Watches

Whether you’re looking for a crowning piece for your world-class collection or your very first mechanical wristwatch, Phillips’ 297-lot Hong Kong Watch Auction: Eight has got you covered. 

From minute dial font formatting changes to original boxes and papers – from an outsider’s point of view, the watch collecting world can appear dauntingly fussy. Which is exactly why Phillips has teamed up with the Hong Kong-based automotive empire Blackbird and its founder TK Mak to present a ‘sports’ watch auction that frames era-defining pieces in a wider historical context of exploration and endeavour.

Laurent Ferrier competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the Everest of the endurance racing world – an impressive seven times in the 1970s. In 1977 he won the two-litre category and in 1979, partnered with François Trisconi and his good friend and industrialist François Servanin, he placed third overall driving a Porsche 935 for the Kremer team. Fast-forward 30 years to 2009 and, having never lost their passion for mechanics, Ferrier and Servanin founded Laurent Ferrier. 

“We had to expand the department in a way that didn’t tread on the toes of the auction side of the business, but rather complemented it,” James Marks told us back in March with regards to Phillips’ plans to expand its private sales division in London. “We have to understand there are clients who want to buy or sell a watch in August and don’t want to wait for an October auction – we need to be a 24-seven business.” 

A designer well known for greying the boundaries between high fashion and sportswear, Mihara Yasuhiro obsession with playful themes often results in pieces that are inherently juxtaposed in their nature. His take on Unimatic’s cult-classic Modello Uno dive watch is no different.