Bring a Loupe: A Philippe Dufour Duality, A Zenith Caliber 135 Chronometer, And An Odd 1920s Cartier
Happy Friday and welcome back to Bring A Loupe! Another week, another scattered selection of all the best, most interesting, and sometimes strange watches for sale around the web.
To recap last week’s edition, we have lots of results to cover! The Cartier Shutter purse watch at Bonhams, the one with a $1,000 to $2,000 pre-sale estimate, ended up hammering for $11,520 all-in – again showing the market’s Cartier obsession. And moving through the rest, our Vacheron “Tour de L’ile” sold for $6,479.34 at Christie’s, the Goodwill Benrus went for $1,445, and the Mimo for Hermann Horrmann ended up at $731.77 on eBay. Lastly, a reminder that our Abercrombie Twin-Time at Jones & Horan will end next Thursday, 10/10, at 11 AM ET – bidding is currently at $2,300.
And here are this week’s picks!
Philippe Dufour Duality In Platinum (34mm)
If I am billing this column as a wrap up of the “best” watches available for sale around the Internet, which I am, I simply cannot let a Dufour Duality slip through the cracks and go without a feature. It’s difficult to encapsulate just how important and special a Duality is. I asked Ben Clymer to give me a sentence on why this watch means so much to the watch world and his response was “I’d rather give you five.” As Ben put it: “The fact that it is the first double balance wheel wristwatch is almost a side note compared to the extreme rarity. And even beyond rarity, a Duality is the real Dufour; complication plus finishing plus design, whereas the Simplicity, is what the name says it is. The Duality combines everything great about Dufour in a 34mm case. If I could pick any watch from that era, it would, without a doubt, be the Duality.”
Even among an increasingly-crowded space, Philippe Dufour is considered by many to be the most important “modern” independent watchmaker. There is an argument to be made that without the Duality, there is no Rexhep Rexheppi CCI or CCII nor Simon Brette and so on. This watch is sort of the genesis, and that is something special. It is historically significant on top of the insane finishing and beautiful aesthetic.
It’s important to call out that Phillips is set to auction off a unique Duality in November. A unique Dufour is somewhat of a whole different thing, but allow me to compare the two for a minute here. There is a portion of Dufour collectors who would prefer this watch, on offer at A Collected Man, every day of the week. To this small group, there are “real” Duality examples, produced in the original run, and “the rest,” produced more recently on request. ACM’s example dates to late 1999 or the start of 2000 whereas the watch set to hit the block at Phillips was made in 2014. This is a very nit-picky distinction to make, but to buyers in this market, this can make all the difference.
Check out the full listing over on A Collected Man. The asking price is £1,415,000. The last public sale of a Duality was at Phillips last June, when serial number 3 sold for $2,056,500 all-in.
1971 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust Ref. 1601 With Red Jasper Dial
Stone dial Rolex Day-Dates and Datejusts have been “a thing” over the past couple of years with seemingly more and more interest flooding into the niche space by the day. The various stones and their colors do a lot in photos and on the wrist because we are so accustomed to seeing these models in their more natural and simple state. A stone dial really pops when in the context of a watch that you usually find a plain champagne or silver dial. In this setting, the a colorful stone is all the more intriguing. The appeal is all very, at risk of being corny, natural.
There are levels to the stone dial Rolex world. Sure, the deep black of an onyx dial is cool but, honestly, those are relatively a dime a dozen. The same can be said for lapis lazuli. Again, this is all relative and I’m being a bit tongue in cheek in insinuating these are “common” by any measure. That being said, when compared to a red jasper dial, the onyx and lapis variants are chump change. I first started to notice this particular stone dial about a year ago, just before the Geneva auctions last November. They are rare enough that before then, I just hadn’t come across an example. At that time, dealers and auction houses were estimating that three or 10 or a dozen examples existed. The reality is that no one really knows how many of these there are. Unless Rolex wants to tell us, of course. But, I can say that I now see two or three come up for sale a year (in the whopping one year I have been following them).
So far, we have only observed red jasper dials in Datejust cases, not Day-Dates. Some have speculated that the stone is more delicate than the others used by Rolex leading to an apprehension or inability to cut the larger day indicator window but, we just don’t know. The dial itself is really good looking in the yellow gold Datejust case. The red tone is deep and the finish is quite matte looking in photos. A watch can be rare but if it isn’t attractive, it doesn’t matter. Here, there is no question about attractiveness.
The seller, Richard (nice name) at Archiwatch, is offering this red jasper-dialed Rolex Datejust for €64.900. Check it out right here.
1954 Zenith Chronometer Caliber 135
Zenith has one of the most decorated Observatory chronometry competition records in the watch world. The brand won 2,330 chronometry prizes in total and most notably took home an unprecedented five consecutive Neuchâtel Observatory chronometry prizes from 1950 to 1954. That run of five years in Neuchâtel was thanks to the caliber 135, a 30mm caliber designed with the sole purpose of insane accuracy and winning prizes in the wristwatch category. In fact, 230 of those 2,330 prizes are thanks to the cal. 135. This caliber has won more observatory chronometer awards than any other movement in the history of watchmaking. You may recall 2022’s Zenith x Kari Voutilainen x Phillips collaboration where 10 “new old stock” cal. 135s were restored and hand decorated by Kari and his team, fitted in a 38mm platinum case, and finished with a guilloché dial from Comblémine, Voutilainen’s dialmaking workshop. The price for all of this? CHF 132,900. The run of 10 sold out quickly and a unique 11th watch sold for CHF 315,000 with the proceeds benefitting charity.
