Rare watches coming to Geneva — featuring a Patek Philippe Nautilus owned by Quincy Jones

A white-gold prototype Rolex Submariner

Sometime in the early 1970s, Rolex developed a radically new version of the Submariner — the pioneering diver’s watch that was the first timepiece able to withstand depths of 100 metres — which ultimately never made it to market.

The public wasn’t supposed to know about it, but somehow three prototypes made their way into private collections. Each one was created from white gold, and featured a semi-knurled bezel and bark-finished centre links on the bracelet. Two had electric-blue dials with gold ‘nipple’ markers and hands. The other version — a watch so rare it doesn’t even have a serial number — was made in black.

In 2017, one of the blue versions sold at Christie’s in Geneva for CHF 631,500 — just over $628,000 — shattering the record for the most expensive Rolex Submariner ever sold at auction.

‘It remains a mystery why this eccentric version of the Submariner reference 1680 never went into production, or how the three prototypes ended up in collectors’ hands,’ says Mathieu Ruffat, senior specialist and head of sale at Christie’s Watches and Wristwatches department in Geneva. ‘Some 30 years later, in 2008, Rolex finally released a white-gold Submariner to the public — but still only available with a blue dial.’

A Patek Philippe Nautilus from the collection of Quincy Jones

‘Six years after Gérald Genta dreamt up Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak model — generally considered the world’s first luxury sports watch — Patek Philippe released his second masterstroke, the Nautilus,’ says specialist Eli Fayon.

The first reference, 3700/1, came to be known as the ‘jumbo’ on account of its daringly oversized, 42-millimetre-wide case. Inside was one of the finest automatic movements ever made, capable of beating at 19,800 vibrations per hour. Released during a period that came to be known as the ‘quartz crisis’, when sales of mechanical watches slumped, the 3700/1 helped revitalise not only Patek Philippe’s image, but the entire Swiss watch industry.

This particular watch is one of only around 600 reference 3700/1 models crafted in stainless steel and 18k yellow gold. In 1981, it was acquired by one of the most influential figures in American music: Quincy Jones. As a songwriter, producer, composer and arranger, Jones helped shape the sound of jazz, soul and pop across the second half of the 20th century. On top of winning an Emmy, an Oscar, a Tony and 28 Grammy Awards, he produced the best-selling album of all time, Thriller, by Michael Jackson, and was also the first Black executive at a major American record label.

Jones owned the watch for more than 40 years, until his death in 2024, and it has remained with his family ever since. It can be seen on his wrist during his legendary performance with Miles Davis at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 1991.

A Régulateur Tourbillon by Daniel Roth

After seven years spent learning the intricacies of watchmaking in the workshops of Audemars Piguet, in 1975, aged just 29, Daniel Roth was entrusted with reviving the legacy of one of history’s most important horologists: Abraham-Louis Breguet.

Over the following decade, he created some of the era’s finest examples of the tourbillon complication — a complex rotating assembly that counteracts the effects of gravity on a movement’s precision, which was invented by Breguet himself in 1801. Then, in 1988, after Breguet’s owners filed for bankruptcy, Roth launched his own independent workshop. His first and arguably most celebrated release, the C187, came the following year.

Roth poured all his experience into creating a double-faced masterpiece: the front features a time dial and three 20-second-long graduating scales, pointed to by three flame-blue hands of different lengths; the reverse has two dials indicating the date and power reserve. A window below reveals Roth’s exquisite tourbillon like the engine of a supercar.

‘The C187 has a distinctive aesthetic, notably its double-ellipse case and beautifully executed hand-guilloché dial. Combined with the tourbillon, it really broke with the production norms of the 1990s,’ says Remi Guillemin, Christie’s head of watches, Europe and the Americas. ‘This example is number two of only 20 made in steel, commissioned by Roth’s Italian distributor, Roberto Carlotti.’

Around 1995, Roth sold the majority stake in his business, and production quickly declined. Five years later, Bulgari acquired the brand and Roth finally left. When he helped revive the company under new ownership in 2023, the first release was a homage to the C187.

A Harry Winston Opus 14

In 1998, jewellers Harry Winston hired watchmaker Maximilian Büsser — just 31 years old at the time — to develop a range of limited-edition timepieces made in collaboration with some of the world’s most skilled independent manufacturers. Called the ‘Opus’ range, it would turn out to be one of the most audacious endeavours in modern watchmaking.

The first release was created in partnership with François-Paul Journe, who had launched his own business just two years earlier. This was followed by watches co-created with the likes of Vianney Halter, and Felix Baumgartner, the co-founder of Urwerk.

In 2005, Büsser left Harry Winston to establish his own line of collaborative watches under the title ‘Maximilian Büsser and Friends’, or MB&F. The Opus project continued under new management, involving independent makers such as Greubel Forsey, Ludovic Ballouard and Jean-Marc Wiederrecht. The most recent edition, the Opus 14, was created with Franck Orny and Johnny Girardin, and unveiled in 2015.

With a case made of white gold and a dial cut from a single block of sapphire crystal, the watch’s design draws inspiration from the golden era of the jukebox. Next to the time dial is a miniature turntable. With the push of a lever, a swing-arm movement selects one of three discs from a stack, then places it on the dial, where it begins spinning. One disc shows a dual time zone; the second reveals a date wheel; the third resembles a record and features Harry Winston’s signature, but reportedly can be customised.

This ingenious patented movement comprises 1,066 components, and the example coming to auction is number two from the 50 that were made.

‘The Opus 14 embodies everything I admire about adventurous watchmaking,’ says Eli Fayon. ‘It transforms timekeeping into mechanical theatre. In an industry often defined by tradition and restraint, it dares to be playful and unapologetically complex. It pushes engineering far beyond necessity, simply for the joy of it.’

An Audemars Piguet ‘Precision’

During the 1940s, Audemars Piguet funnelled a significant portion of its research and development into making the most precise time-only wristwatches possible. Today, they are some of the brand’s rarest and most collectable watches.

The process began by taking the fabled 13VZAS calibre manufactured by Valjoux — the same manual-winding movement used in the legendary Patek Philippe references 1518 and 2499 — and stripping it of its chronograph feature. Removing excess parts not only made the watch’s internal architecture sturdier and more compact, but also reduced friction, resulting in more power, which meant that the watch was more accurate over longer periods of time.

This pink-gold and stainless-steel example is unique, with a dial that nods to the origins of its movement, retaining dual chronograph registers. One still counts the seconds, while the other simply reads ‘PRECISION’. It was first sold on 13 March 1950, and has remained with the same family ever since.

‘Distinguished by its striking dial and case configuration, this watch beautifully reflects Audemars Piguet’s pursuit of chronomatic excellence, where clarity of design serves the highest standards of mechanical timekeeping,’ says Mathieu Ruffat.

Rare Watches takes place in Geneva on 11 and 12 May 2026. Auction highlights will be on tour in Hong Kong (27-29 April). Explore the Geneva Luxury Week sales