Taking place every two years, the Only Watch charity auction is one of the most anticipated events in the watch world calendar. Top watch companies, from big-name brands to smaller independents, are invited to create unique pieces and donate them to the auction, which in turn benefits research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The 2023 Only Watch auction will be the 10th edition and will take place on November 5, 2023, in Geneva managed by Christie’s. Like previous editions, the event will be held under the patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco. While the auction is about four months away, the lots have already been announced. A total of 73 watchmakers/brands are participating, featuring 16 collaborations and resulting in a lineup of 62 lots. We’ve combed through the watches and picked what we think are the best and worst from the 2023 Only Watch auction block. Keep reading for our thoughts.
Update: The Only Watch 2023 auction has been delayed until 2024 because “questions were raised about the allocation of funds and the governance of the AMM,” the charity that created and runs Only Watch. Audemars Piguet has pulled out of the auction. Grey Market Magazine will keep you updated.
Watch on Grey Market TV: Only Watch 2023 Auction: Watch Experts Unveil the Ultra Rare Watches
What is Only Watch and Why Is it Important?
Only Watch was launched in 2005 by Luc Pettavino following his son’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) diagnosis. He teamed up with key members of the watch industry with a mission to fund research on this debilitating genetic disease that affects one out of 3,500 boys. Today, the auction has blossomed into one of the most significant horological events on the calendar, occurring every two years and involving some of the most important watch manufacturers in the business. Most importantly, the Only Watch auction plays a crucial role in funding research and support for those affected by DMD.
To participate, watch brands have to create a unique piece, a one-of-one, specifically for the auction. Some watchmakers take this challenge to heart and we’ve seen some truly groundbreaking and experiential timepieces hit the Only Watch auction block. Unlike other auctions, this event allows manufacturers the freedom to push boundaries and try unconventional designs and materials. The success of certain Only Watch pieces has even influenced brands to incorporate new features and designs into their regular productions.
We’ve also witnessed some world record-breaking prices at the auction, which is a great thing as it benefits a noble cause. For example, in 2019 the first and only stainless steel Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime in steel was sold for CHF 31 million to become the most expensive watch in the world. What’s more, in 2021, Tudor’s Black Bay GMT entry for Only Watch sold for a whopping $650,000!
2023 Only Watch World Tour
If you want to see the watches in the metal before they go up for auction, the Only Watch 2023 World Tour will kick off in September where all the watches will be presented to the public across 8 cities:
City | Date | Address | Time |
Los Angeles | Sept 6 – 9 | Christie’s 336 N Camden Dr, Beverly Hills | Wed – Fri: 10am – 5pm Sat: 11am – 4pm |
New York | Sept 14 – 17 | Christie’s 20 Rockefeller Plaza, NYC | Thur – Sat: 10am– 5pm Sun: 1pm – 5pm |
Monaco | Sept 27–30 | Monaco Yacht Show Parvis Piscine Tent, Quai Albert Ier | Wed – Fri: 10am– 6:30pm Sat: 10am– 6pm |
Hong Kong | Oct 5-6 | Christie’s 22nd Floor Alexandra House 18 Chater Road, Central | Thur – Fri: 10.30am – 5.30pm |
Bangkok | Oct 11-12 | Christie’s, 20th Floor, Gaysorn Tower Unit L20C Prapavadee Sophonpanich, 121 Ratchadamri Road, Lumpini, Patumwan | Wed – Thur: 10am– 6pm |
Singapore | Oct 20-22 | Malmaison by The Hour Glass 270 Orchard Road #01-01 | Fri: 11.30am – 6.30pm Sat: 11.30am – 7.30pm Sun: 11.30am – 6pm |
Dubai | Oct 27 | Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons Museum of the Future Sheikh Zayed Road | Fri: 10am – 1pm & 4pm – 10pm |
Geneva | Nov 3-5 | Four Seasons Hôtel des Bergues Quai des Bergues 33 | 10am – 6pm |
OK, let’s get to this year’s lineup of watches, and highlight our favorites and least favorites of the bunch.
2023 Only Watch: The Hits
Audemars Piguet
Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Openworked Only Watch Edition
Price Estimate: CHF 300,000 – 350,000
Combining a white ceramic case and bracelet with a vivid blue-toned skeletonized movement, the 2023 Audemars Piguet Flying Tourbillon for Only Watch 2023 is absolutely striking.
This special edition AP watch is based on the Royal Oak’s 50th anniversary model from 2022 but this is the first time we’ve seen this particular combination of material, movement, and colorway from AP. This Only Watch Edition includes a blue inner bezel, white gold hour markers and hands, and a special 22K gold rotor that has also been colored in the same blue hue.
