HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong Important Watches Autumn Sale 2012 will take place on 8 October at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Leading the sale is the Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon, a model similar to which set a World Auction Record For Any Modern Timepiece at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2008. Following the success of the last season, the sale also highlights an extraordinary selection of watches in immaculate condition and rarely seen in the market. These range from highly coveted Patek Philippe minute repeaters to exceptionally complicated tourbillons, exquisite bejewelled wristwatches as well as decorative enamel watches of impeccable craftsmanship. Offering over 420 lots, the sale is estimated to achieve a total of HK$89 - 125million / US$11.4 – 16 million* – the highest total pre-sale estimate of the category in the history of Sotheby’s Hong Kong.

Charles Tearle, Head of Watches, Sotheby’s Asia, says, “Sotheby’s Watch Department are very proud of creating such a diverse and impressive selection of important watches, not only from established brands such as Patek Philippe and Cartier, but also the independent manufacturers that rarely appear at auction including Gruebel Forsey, MB&F and F.P.Journe. All sourced within Asia and offered in excellent condition from private collectors, the highlights of the sale include a selection of the most important modern collectible watches available. Although the highlights very much focus on the rare and exceptional, we have included a wide variety of watches that will appeal to a broad audience.”

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SALE
PATEK PHILIPPE REPEATING WRISTWATCHES
A magnificent and extremely rare PATEK PHILIPPE Platinum Double Dialled Wristwatch With Twelve Complications Including Minute Repeater, Tourbillon, Perpetual Calendar, Retrograde Date, Sky Chart, Moon-Phases, Orbit Display And Sidereal Time, 2010 Ref. 5002P Sky Moon Tourbillon, One Of The Last Examples Of This Reference Ever Made (Est. HK$8 – 12 million / US$1.03 – 1.54 million)
History was made when a Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon Ref. 5002P sold for HK$11,751,500 /US$1,503,839 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2008, setting a World Record For Any Modern Wristwatch At Auction. The Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon has been the company’s flagship wristwatch since its release in 2001. Launched as the world’s most complicated wristwatch, the model was manufactured in extremely limited quantity and reserved for Patek Philippe’s elite clientele who were allowed to purchase it only after undertaking a qualifying interview. With the model discontinued in late 2011, this platinum version from 2010 was one of the last Sky Moon Tourbillons made, as well as the first to appear at auction featuring the Patek Philippe quality seal and fitted with the rarer red date indication hand. The Sky Moon Tourbillon not only defined the company as it moved into the new millennium and dominated the industry, but also embodies the entire watch market of the last decade in which demand increased for larger case proportions and more technical complications. A milestone in the history of watchmaking, the Sky Moon Tourbillon has proved a benchmark all other companies strive towards and will be the crown jewel of any refined watch collection.

An Extremely Fine And Rare PATEK PHILIPPE Platinum And Pink Gold Automatic Semi-Skeletonized Minute Repeating Perpetual Calendar Wristwatch With Retrograde Date, Moon Phases And Leap Year Indication, 2009 Ref. 5104P (Est. HK$4 – 5 million / US$510,000 – 640,000)
This is the first unworn example of a Patek Philippe Ref. 5104P to appear at auction. Although similar in dimensions to the famous Sky Moon Tourbillon, this is the first model by the traditional Swiss manufacturer featuring a contemporary style and, therefore, represents a landmark not only for its complications but also for its striking aesthetics. By replacing a traditional dial with sapphire crystal, Patek Philippe were able to create a semi-skeletonized appearance and advertise the level of hand finishing found on the movement that is usually hidden. The impressively proportioned platinum and rose gold case also provides the wearer with one of the loudest and clearest minute repeaters manufactured by a company famous for this highly challenging complication.

A Superb PATEK PHILIPPE Pink Gold Tonneau-Shaped Automatic Minute Repeating Perpetual Calendar Wristwatch With Retrograde Date, Moon Phases And Leap Year Indication, 1998 Ref. 5013R (Est. HK$2.4 – 3.2 million / US$300,000 – 410,000)
Featuring a minute repeater and perpetual calendar among other complications, the Patek Philippe Ref. 5013R was released in 1992 as the company’s most complicated wristwatch. The model remained in production until 2011 and is therefore one of the longest-running grand complications by the Swiss manufacturer. Despite the extended production period, very few were ever made and this is only the fifth example known to the market within the very rare and attractive rose gold case.

