Auctions: Three Editors Pick Three Watches Each From Monaco Legend’s Fall Auction

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Auction season is upon us (well, does it ever really stop?), and the Hong Kong auctions have already taken place. For the first time in three seasons, I’m not going to be able to make it to Monaco this fall. But the catalog is full of the kind of lots that only the team at Monaco Legend Group would put in a modern auction. There are a lot of vintage pieces, a bunch of hidden gems, and some things I’ll have to consider bidding on myself.

A bunch of things jump out as worth talking about. A Serpico-signed ref. 2526 Explorer dial in pink gold will get a certain group – cough, Ben Clymer, cough – excited. A platinum Cartier Tank on a bracelet from the 1950s feels comically low at €15,000 –⁠ 30,000. The Oyster Perpetual “Galaxy” with a black star dial is another killer watch that is almost hard to believe Rolex made at one point. Then there’s the fact that Monaco Legend Group recently welcomed Corrado Mattarelli as Deputy Chairman of the Watch Department at MLG, bringing more vintage watches and a bit more variety in the neo-vintage and modern portions of the catalogs moving forward.

To help me go through the catalog – and to get a nice variety of tastes from our resident vintage lovers – I tasked my colleagues Tony Traina and Rich Fordon with picking three of their favorites from the upcoming sale.

Tony Traina’s Picks

Lot 271: Vacheron 4072 Chronograph In Steel

Lot 271: Vacheron Constantin ref. 4072 chronograph in stainless steel.

The auction world can be scary, so typically, I look only at models I know well or those that can be traced back with documented provenance or verifiable stories.

The Vacheron Constantin ref. 4072 is one of my favorite vintage chronographs. It’s basically Vacheron’s answer to the Patek 130, but a touch bigger – and better, if I may say. Because it’s slightly smaller and a Vacheron, it’s seemingly cursed to perpetual underappreciation.

Introduced in 1938 and produced through the early ’70s, it was one of Vacheron’s longest-running chronograph models. The Cornes de Vache or ref. 4178 might be rarer, but I’ll take a good 4072 every day. Over 30ish years, Vacheron produced 1,178 examples, mostly in yellow or pink gold.

Any Vacheron 4072 in good condition is already a special watch. Back in January, I included a photo of a pink-on-pink example at the Miami Beach Antique Show, and it’s still one of the best vintage watches I’ve seen this year (I was told it sold soon after that for a healthy six figures).

But a stainless steel Vacheron 4072 is on another level. Monaco Legend says only about 250 steel examples were made, which helps to explain the $60,000-120,000 estimate here. The case looks sharp and the two-tone dial is in good, original condition – just a touch of aging towards the edge of the dial, not uncommon for these watches because the cases weren’t waterproof.

This same watch passed at Antiquorum back in 2017, but you’ll notice it’s got the same dial and case – always good to see.

Lot 167: Breitling Duograph

Lot 167: Breitling Duograph ref. 766 split seconds chronograph.

Like the Vacheron 4072, the Breitling Duograph is another one of those “if you change the name on the dial, just think what it’d be worth” watches. Vintage split-second chronographs are incredibly rare – only a few brands not named “Patek” were making them. Breitling introduced the Duograph in 1944, and the family went on to include a handful of references, all powered by Venus chronograph calibers.

Alpha Hands has worked to document the Duograph and found only a few dozen Breitling Duographs across references and metals (many with non-original components). This three-register ref. 766 in stainless steel is an early example, dating to 1944, right at the beginning of the Duograph’s production run. The aesthetic is similar to our Vacheron 4072: a stainless steel case applied golden markers on a silver dial with an outer scale. Clearly, these are two watches of the same era.

All that, and I find it hard to believe the estimate on this Duograph is “only” $20-40,000. In 2020, this same example sold at Phillips for about $33,000, so I’d expect the estimate to be fair, too. It sold for about the same price before that in 2017. It’s a lot of vintage chronograph for the money.

Lot 19: A Racing Rolex Bubbleback

Lot 19: Rolex Bubbleback ref. 3131 in pink gold

After writing too much about the Rolex Bubbleback last week, you can bet the first thing I searched in this catalog was “Bubbleback” – the Italians are usually good for a few nice ones (and maybe a few not-so-nice ones).

