From the world’s finest watchmakers: exceptional timepieces to be offered in aid of families affected by leukodystrophy

On 11 November 2024, Christie’s in Geneva is offering 11 exceptional watches, all donated by their manufacturers, in an auction to raise funds for the European Leukodystrophy Association (ELA).

Founded in France in 1992 by an association of parents with children suffering from leukodystrophy — a group of some 50 neurological diseases — the charity funds medical research into these rare conditions. To date, ELA has funded a total of 571 research projects around the world to the tune of €48.8 million. The organisation also supports families affected by the condition.

Some of the watches being offered are from limited editions. Others are commemorative, or unique creations. And all of them are being offered without a reserve.

Ahead of the sale, Christie’s Watches specialist Eli Fayon highlights what makes each of these timepieces so remarkable.

The Swiss manufacturer Andersen Genève was founded in 1980 by the master watchmaker and co-founder of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants, Svend Andersen. As nearly all its output is custom-made, to date it has produced fewer than 1,300 watches in total.

For ELA it has created a unique world-time watch that has a map made from exquisitely detailed cloisonné enamel. On the 24-hour ring, 12 o’clock has been replaced with the charity’s initials.

ArtyA, founded in 2009, has created a one-of-a-kind watch that blends the ancient material Damascus steel with ultra-modern carbon fibre. The incredible iridescent dial is made from a real butterfly wing, sourced from an environmentally responsible farm. It was the vision of artist Dominique Arpa-Cirpka, the partner of the watchmaker’s founder, Yvan Arpa.

This watch also marks the debut of the company’s new in-house caliber — an automatic movement that took three years to develop.

The founder of Atælier Haute Complication, Vladimir Victor Négault, is one of the most talented horologists to have emerged in recent years. After 14 years spent working in the research and development department of F.P. Journe, he launched his own watchmaking business in 2018. His releases sell out in a matter of days.

This unique watch features an eye-catching dial with a dual-time-zone register and unusual day/night indicator. A finishing touch of pink is a nod to ELA’s signature colours.

Pascal Raffy, owner of the historic watch brand Bovet, which was founded in 1822, has personally designed a one-off dial complete with ELA’s logo for the timepiece offered in the sale. The model — the Récital 12 — is the company’s first ever sports watch, released in 2024, and is the only one so far offered on a metal strap.

The independent watchmaker Girard-Perregaux first introduced its iconic Laureato range in 1975. For ELA, it has created a unique example with a purple guilloché enamel dial. Fired at least five times, then polished over many hours to perfection, it is resistant to ageing and oxidisation.

The independent Russian watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin has created a riff on its trademark face-like ‘Wristmon’ design for ELA, inspired by the Roman philosopher Seneca. The Stoic’s famous phrase, ‘The reward for a good deed is its accomplishment’, is spelt out in Latin between the numerals on the watch’s date wheel. It’s the first time this calendar complication has featured on a Konstantin Chaykin watch.

Since 1929, Swiss manufacturer Louis Erard has been pushing the boundaries of horology: this watch, made especially for ELA, is no exception. The manufacturer has teamed up with the artisan Bastien Chevalier to produce a unique, handmade marquetry dial with a complex geometric design.

For the upcoming auction, the German luxury house Montblanc has produced a unique watch that pays homage to a horse race at the Champ de Mars racetrack in Paris on 1 September 1821.

There, Nicolas Rieussec, watchmaker to the kings of France, debuted a device that recorded the horses’ times using a mechanical inked nib. Several weeks later, the Academy of Science in Paris invented the term ‘chronograph’ to describe his device.

When Omega and Swatch joined forces to make the MoonSwatch, which debuted in 2022, it was one of the most controversial moments in the industry of the past decade.

This MoonSwatch, which is a ‘Mission to Neptune’ model with the second hand highlighted in Omega’s ‘Moonshine Gold’, is number 1,000,000 from the collaboration to be manufactured, and comes complete with an engraved trophy stand.

Last June, Richard Mille released a yellow version of the most complicated automatic watch it had ever produced. Taking around five years to develop and comprised of some 600 parts, this automatic split-second chronograph has a movement that oscillates at 36,000 vibrations per hour.

Only 120 of the RM65-01 in this egg-yolk colour were ever created, and they sold out instantly. This watch, number 48 from the production run, is the first ever to be offered to the public at auction.

In 2001, the Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin rewrote the rules of horology with its Freak range, which featured no dial, hands or crown.

In 2019 it released the Freak X model, reinstating the crown for simpler winding and setting. This version of that release has been especially created in black titanium with pink, ELA-inspired accents.

Rare Watches Including Watches for ELA will be on view at Christie’s in Geneva at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, from 8 to 10 November, ahead of the live sale on 11 November 2024

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