Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Pink-Toned Highlights of The Upcoming “La Vie en Rose” Ineichen Auction
An auction that is strictly focused on rose gold watches, and the watches you should keep an eye on.
Ineichen Auctioneers’ first sale of 2022 will take place in Zurich this coming weekend (Saturday 12 March 2022). Named “La Vie en Rose” as a nod to Edith Piaf’s signature song, the themed auction gathers some 40 watches with rose gold cases, all from esteemed watchmakers (and particularly independent watchmakers) such as Vacheron Constantin, Roger Dubuis, F.P. Journe, Daniel Roth, Cartier, IWC, De Bethune, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Breguet, Panerai, Girard-Perregaux, A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, and others. We’re taking a closer look at some of the most desirable rose pieces that the auction has to offer.
Ineichen Auctioneers is an auction house that specializes in watches and jewellery. Founded in 1973 and based in Zurich, it’s the oldest auction house with a focus on watches in Switzerland. The “La Vie en Rose” auction gathers a sizable selection of pink gold watches from esteemed watchmakers. Next to modern classics by Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, A Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Breguet or Cartier, you will find interesting models from independent watchmakers such as F.P. Journe, De Bethune, Andersen, Daniel Roth or Konstantin Chaykin. Here are some of the top lots – yet, make sure to check the full catalogue, as there are many more watches to keep an eye on.
F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance Sincere Limited-Edition
Two oscillating bodies in close proximity influence each other and eventually synchronize. Resonance is a well-known phenomenon of physics but only a handful of modern watchmakers have succeeded in applying it to their movements. Credit where credit is due, the modern history of resonance applied to mechanical watchmaking started with François-Paul Journe in the 1980s. Since then, the brand’s resonance watches have turned into a collector’s grail.
F.P. Journe has produced several Chronomètre à Résonance designs over the years. This specific watch is part of an exclusive 10-piece limited edition released for Singapore-based retailer Sincere. It features a 40mm x 9.1mm rose gold case, a black mother-of-pearl dial and two symmetric silver subdials with Clous de Paris guilloche. Inside is the superb hand-wound calibre 1499.2 with mainplate and bridges in solid 18k rose gold. The twin independent movement indicates the time on the two dials. The power reserve (indicated at 12 o’clock) is of 40 hours. The crown at 12 o’clock winds both movements and sets the hours and minutes of each dial. Different time zones can be set. The crown at 4 o’clock allows you to synchronize the second hands.
More details here – Estimate: CHF 200,000-300,000
F.P. Journe Octa Calendrier Sincere Limited-Edition
Another F.P. Journe limited to 10 pieces for Sincere, this Octa Calendrier has an 18k rose gold case measuring 38mm x 10.6mm. A perfect companion to the Résonance watch above, it features a black mother-of-pearl dial with silver Clous de Paris guilloche subdials. An annual calendar, it features a retrograde date with an indication of the day of the week and of the month in two small windows. The useful complication automatically keeps track of the correct calendar indication for months of 30 or 31 days, leaving the owner to manually adjust the date once a year (at most) instead of five times.
The watch is driven by the magnificent calibre 1300.2 with automatic winding and five days of power reserve. Made from solid rose gold, it is decorated with chamfering and polishing, Côtes Circulaires on the bridges and perlage on the mainplate. The 22k gold rotor has a Grain d’Orge guilloché motif.
More details here – Estimate: CHF 150,000-200,000
Vacheron Constantin Malte Openworked Tourbillon
The Vacheron Constantin Malte collection made its debut in 2000 with a set of four watches sharing fan-shaped stepped lugs inspired by the brand’s Maltese Cross logo. The Malte Tourbillon Squelette stands out with its Tonneau-shaped case and its shaped openworked 2790SQ calibre. Shaped movements are rare birds because they are made to measure for one specific watch or case only, whereas round movements can be adapted to a variety of models.
In this instance, it is presented in all its glory in a richly-decorated skeletonized version graced by a large tourbillon regulator at 6 o’clock. The hours and minutes are slightly off-centred and paired with power reserve and date indicators respectively at 10 and 2 o’clock. It’s also the first in-house modern tourbillon movement created by the brand. The Tonneau rose gold case measures 36mm x 36mm x 11.80mm.
More details here – Estimate: CHF 50,000-100,000
Girard-Perregaux ww.tc Tourbillon Hours of the World
World-timers have enjoyed great popularity since the early 2000s. Girard-Perregaux was one of the first brands (with of course Patek Philippe in 2000) to bring back this type of function with the ww.tc in 2001. Over the years, Gino Macaluso, the late CEO and owner of the brand, equipped its hours of the world watches with several additional complications or sophistications: chronograph, power reserve indication, perpetual calendar, enamel dials… The reference 99350 is, without doubt, the most exclusive, complex yet elegant ww.tc models as its world-time module is driven by the iconic Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon with Three Gold bridges movement. The immaculately finished movement is visible uniquely at the back of the watch with its emblematic arrow-shaped parallel bridges.
The 18k rose gold case measures 43mm x 13.15mm. It displays a light cream dial featuring a world-time complication, hours and minutes leaf-shape hands and a small second indication at 6 o’clock. The caption Tourbillon in red discreetly suggests the presence of the beautiful movement inside. Plus, the low estimate doesn’t reflect the complexity and rarity of this watch.
More details here – Estimate: CHF 30,000-40,000
Cartier Tortue Monopoussoir Mk2
This Cartier Tortue Chrono-Monopoussoir is a declination of one of the most revered watches of the Collection Privée Cartier Paris (CPCP). From 1998 to about 2008, CPCP was Cartier’s Haute Horlogerie collection, featuring some of the brand’s iconic designs with high-end mechanical movements, in particular by makers such as Piaget, Frédéric Piguet or Girard-Perregaux. If several brands have designed Tonneau shaped watches, very few can rival the Cartier Tortue. Born in 1912, it went through a subtle, seductive makeover in the 1990s. As its name suggests, the monopoussoir is a single push-piece chronograph. Indeed, until the 1930s, chronographs featured a single pusher to trigger the start-stop-reset functions, always in the same sequence. The absence of the traditional chronograph pushers leaves the purity of its harmonious curves intact. This specific model is the XL version (reference W1547451). It features the CPCP signature guilloche dial with Roman numerals, black railtrack and blued hands.
The watch is powered by an interesting movement, the Calibre 45MC. This manual wind, column-wheel chronograph was developed and manufactured with THA (Techniques Horlogères Appliquées) founded in Sainte-Croix by now familiar names F.P. Journe, Vianney Halter & Denis Flageollet. The CPCP watches and the Tortue Monopoussoir have been released in relatively small numbers. This watch bears the number 191 (engraved both on the case back and on the main plate as the CPCP watches had traditionally matching numbers for the case and the movement).
More details here – Estimate: CHF 20,000-30,000
The “La Vie en Rose” Auction takes place in Zurich and online on March 12th, 2022 at 1PM CET. To see the complete catalogue of watches offered during the sale, please visit ineichen.com.