I’m a sucker for a pink gold Bubbleback, so I love this pink-on-pink ref. 3131. But the most interesting Bubbleback in this auction has good looks and a story.

Based on the caseback engraving, this Rolex ref. 3131 was given to the Thai Prince Bira in 1947 after his victory at the Grand Prix des Frontières in Belgium. I love those Rolex, Heuer, and other racing chronographs from the 60s and ’70s as much as the next guy, but there’s an of-its-time charm from a driver being given a little gold Bubbleback for his victory in 1947. Just a decade later, he might’ve been gifted a big steel chronograph.

But in the ’40s, a 32mm pink gold Bubbleback was the “sports watch” of choice, which makes this one of my favorite lots in Monaco.

Rich Fordon’s Picks

Lot 7: Jules Jürgensen 1920s Tonneau 5 Minute Repeater

I am starting my picks with what I assume will be the least “popular” watch I feature here; this Jules Jürgensen is for the real heads but is an extremely cool and extremely rare watch. My love for Jules Jürgensen, of this period specifically, started by going down the rabbit hole on Urban Jürgensen – I will spare us all the details of this connection here but if you want to know more than you ever thought you could know about everything Jürgensen, check out my article here.

Anyway, let’s stick with the context that is important for this particular watch. Jules Jürgensen was acquired by Ed. Heuer & Co. in 1919. Yes, the same Heuer as, well, Heuer. As a part of a quasi-“group,” the Jürgensen name was used to market ultra-high-end wrist and pocket watches, mainly to the American market. Typical of Swiss watch production in the first half of the 20th century, Heuer sourced ébauches from LeCoultre and Victorin Piguet – the same movement suppliers as Patek Philippe at this time. While I have not viewed the movement of this 5-minute repeating wristwatch, I have to assume that it is the work of one of these two suppliers. In this era, few other companies could even produce a caliber like this.

Speaking of the watch itself, I find it beautiful, but like I said off the bat, it’s a style of watch that isn’t for everyone. That said, this smaller, early, and more traditional style has been extremely in vogue lately. At 35 x 41mm, the case is not crazy small – which is a major plus. The large Breguet-esque numerals are eye-catching, and the simple yet perfectly executed Jules Jürgensen branding in script sends this watch over the top for me. It will be an interesting one to watch, if the watch had Cartier on the dial, the estimate would be double and the hammer price maybe triple what we see here. This will be a test to see if the market for these early wristwatches is not limited to only extremely recognizable brand names.

Lot 83: Cartier 1990s Tonneau In Platinum

Speaking of Cartier, there will be a ton of focus on lot 33, a 1970s Coussin in white gold. This model has been breaking records over the past couple of years, quickly going from a $10,000 to $15,000 watch in yellow gold to hammering for $97,465 all-in at Bonham’s this past June. During the wild ride, an example of the much rarer white gold variant has not come up for sale. Expect lot 33 to break a record, well above the €30,000 to 60,000 estimate.

My attention will be focused 50 lots later, though. While the market spotlight has been generally on vintage Cartier recently, the Tonneau has not been caught up in the storm quite as much as other models. Especially considering this is one of Cartier’s first wristwatch designs, introduced in 1906, and abnormally large in size, this lack of market appreciation has surprised me. Some collectors are starting to catch on. For example, a 1920s Tonneau in platinum with provenance sold for $28,800 at Sotheby’s last June, and I have heard rumors of much higher offers being made to the new owner following that sale. But these 1980s and 1990s Tonneaus have been flying under the radar all summer. A yellow gold example sold on Loupe This in May for $7,700 – that’s a great buy.

Two recent results have me calling my shot here in lot 83. At Phillips Geneva online last month, a 2000’s CPCP Tonneau in platinum sold for $24,034 – beating the high estimate. And this funky Tonneau Bamboo went crazy at Sotheby’s Hong Kong a few weeks ago, selling for $43,259 all-in – for a watch with a quartz movement! All this to say, Cartier collectors continue to search for new shapes and oddballs within the brand’s history. The Tonneau has been slept on for too long. It has a heritage dating back to 1906, and these 1980s to 1990s re-releases blend a vintage look with modern build quality extremely well.

