Auction Highlights: July 2, 2024
Pair of wonderful Patek Philippe 96's, Pre-CPCP Cartier Tank Louis, Rolex King Midas, Zenith El Primero A386, Breitling AOPA 806
Due to my travels in Asia, I have not had time to post the week of July 2 highlights on time, and am writing this retroactively. There were many lots to consider this week (and the week prior), but due to time constraints I’ve concentrated on some of the most popular vintage watches right now, namely the PP96, Rolex King Midas and Cartier. To balance this out I have also highlighted 2 iconic chronographs. As always I only highlight auctions where the start price (or reserve if known) is $0 or very low compared to market and <$25K.
AH24070201: Patek Philippe Ref 96 - Fantastic oxidation on the case of this 18KYG Ref 96 with 295xxx serial. I didn’t have time to do proper due diligence on this lot, but nothing strikes me as out of the ordinary except the crown, which based on the catalogue photos appears to be a genuine PP replacement. Wonderful 2-tone dial with double rings and signed “Hausmann & Co”, the legendary jeweler in Rome. Note the discoloration? debris? above 5 and scratched crystal. Auctioneer describes year as 1955, but that is incorrect - if the serial is 295xxx, this one should date to the late 1930’s. Mike Nouveau made a very entertaining Instagram post on July 8 showing him bidding live on this lot, which garnered more than 1220 likes, including yours truly (I don’t have TikTok, so perhaps there are more likes there). Bidding in online auctions is a very mundane and lonely activity, and I never would have thought that it would be so interesting for so many people. I think Mike is very talented in identifying these aspects of our business and bringing light to them in a very entertaining and educating way. Mike is also in the top echelons of trend-creating/trendsetting/trend-following and watching him is a great way to learn where trend vectors are headed.
AH24070202: Patek Philippe Ref 96 - A wonderful Ref 96 with a super combination 18KRG case + salmon dial + breguet numerals. Case serial is 297xxx, fairly close to the 96 above. Probably late 1930’s, and case manufacturer is Gerlach (Key #4) as expected. On an interesting non-PP 18KRG ladder bracelet with links that look like fingers. It’s great that 96’s are popular again - they were ignored by newer collectors mostly due to the perceived smaller size (30.5mm), but on the wrist they wear well due to the long slender lugs. Lack of an extract (which is always an issue with breguet dials) did not hinder bidding, and this lot hammered at an impressive €70K, more than double the Hausmann-signed 96 above.
AH24070203: Cartier Tank Louis “Extra Plat” Ref 96065 - I believe this is the first iteration of the Tank Louis to sport a guilloche dial, as opposed to the crack-prone enamel dials of the 78086 and its successor, the 96019. Dating to mid 90’s, this pre-CPCP version is powered by the extra plat manual-wind Piguet Cal 21 movement. Case sides show lots of wear and some discoloration around the perimeter of the dial. However it is accompanied by its desirable 18KYG rice link bracelet. Hammered at almost $12K, which seems to be a bargain, probably due to the subpar condition of the case and dial discoloration.
AH24070204: Rolex “King Midas” Ref 3580 - Again, I did not have time to ask the auctioneer my regular due diligence questions, but this is the 2nd execution of the Midas, probably late 1960’s, prior to its rebranding as Cellini. A plain champagne dial may not be as desirable as other dial variations, but I would like to remind you that Travis Scott wore a champagne dial Midas, and a Ref 9630 (first gen predecessor of the Ref 3580) that I highlighted in the April 23, 2024 auction highlights (AH24041301), also had a champagne dial and hammered at $25K+. This example is in slightly worse condition than the 9360 I highlighted, with scratches and wear throughout, but the “King Midas” logo is crisp and bracelet appears to be in overall very good condition. This one hammered at €19K, approximately double its 18KG gold value.
AH24070205: Zenith El Primero A386 - Excellent condition A386 with Mark 1 dial and Mk3 case, period correct for 923XXXX serial. We are in a dress watch trend, but iconic watches always have their following. The A386 is perhaps the model that represents Zenith’s excellent Cal. 3019 El Primero movement, which later on would be resurrected from its deathbed and utilized in such iconic watches as the Rolex Daytona and Ebel “Miami Vice” chronographs. Subpar photos, but lume has taken on a creamy-soft fawn patina and case appears to be in excellent, possibly unpolished condition. One of our subscribers won this excellent lot, congratulations to him, his foresight and courage to bid strongly on grainy photos has paid off handsomely.
AH24070206: Breitling Navitimer Ref 806 - $0 start auction for another iconic chronograph, the 2nd generation of the US Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) logo-dialed Breitling Navitimer. Auctioneer did not provide serial number, but these 2nd gen Navitimers were produced from 1956 for a little less than a decade in both AOPA-only (for the US market) and Breitling-logo dials. Intended for sale to the public, they were powered by the more pedestrian Venus 175 movement (as opposed to the Valjoux 72 of the first-generation pre-806’s produced between 1954-55 for AOPA professionals) but retain the all black dial with beaded bezel. This is not a particularly rare watch, but finding one with pleasing, ochre lume and an unravaged ivory outer bezel ring is becoming more challenging year after year. 41mm case appears to also be in excellent condition, with lug facets clearly visible. Thus this lot hammered strongly at $10K+. The same watch with moldy concrete color lume would have hammered at half of that.