Antiquorum, the well-known watch specialist auction house, will be holding a unique sale devoted to one man's passion for one marque: Rolex. Over 300 wristwatches from the traditional Swiss watchmaker from the private collection of Guido Mondani will be under the hammer in two parts in April and May this year.

"The Mondani Collection of ROLEX Wristwatches" comprises over 300 timepieces and is “singularly the most important collection of Rolex wristwatches ever to have appeared at auction “ . The compilation is representative of the Rolex production of watches from the earliest days of Rolex' existence until the present day.

Collector Guido Mondani on "the finest Rolex collection in the world" - "I have collected Rolex wristwatches since 1986. It all started with a gift from my wife on my 41st birthday; a magnificent Rolex with moon phases, ref. 8171, in yellow gold. Twenty years have passed...Twenty years of journey and research into a market that is truly international. And finally, I have succeeded in gathering together a Rolex collection of the highest quality. My interest was always in acquiring watches in perfect condition thanks to the help of experts such as Osvaldo Patrizzi, and of extremely trustworthy dealers and I also gave great importance to some of the complimentary aspects of watches: buckles, straps and original boxes. Throughout these years I was able to avoid acquiring watches that were rare but not in perfect condition, whose dials were reprinted, or which had been restored by unscrupulous dealers. For these reasons, I can truly say that this Rolex collection is of extremely high quality. And quality, like condition, is always of the greatest importance.

I am pleased and proud this collection which includes not only watches of the highest quality, but also models created in limited series, which have always been of great interest to appassionato and collectors of Rolex wrist watches. A collection that certain experts in the field have called the best Rolex collection in the world".

Watches entered in the auction include: a Chronograph Rattrapante, Ref. 4113, made in 1942 (193.000 to 257.000 Euro), an Oyster Chronograph Antimagnétique „Monoblocco“, made in 1945 (64.000 to 96.000 Euro) and a Cosmograph Daytona „Paul Newman“, made in 1969 (26.000 to 40.000 Euro).

The auction will be held in two parts. April 1 and May 13, 2006, in Geneva at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel du Rhône. For further information please visit www.antiquorum.com.

Text: J. Philip Rathgen/Antiqourum
Photos: Antiquorum