Of all the watches on offer at Only Watch 2023, this is one of Roman’s, Adrian’s, and Marco’s top three picks, and with looks and mechanics like these, that’s hardly a surprise. Roman also predicts that we’ll eventually see similar executions from Audemars Piguet in its regular production catalog.
Tag Heuer
Tag Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds for Only Watch
Price Estimate: CHF 150,000 – 300,000
Another one of Roman’s top three picks, this watch pays homage to Tag Heuer’s iconic Monaco collection while adding a fresh and contemporary twist. While we’ve seen the Monaco watch many, many times before from TAG Heuer, we’ve never seen it quite like this. For Only Watch, TAG Heuer spared no expense in making the unique textured titanium case, which is a new material that was crafted in the TAG Heuer Institute specifically for the Only Watch auction.
The watch is also home to a brand new Caliber TH81-00 automatic split-seconds chronograph movement. This is the first mechanical split-seconds chronograph for TAG Heuer, but we’re certain it won’t be the last.
Frederique Constant x Christiaan van der Klaauw
Tourbillon Planetarium Only Watch 2023
Price Estimate: CHF 90,000 – 110,000
This year’s Only Watch collection includes more than a few collaborations and according to Marco, the Frederique Constant x Christiaan van der Klaauw partnership yielded one of his favorites of all the lots. Roman also gives the space-inspired watch a solid A grade.
The two Dutch-founded watchmaking houses combined their expertise to create the stunning Tourbillon Planetarium Only Watch 2023 watch. Marrying Frederique Constant’s in-house tourbillon and Christiaan van der Klaauw’s planetarium (the world’s smallest), the 42mm platinum watch is both mechanically impressive and aesthetically beautiful. The blue aventurine dial plays up the watch’s cosmic vibe, setting the perfect backdrop for the six mini planets that orbit the Sun in real time.
F. P. Journe
Chronomètre Bleu Furtif
Price Estimate: CHF 200,000 – 400,000
F.P. Journe has always created a new movement for Only Watch, and this year’s edition is no exception. Say hello to the Chronomètre Bleu Furtif, powered by the new F.P. Journe Caliber 1522, which is not only crafted in beautiful 18k rose gold but also has hidden mechanical tricks up its sleeve. The power reserve and moonphase indicators are integrated into the back of the movement, therefore are only visible via the caseback. According to the company, this was done so that only the owner can enjoy the indications.
The front of this full tantalum F. P. Journe watch (tantalum is notoriously difficult to work with) is also as mysterious on the dial side — its blue enamel dial is home to frosted numerals that can only be read properly when light hits them while the watch is directly facing you. So, time-telling is only reserved for the wearer and not curious onlookers. Named after the French word for “stealth,” the F. P. Journe Chronomètre Bleu Furtif is one of Marco’s top three picks of all the 2023 Only Watch pieces.
Louis Vuitton
Tambour Einstein Automata Only Watch 2023
Price Estimate: CHF 340,000 – 440,000
It’s clear that Louis Vuitton wasn’t afraid to go wild with its 2023 Only Watch donation – – the Tambour Einstein Automata Only Watch 2023 piece is certainly not for everyone but its boldness must be applauded. In fact, this is also part of Roman’s and Adrian’s best of the bunch and Marco agrees that it’s a very cool watch, in the craziest way possible.
Produced by Louis Vuitton’s La Fabrique du Temps manufacture, the star of the 18k white gold watch is a hand-engraved relief of the popular picture of Albert Einstein sticking out his tongue. Another playful detail is the reinterpretation of “E = mc2” for the power-reserve indicator where LV (Louis Vuitton) indicates full power while OW (Only Watch) denotes the need for winding. To read the time, the wearer has to activate the automata complication via a lever and witness Einstein’s face changing while a window on his forehead will display the hour digitally. Conversely, the minutes are indicated by the atomic nucleus sculpture, which turns around the dial to the current minute.
Louis Vuitton took the creativity part of the assignment very seriously here and gave us a fantastic complicated mechanical watch that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Hublot
Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Only Watch
Price estimate: CHF 350,000 – 400,000
Hublot’s entry will not only speak to fans of the watch brand but to fans of world-renowned Japanese artist Takashi Murakami too, and when the worlds of modern horology and contemporary art collide, great things can happen.
Hublot has of course made Takashi Murakami watches before, but this Only Watch special edition features the actual silhouette of the iconic smiling flower as the case of the watch. That case is fashioned from sapphire (a signature of Hublot) while the twelve petals are set with 444 gemstones for some serious sparkle. Mechanically it’s impressive too as this is Hublot’s first-ever central tourbillon, and the watch boasts 150 hours of power reserve.
Adrian has nominated this Hublot and Murakami collaboration as one of his top-three picks and the best Only Watch timepiece for ladies.
Honorable Mentions
While the six watches above are Roman, Adrian, and Marco’s best of 2023 Only Watch, there are a few others that deserve an honorable mention.
For instance, the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Marble watch from Bulgari (price estimate: CHF 150,000 – 250,000) is another fun entry that leans into the brand’s Italian heritage by covering the titanium case and bracelet in Verde di Alpi marble. The Octo Finissimo Tourbillon is still the record-holder (claiming the title in 2013) for the thinnest tourbillon ever made and it took Bulgari about 800 hours of work to create this green marble variant for Only Watch.
Jean-Claude Biver is a veteran of the watch industry, with a list of some of the most well-known watch brands on his resumé but his namesake marque is new, having only debuted in 2023. The Biver Catharsis watch (price estimate: CHF 500,000 – 700,000) for Only Watch 2023 is an intriguing approach to the minute repeater Carillon tourbillon, completely lacking any visible display of time on the dial (there is an hour hand visible via the sapphire caseback) and relies on the audible component to tell the time. The dial is reserved for a beautiful depiction of a sunset over a rough sea using sapphires, meteorites, silver obsidian, and opal. Roman gives this one an A+ for aesthetics and creativity.
Finally, Tiffany & Co. returns to its roots by unveiling a stunning Bird on a Rock pendant watch (price estimate: CHF 350,000 – 500,000) with a 34-carat faceted aquamarine crystal home to a dial with 461 snow-set diamonds.
2023 Only Watch: The Misses
While the cause is noble, not every watchmaker’s donation was impressive. Some felt a touch uninspired but not producing anything truly unique while others went a little too heavy-handed with the event’s colorful theme.
Blancpain
Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 1
Price estimate: CHF 20,000 – 30,000
Roman gives this one an F-, not because he doesn’t like the watch (it’s fine) but because Blancpain keeps rehashing the same ol’ Fifty Fathoms dive watch with zero creativity behind the execution. He’s not wrong; the vast majority of Blancpain’s donations to Only Watch since 2005 were Fifty Fathoms watches.
Jaquet Droz
Rolling Stones Automaton – Only Watch 2023
Price estimate: CHF 250,000 – 300,000
Automaton watches are a signature of Jaquet Droz and often feature nature-inspired scenes. However, in 2022, the company unveiled an automaton watch dedicated to the Rolling Stones. The rock band theme returns for Only Watch 2023 but this time, rendered in the event’s official color palette. And the watch is a hot mess. This is Marco’s least favorite watch from the auction, and it’s not hard to see why.
Carl F. Bucherer
Manero Tourbillon Double Peripheral Only Watch
Price estimate: CHF 60,000 – 100,000
Marco said it best when he described this watch as something he’d expect to see on Ali Express, emphasizing that it looks like a bunch of unrelated components slapped together. From the lime green tourbillon cage to the forged carbon case to the carbon-flecked black marbled-inspired dial, the watch’s identity feels lost. On the other hand, Roman likes the look of the watch. We have to side with Marco here – – this is not Carl F. Bcherer’s best work.
Other Questionable Pieces
Unfortunately, too many watch companies ran too hard with the rainbow-colored theme of this year’s Only Watch, and it resulted in some pieces that came off as gimmicky or juvenile. Some examples include the Czapek Place Vendôme Complicité, Grönefeld 1941 Principia Mandala, Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur, Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer, Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece, and the Zenith Chronomaster Sport box set.
The Richard Mille Talisman Origine necklace (price estimate: CHF 600,000 – 800,000) was also a bit of a headscratcher, but given the intense love for RM in the market, it will likely do very well at auction. The enormous Urwerk Space-Time Blade (price estimate: CHF 45,000 – 80,000) is another controversial creation, however, we can think of a few collectors who would be happy to add this light saber-esque sculpture to their collections — Roman mentioned he might bid on it.
Again, we admire all the generous donations given; these will add to the vital funds needed for research into DMD. However, some designs were simply not as successful as others.
The Unknowns
A few watch brands didn’t reveal pictures of their watches, building anticipation on what they will eventually donate to the auction.
- MB&F and H. Moser & Cie Panda Streamliner
- Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Antimagnétique
- Patek Philippe – A watch that’ll pay tribute to Philippe Stern
Stay tuned as to what these watches will be because we predict that they will be insane — especially the Patek Philippe one.
Also, check back with Grey Market Magazine after the auction where we’ll discuss all the auction results! Overall, this year’s lineup gets a B -, but that may all change when we finally get to see the last three remaining watches.