Especially in light of these modern collaboration pieces, vintage Zenith is a definite bargain. This real deal vintage 35mm chronometer-certified wristwatch is just sitting on eBay for under $4,000. And the watch is in seemingly great condition! I asked for a quick, informal check from Zenith’s heritage department and received a thumbs up, the numbers check out and date the watch to 1954.
An eBay seller out of North Miami Beach has listed this Zenith for buy it now price of $3,999 and you have the option to make an offer. The full listing is right here.
1920s Cartier Rectangular Wristwatch
The vintage Cartier train keeps on moving down the tracks it seems. Every week when I go to put together Bring A Loupe, something Cartier and interesting materializes. This one, at an auction house in London with varying reviews based on a few friends I asked, is rare. Described as 1920s in the listing, I estimate production of the watch to be in the mid to late 1920s so, they’re spot on there. The model is an odd ball. In this period, very few models really even had a name from Cartier, even the Tank Normale was not yet the Tank Normale as we know it now. The brand was approaching watchmaking from the perspective of a jeweler, making various shapes and sizes that pleased their customers in some way.
I am intrigued by this piece of Cartier history as it seems to be something of a predecessor to the Tank Basculante, introduced in 1933. The overall case shape and movement are very similar to the now more recognizable and collectible Basculante. I have a sneaking suspicion that this model, whatever we want to call it, had a heavy influence on the design of the Basculante.
As with most Cartier watches from this period, condition and originality is hard to say with certainty. Based on my reading of the catalog description, I believe the case and movement numbers match which is really important. The originality of the dial, on the other hand, I won’t make a claim on – I would really need to view the watch in person or speak to someone who has.
This “pre-Basculante” Cartier wristwatch is lot 5B of the PRESTIGE WATCH & LUXURY DIAMONDS + VARIOUS UNCLAIMED SAFE DEPOSIT CONTENTS AUCTION at Hatton Garden Auctions. At time of publishing, bidding had reached 5,000 GBP.
1970s Heuer Monza Ref. 150.501
The Heuer Monza was a late 1970s model introduced during the expansion of the brand’s catalog following the development of the caliber 11 automatic chronograph and its successors. As we should all know by now, the Monaco was the first Heuer to feature this movement and was launched in 1969. But lost in the mix of Heuer history are models like the Monza, which were the result of taking the technology of the Monaco and integrating it into automatic chronograph wristwatches with various looks and shapes. Don’t believe me? Look up some of the other forgotten late 1970s models. Ever heard of the Heuer Cortina? Jarma? How about the Heuer Daytona? Among the group, the Monza is my favorite.
This eBay example is in solid condition with a bit of wear to the black-coated case but nothing too major and a nice patina to the lume on the dial and in the hands. I appreciate that it comes with a box and warranty booklet but I do not appreciate a previous owner writing notes on the warranty! Couldn’t they find a legal pad or even a post it note?
An eBay seller out of Redondo Beach, California, has listed this Monza for auction ending Saturday, September 28, at 7:42 PM ET. When this article was posted, the bidding had reached $1,075. Check out the full listing right here.
1960s LeGant Chronograph (Probably A Gallet Multichron 45?)
If this one doesn’t ring a bell, hang with me here. LeGant was an in-house brand for Montgomery Ward, one of the largest catalog and department store companies in the mid-20th century. As a native Chicagoan, I find the LeGant corner of vintage watches so interesting. Montgomery Ward was such a huge deal back in the day and its founder, Aaron Montgomery Ward, played a large part in shaping the city of Chicago. Quickly for anyone who cares, during a period of massive metropolitan growth, Ward was a prominent advocate for maintaining a Chicago shoreline-free of private property, earning the nickname “watchdog of the lakefront.” Today, Chicago’s largely public shoreline is one of the best parts of the city and we have Ward to thank.
Back to watches, Montgomery Ward partnered with Swiss watch brands in order to offer the highest quality watches through their seasonal print catalogs. LeGant is a play on the word “elegant” in an attempt to position these watches as fancy and high end to catalog customers. I have come across LeGant chronographs made by Zenith before but I believe this one was made by Gallet as it looks sneakily similar to the Multichron 45.
On top of all of this, the eBay listing makes one of my favorite mistakes. The seller has titled their listing “Le gant watch Men’s Watch Needs Battery As Is” although I am sure it does not need a battery but rather either a wind or a service. Whatever it needs, it is worth saving. Plus, it looks like it is fitted on a nice vintage beads of rice bracelet!
An eBay seller has listed this LeGant for auction ending Sunday, September 29, at 8:23 PM ET. The current bid is a whopping $10.50. See the full listing here.
Bonus: An Auction Full Of Odd ‘Collectible’ Watches
This one comes courtesy of the Hodinkee Slack and Minnesota-native Matt Thompson in particular. An Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based auction house is selling a ton of strange branded and promotional quartz watches; bidding ends Sunday, September 29, at 8:00 PM ET. I don’t have much to say other than you just have to browse the catalog and see for yourself.
Hodinkee
