While many collectors will be concentrating on the theme chronographs only sale- there are some superb watches being offered at the Auction 3 sale by Phillips.

The fact is that while chronographs are cool, some watch connoisseurs including ourselves understand the following very well: That the essence of elegance will never be found in any chronograph watch. Steel or no steel. It will be found in the 2552 Pateks* of the world or 3448 not to mention a Rolex 6062**.

So for a Gentleman who prefers a suit and tie as his daily attire (I include myself in this group) rather than pullovers, sneakers and jeans – Auction 3 has you better covered than the chronograph only sale (well aware that we are being slightly provocative here).

Here are my personal favourite 5 watches coming up for sale at Phillips Auction 3 in no particular order:

(*Credit: Only Vintage, Corrado M; ** J Goldberger).

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Top pick 1: Lets start with an absolute top lot. This is the best Rolex GMT Master 6542 in gold to have ever appeared at auction. Yes -it is that good. Already 8 years ago this watch sold for CHF 290’ooo and set a world record. See the sale in 2008 by christies here.

The watch is mint. And I do not use this word lightly (contrary to many on Instagram). The Bakelite is perfect. Flawless. Look for yourself.

There is no Photoshop here. Just natural sunlight. I am giving you a very rare raw picture of this watch that no other blog or auction house can and will show you.

The case is completely unpolished. Look at all the stampings on the back. The watch comes with every single paper imaginable (original stamped 1958 guarantee, rate certificate, Controls Officiel de la Marche, GMT booklet). I think this watch will break a fresh new world record for any 6542 ever sold at auction. I am willing to bet on it.

It is not really a question of price with this watch. Rather how much big collectors of Rolex sports watch models are going to have to dig to secure this trophy watch. 

Top pick 2: Lets move on to another superb watch that is a personal favourite of mine: The Patek 3448 in the elusive white gold case. It is estimated that less than 100 are cased in white gold.

This watch has a rare German calendar (Donnerstag is Thursday) and the date windows have slightly oxidized. It is – in my opinion – one of the most beautiful perpetual calendars in the world. Sehr schön!

What I love about the 3448 apart from its timeless elegance and just perfect design – is the case. Italians have nick- named the watch ‘Paddelone’ (according to Phillips) presumably because of the relatively large case (37.5mm) and shape. Look at the side of the case and how the crown is partially set in the case. This is what really appeals to me with this watch.

A perfect white gold 3448 will sell for close to CHF 500’ooo today. The low estimate of Phillips CHF 2-300’ooo is because the case has been slightly polished and it is not an earlier series version (this watch has a sapphire crystal as opposed to Plexiglas). Also the watch is a 1975 production year and thus has the ‘line dial’ as opposed to the earlier ‘dot dial’ as minute markers. It is a relatively late series 3448 which are not as sought after as the earlier series watches.

For the collector looking for a hyper rare perpetual chronograph in good but not excellent condition and does not mind the German calendar will be well served to look at this watch closely. It might prove to be a superb bargain.

Top pick 3: We move onto another Patek, this time an exceptional Nautilus 3700 Patek. Phillip’s claim that his might be the most important Nautilus ever offered at auction – is not an exaggeration.

Only 10 examples are known to exist in white gold of a nautilus since the 1970s. This is one of them. What makes this watch extra special is the Khanjar  on the dial, made for the Sultanate of Oman. It is the only known Nautilus known in white gold with the famous sword symbol from Oman.

I tried on the watch. Simply because of the weight alone – the watch had an extraordinary presence. The very strong estimate of CHF 3-500’ooo reflects the uniqueness of this watch.

Top pick Nr 4: An incredibly beautiful triple calendar wristwatch from Jaeger Le Coultre ref 2721. This watch is proof that vintage watches don’t need to cost a fortune. This Jaeger is from 1945 and has aged incredibly well. Notice the beautiful dial with outer red calendar track – contrasting marvelously with the grey dial. The watch has a very nice two tone dial (difficult to see in this picture).

What is further very appealing about this watch is that all the numbers on the dial are out of steel (often these watches have gold  3,9,12 on these type of dials).

Look at the back of this watch. All the engravings and case numbers clearly visible – this watch has probably never seen any polishing in its life. A triple calendar, two tone watch, from the 1940s – all for an estimate of CHF 5-8’ooo. And yes it is a Jaeger Le Coultre.

Pretty awesome and it gets my vote for one of the most interesting and beautiful lots of the entire catalogue.

Top pick 5: I have seen quite of few Rolex sports watches in my life. I take an extreme personal interest in them. When I saw this Turn-o-graph 6202 Rolex from Phillips – I was very impressed. I don’t think I have ever seen such a strong turn-o-graph. Ever.

Now lets be clear. The turn-o-graph does not rank among the most collectable sport watches from Rolex. It never has and it never will. But it is a very early Rolex sports model (even earlier than the submariner) and thus important in Rolex history.

The dial of this watch is exceptional. It is one of the best black lacquer dials I have seen. I exposed it to sunlight and could not see any flaws. Normally when natural sunlight shines on an old vintage Rolex sport watch with a lacquer dial – it exposes all the flaws (cracks, humidity spots, discolouring, lume weakness). This dial was perfect. The lume nicely aged (granted I did not check it for radium levels) and the hands matching the dial lume.

The overall condition of the watch was also very strong with a perfect bezel insert. This is rare because on most turn-o-graphs I have seen – the insert is damaged. I think it is fair to say that I have not seen a better turn-o-graph come to the market in the last 5 years at least. As an added bonus this watch comes complete with guarantee stamped 1962 with serial number on the guarantee (the watch was made in 1953). If the paper is correct – which is not always guaranteed, this watch sat unsold for 9 years.

According to Phillips this watch sold for the upper end of the current estimate (CHF 18’000) already a few years ago at Christies. If the buyer gets the watch anywhere near the estimate – even upper – it will prove to be an exceptional bargain. This watch will be fiercely fought after.

For the highlights of the steel only chronographs sale please see post here.