The ONLY ONE

RETURNING THIS NOVEMBER IS THE LARGEST AND HIGHLY ANTICIPATED CHARITY AUCTION EVENT FOR TIMEPIECES, ONLY WATCH. AFTER LOOKING THROUGH WHAT THE 54 WATCH BRANDS HAVE TO OFFER, florey d mikil HIGHLIGHTS THE MOST ASTOUNDING ONE-OF-A-KIND PIECES

SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 2005, ONLY WATCH HAS RAISED MORE THAN 70 MILLION EUROS THROUGHOUT ITS EIGHT EDITIONS, with 99 percent of proceeds going directly to research projects on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). This year, the highly anticipated biennial auction of exclusive luxury timepieces returns for its ninth edition on 6 November. To be held once again under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco and for the third consecutive time with Christie’s auction house, at the Four Seasons Hôtel des Bergues in Geneva, a total of 54 world renowned watch manufacturers will be participating by each creating a one-of-a-kind luxury timepiece to be auctioned. Previous editions have seen the likes of Patek Philippe, Tudor, Chanel, Chopard and more raising millions for the good cause with their unique creations. Patek Philippe – well regarded as part of the Holy Trinity of luxury watch brands, alongside Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin – unsurprisingly set a new record at the 2019 Only Watch, with its Grandmaster Chime Ref 6300A auctioned off at a staggering USD31 million, far surpassing the watch’s estimated USD2.5 million to USD3 million range. It’s worth repeating that the millions raised are for the research against DMD, an inherited muscular disease that primarily affects boys. Luc Pettavino founded the charity auction following his own son Paul’s diagnosis with the disease. Paul tragically passed away at the young age of 21, but Pettavino’s determination never wavered in carrying on his altruistic mission. Pettavino, now serving as the President of Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies, has shared that the researchers supported by the association “have reached the promising stage of preparation for a first clinical trial in 2022, with the reasonable hope of changing the lives of thousands of young people and families.” While we await the stratospheric ninth edition of Only Watch, let us take a peek at some of the resplendent timepieces that will be part of the forthcoming auction. As highlighting each and every piece will require an extensive list, we’ve whittled it down to a select few that are sure to pique any watch or clock collector’s interest.