Face-Lift: 7 standout watches to dial up your style this summer

There is truly something for every collector to appreciate in Christie’s Important Watches and Watches Online sales this June, both featuring Stories in Time: A Collection of Exceptional Watches. Illustrious houses and independent makers shine with timepieces featuring specialised functions, bespoke designs made in limited productions and fascinating provenances. Below, discover the stories behind seven rare timepieces that represent the finest in watchmaking.

This Patek Philippe was once the world’s most complicated wristwatch

Launched in 1989 to celebrate Patek Philippe’s 150th anniversary, reference 3974 is one of the most important watches ever made in a series by Patek Philippe. At the time of its release, it was the world’s most complicated wristwatch. Approximately only 160 examples of the reference were manufactured, from which only around 20 wristwatches were dressed in pink gold. Adding to its rarity is its specially ordered slate-grey dial enhanced with Breguet numerals, and the fact that master case maker Jean-Pierre Hagmann, who passed away earlier this year at 84, supplied the present example’s case.

An early, brass-movement F.P. Journe  

With interest in François-Paul Journe’s work skyrocketing, collectors have focused their attention on the early production and pre-production watches with brass movements. This limited-edition Ruthenium Octa Calendrier — number 54 of only 99 pieces made between 2001 and 2003 — represents an extremely rare opportunity to purchase an early brass-movement Journe from a limited production. From 2004 onwards, Journe’s movements have famously been made from 18-karat gold, while this special series is in platinum.

A diver’s and Lieutenant Colonel’s astounding Rolexes 

‘Rolex was a tool watch that has a very storied and enduring history with an array of military and sporting functions,’ notes Janet Tham, Christie’s New York Watches specialist, in regards to two remarkable timepieces with extensive documentation and associated materials. During the 1970s and 1980s, Rolex supplied nine references to Comex, a French company specialising in deep-diving technology. The Submariner reference 5514 is one of the most iconic and desirable Rolex COMEX references ever made since this particular model was never publicly available for purchase. In very good condition, the present lot comes with memorabilia, including the original Comex Diving book and log, as well as a photo book showing the original owner wearing this watch along with his crew on various missions and training from 1972 to 1980.

The fresh-to-market Explorer ‘Red Depth’ Model, ref. 6610 comes from the family of the original owner, Fayette L. Worthington, who was a Lieutenant Colonel and Legion of Merit recipient of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Worn and cherished throughout Mr. Worthington’s service and life, this timepiece remains in great original condition.

Greubel Forsey’s final Double Tourbillon 30°

In 2004 Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey launched Greubel Forsey with a new complication called the Double Tourbillon 30° Contemporaine (named after the 30° angle that links the two mobile cages). Six years later, the brand launched the Double Tourbillon 30° Edition Historique, ceasing production of the Double Tourbillon 30° to focus on new innovations. The present timepiece is the final version of Greubel Forsey’s celebrated first invention, which revolutionised the art of time-keeping. Made in a limited edition of 11 examples each in red gold and platinum, this Double Tourbillon 30° Edition Historique’s movement is also engraved with the founders’ signatures.

A classic timepiece from Breguet, the inventor of the Tourbillon

In 1801, Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet invented a completely new type of regulator for which he received a patent. The ‘Tourbillon’ accounted for operating errors caused by Earth’s gravity and has become one of Breguet’s most celebrated inventions. ‘Having a timepiece, like reference 3657, that has the full DNA of the best of traditional watchmaking is wonderful and also great to see in an online sale, as it’s a highly complicated and high-value watch,’ says Tham.

Elizabeth Taylor’s Franck Muller Master Banker Rosé is one of only five models

Featuring an 18-karat pink-gold tonneau-shaped case with a heavy and deluxe solid 18-karat pink-gold bracelet, this wristwatch was limited to only five examples in which Elizabeth Taylor’s was exclusively designated as number ‘01’. According to Christopher E. Wilding, Taylor’s son who received the watch as a gift from her in 2011, not long before her passing, the beloved actress wore the watch often at home, ‘usually in tandem with a cluster of simple gold wire bangles of which she was equally fond of.’ Discover more about Taylor’s and Wilding’s mutual admiration for the timepiece in the lot essay he contributed.