Lot 161: Rolex 1937 Chronograph Ref. 3330 In Steel

Not quite as much of a market analysis or prediction of what will be “hot” next, this 1930s Rolex chronograph ref. 3330 is just a spectacular watch. Made from the late 1930s through the 1940s, this non-Oyster-cased Rolex chronograph is not only gorgeous but in a condition that you just will not find again. I am holding myself back from hyperbole with this one because I don’t want to sound crazy. The reality is that finding any watch from 1937 in this condition is special, but when it is a Rolex chronograph produced in less than 200 examples total, with a 37mm stainless steel case, and with a two-color multi-scale dial double signed by Cravanzola Roma? That is in a whole different league.

Vintage stainless steel chronographs are not what the market is demanding right now, but for collectors who are looking for a watch like this, that almost doesn’t matter. As a larger vintage watch community, we may have shifted our focus away from watches like pre-Daytonas and Longines 13ZNs, but the real collectors are still very much there. And paying big money for them, by the way. The €180,000 to⁠ €360,000 estimate is punchy, but I don’t expect that to be an issue. This level of quality is next to impossible to find. In fact, an example of this reference of this quality has not come to market since this watch was last sold in 2022 and before that, since the record price for the reference in steel was set at the legendary Phillips Start-Stop-Reset in 2016. I really wish I could see this one in person.

Mark Kauzlarich’s Picks

Lot 110: Rolex Day-Date ref. 6511 In Steel

Lot 110: Rolex Day-Date ref. 6511 in Steel

If I’m going to round out the list, I’ll be the guy who picks two cover lots, but sue me; that’s my prerogative. They’re watches worth mentioning. The first one is a watch that is almost a meme. A steel Day-Date shouldn’t exist. Rolex doesn’t make them and theoretically never has. Except this one, at the very least, checks out. The reference 6511 was the first generation of Day-Date, and in 1955, Rolex produced this watch, serial number 99272, which was delivered to a dealer in Spain who sold it to a private collector who had it for decades. Eventually, the watch was discovered and ended up in John Goldberger’s collection, where it sat for years. This is pretty much the ultimate Rolex Day-Date, with a gorgeous tropical dial and a white gold bezel that’s just a bit yellowed from age. The estimate is €750,000-1,500,000.

Lot 296: A Possibly Unique Patek Philippe Ref. 2438/1 In Pink Gold

Lot 296: A Possibly Unique Patek Philippe ref. 2438/1 in Pink Gold

When I was writing my deep dive on the Patek ref. 2497, I mentioned the ref. 2438/1, the waterproof version of the 2497 with a screw-down caseback. Well, here’s one that’s pretty special and fresh to market: a pink gold 2438/1. Out of 56 examples of the reference, only five have come to market in pink gold (by my count), and all of them have dauphine hands and baton hour markers. This one is possibly unique and was otherwise unknown in this configuration, with “Oversize” Arabic numerals on the dial and blued stick hands. The watch has been in one collection for 45 years and comes with a ton of documentation. While I haven’t seen it in person, the condition looks good in the images and will be a good get for a completist Patek collector or someone who loves this era but is looking for something a bit different from the rest. The estimate is €500,000-1,000,000

Lot 58: Audemars Piguet 25726BA Perpetual Calendar Pocket Watch Conversion

Alright, we all know I’m a sucker for a pocket watch, but this one jumped out at me for two reasons. First, you don’t often see factory conversions of pocket watches, where lugs are added to turn a pocket watch into a wristwatch. Why? Well, you often end up with a watch like this that’s 47mm and hard to wear. Well, hard to wear unless you wear it over a cuff, that is.

A watch over the cuff, as only one person could get away with.

See, I’ve been looking for a specific watch for years now, if only to know what happened to it. Decades back, the famed Fiat leader and sprezzatura sartorial king Gianni Agnelli was photographed leaning out of his car, speaking with some people, wearing an oversized perpetual calendar conversion pocket watch on his wrist. This watch is similar, but it doesn’t have quite the same configuration (Angelli’s had a shorter stem/crown and no bow), so no dice on the lost watch, but this is still cool. It’s No. 1 of the series of 25726BA made in the 1990s, and think about how confident you had to be to have it converted into a wristwatch. It is also a full set, so while it’s not Agnelli’s watch, it’s still super interesting. The estimate is €70,000-140,000.

For more on the Monaco Legend Group auction, visit their website.

Hodinkee