EXCEPTIONAL TOURBILLONS
An Important And Rare JAEGER-LECOULTRE Limited Edition White Gold Rectangular Reversible Skeletonized Multi-Axis Spherical Tourbillon Wristwatch With 50-Hour Power Reserve And 24 Hours Indication, Circa 2011 Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2 (Est. HK$1.2 – 1.8 million / US$150,000 – 230,000)
The world’s first wristwatch to use a multi-axis tourbillon with helical hairspring, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2’s movement comprises 371 parts, of which 90 parts were required just to construct the dual-axis tourbillon. With one carriage rotating at a speed of one revolution every 60 seconds and the other at one every 18.75 seconds, the effect is not only visually mesmerizing but provides exceptional accuracy. Created in an edition of 20 pieces in 18k white gold and housed within Jaeger’s famous and iconic Reverso case, the movement and 50-hour power-reserve indicator can be admired via a sapphire window on the reverse side.

Established in 2004, the partnership of Robert Gruebel and Stephen Forsey brings two of the most innovative and creative - not to mention talented - watchmakers of their generation together with the combined goal of designing and making exceptional precision wristwatches. With a total production of approximately only 100 watches per year, examples of the coveted Gruebel Forsey brand are very rarely available for purchase at auction.

An Extremely Fine And Rare GREUBEL FORSEY Platinum Quadruple Tourbillon Wristwatch With Power Reserve Indication, Circa 2009 Quadruple Tourbillon No. 3 (Est: HK$2.2 – 3.5 million / US$280,000 – 450,000)
The Quadruple Tourbillon offered is one of the most complicated manufactured and features four independent tourbillons housed in pairs and mounted at 30-degree angles to each other. These are then connected via a differential gear that calculates median chronometry. The result is an extraordinary level of precision timekeeping rarely seen in a mechanical wristwatch.

An Extremely Fine And Rare GREUBEL FORSEY Limited Edition White Gold Double Tourbillon With 3-Day Power Reserve Indication, Circa 2007 Invention Piece 1 No. 08/11 (Est. HK$2.2 – 3.5 million / US$280,000 – 450,000)
Number 8 from a limited edition of just 11 examples, Greubel Forsey’s Invention Piece One celebrates the original Double Tourbillon 30 degrees concept released by the talented duo. The construction of the movement took the watchmaking team four years to develop and offers not only a masterpiece of horological creativity but a work of art for the wrist.

MECHANICAL INNOVATIONS
A Rare And Attractive GIRARD-PERREGAUX Platinum Musical Wristwatch With Music On Demand/ Hourly “Au Passage” Melody, Melody Selector and Power Reserve Indication For Music, 2005 Opera Three No. 2 (Est. HK$1.2 – 1.8 million / US$150,000 – 230,000)
Fresh to the auction market, the Opera Three is the latest offering from Girard Perregaux’s flagship line of haute horlogerie and the brand’s first musical wristwatch. Offered in a platinum case of traditional style with constraint proportions, the complexity of the mechanism is hidden from view while the watch is worn. Fitted with an entire miniature music box within the movement, this marvellous creation allows the wearer to listen to a selection of music – Mozart’s A Little Night Music or Tchaikovsky’s No Great Love – played on demand, every hour, or not at all. A delightful treasure of great amusement for the true connoisseur.

BEJEWELLED TIMEPIECES
Cartier have had a long history of creating iconic animal-themed jewellery and bejewelled timepieces featuring beautiful creatures from felines to eagles, especially for royalty and celebrities. This season Sotheby’s is delighted to present two splendid examples with impeccable craftsmanship set to delight watch and jewellery connoisseurs alike.

An CARTIER Unique Edition Lady's White Gold And Diamond-Set Eagle Bangle Watch 2009 No. 1/1 (Est. HK$1.9 – 2.8 million / US$240,000 –360,000)
Crafted in the form of a dazzling stooping eagle, this magnificent and detailed bangle watch offered this season is a unique piece made in an 18k white gold case and set with diamonds totalling over 42 carats. Offered publicly for the first time, this stunning work of haute horlogerie combined with jewellery presents a unique opportunity to acquire a piece of Cartier’s glamour and tradition.

A Very Fine And Rare CARTIER Limited Edition Palladium And Full Diamond-Set Skeletonized Wristwatch With Three Rotatable Dials, 2009 Santos Triple 100 No. 12/50 (Est. HK$1 – 1.5 million / US$130,000 – 190,000)
Made in an edition of 50 pieces, the Cartier Santos triple dial wristwatch features an ingenious revolving louvered-dial operated by the crown that can be adjusted to display a traditional white dial with black numerals, a detailed dragon motif or angled to reveal the skeleton movement underneath. Offered in an oversized diamond-set palladium case, this is the first example with the dragon motif – an auspicious symbol of divinity, power and good fortune in traditional Chinese culture – to appear at auction, and is expected to stir intense bidding among Chinese collectors.

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium