A.L. Breguet, Auctions, and a King’s Ransom in Rolex

(Image: Antiquorum)

In a world gone mad…

Today, a gold pocket watch scored $935,442 USD before the gavel fell at the latest Christie’s Geneva watch auction. Given a choice between something approaching the Holy Grail of horology and a diamond-studded, mass produced Rolex once owned by a third world despot, bidders chose worse than this guy.

The pocket watch in question was a Breguet Tourbillon designed and built by the man Himself. Yes, Breguet the man, not the brand, not the numeral font or the hands, and not the hairspring. We’re talking A.L., Breguet, the guy who invented everything before anyone invented anything. To a watch boffin, ALB is Babe Ruth, Paul Bunyan, and Thomas Edison rolled into one.

And according to a previous auction listing for the same pocket watch, the timepiece is either the second or third tourbillon ever built by Breguet. By simple logic, since Breguet invented the tourbillon immediately before he built this watch, that fact alone makes the watch, Breguet No. 1176, one of the first tourbillons ever built by anyone, anywhere.

And it features an experimental 3hz escapement that’s rare even by Breguet standards. Oh, and it’s fully authenticated, documented, and works like a charm.

$935,442

By itself that number is mighty impressive, and a huge tally for any watch. But when context is added to the equation, the number appears far too low, and, to paraphrase an old bromide, it was a moment of stark imperial nudity.

Speaking of hereditary Glorious Leaders, the Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, who had a thing for super yachts and Rolex, also had a particular taste for Cosmograph Daytonas that would make a modern day Hublot “ambassador” blush.

(Image: Christie’s)

Qaboos’ Ref. 6270/6263 Daytona hammered at $1,024,654, soundly trouncing the Breguet. In other words, given the choice between Babe Ruth’s actual bat from the “Called Shot” and, something suitably infamous and fleetingly appealing like, say, an authentic A-Rod game-used jersey, I’m thinking the mood of the moment in Geneva would have favored the laundry.

Understandably, Rolex is hot on the block right now and arguably still gaining momentum. But the dictator’s Goldex wasn’t even the only watch at the auction or even the only Rolex to trump the Breguet. In fact, an enamel dial Bubbleback and a Henry Graves Patek minute repeater teamed up to punk A.L.’s finest.

And don’t blame Beyoncé, because rap impresarios don’t turn 43 every day. No, the Geneva result comes down to the whims of the core collector market.

$935,442

It’s still a lot of money. But on a day that saw a Rolex built for a king and fit for a music video ride a mountain of hype to a higher bid, I feel like I’m starting to grasp what the semi-mythical Walt Odets allegedly felt after the infamous Rolex Explorer vivisection (hint: it didn’t sit well). Or, since Back to the Future is a bit more universal, how Marty McFly felt in Biff’s Hill Valley. It’s a world gone mad.