about their watches in black. It feels right.

And for me, the UR-120 should have been first released in black with the yellow hour indication. It feels like that is Urwerk heritage and the way they should launch all of their pieces. This watch would work amazingly well on their bright yellow strap. It would pop, it would be fun, and it would be a great watch to own.

For Urwerk, experimenting with color has been a recent change to their design. I have appreciated it as have many other collectors, especially in the UR-100 series, which has offered wider access to collectors to own an Urwerk. That said, I think their classic colorway can’t be beat. It is perfect for this watch in particular, too.

When I put the UR-120 on my wrist before launch, I liked the watch, but had wished to see it in black. Now that it is here, I think this is the only colorway to buy.

H. Moser & Cie.

**H. Moser Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic Boutique Edition**

H. Moser & Cie. used to be known for their crazy limited runs of watches, using the same case and movement, with different materials and different dials. With the Meylan family at the helm, H. Moser’s product offering has been tightened and the limited edition policy is gone for the most part. Special boutique and retailer editions notwithstanding. It should come as no surprise that H, Moser wants to celebrate the launch of their boutiques with a limited edition watch, in this case the H. Moser Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic Boutique Edition with a red gold case and a Matrix Green fumé dial.

The Streamliner chrono has long been a crowd pleaser and it doesn’t come as a shock that this is the first boutique offering from H. Moser. I also love the choice to use red gold, being particularly fond of the metal and having bothered Edouard Meylan for at least 4 years now to make a watch in Red Gold (although I had hoped he would make it complete with a red gold bracelet). Time will tell if that is coming.

Richard Mille

While not a new watch, Richard Mille, like Rolex, decided to do something special for the 100th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. RM launched the RM 72–01 with a Quartz TPT case that is saturated with green or white resin to create the green and white Le Mans livery we have come to expect from Richard Mille. I love the look and the layout in the green and white, and I think the RM 72–01 is the fitting watch to receive the Le Mans treatment. This edition is limited to 150 Pieces.

**RM 72–01 Automatic Winding Flyback Chronograph Le Mans Classic**

What’s Next?

With a summer break from watch auctions, there are likely a few launches coming over the summer, but don’t expect much before Geneva Watch Days as many will be on holiday enjoying time away from ateliers and watchmaking benches.

Geneva Watch Days will take place on August 29th to September 2nd, and expect releases from most, if not all, of the participating brands.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more updates about Geneva Watch Days and upcoming releases, auctions, and happenings from the world of independent watchmaking.