THE TIME LORD
Aurel Bacs might be horology’s most famous man you’ve never heard of. Here, the senior consultant at Phillips auctioneers explains what it feels like to bring down the gavel on the most expensive watches ever sold
Aurel Bacs is the collector’s auctioneer. Find out how he brought down the gavel on the most expensive watches ever sold
MH: Auctioneering aside, can you explain what you do at Phillips?
AB: My job was – and still is – to bring input to the growth and expansion of the watch department at Phillips. As a second job, I facilitate bringing in, vetting and estimating the values of watches that come through the auction system.
MH: Presumably, being well connected is a prerequisite for the role…
AB: I speak to 50-100 collectors a week, at the least. Of course, during peak times, I speak to 50-100 a day. I’ve got the names of 3,000 collectors stored on my phone. It’s just a guesstimate, but the pool of watches that these people own is collectively worth billions of dollars. I know who has what. I’ve sold many watches for them and have sold the same watch multiple times.
MH: Can you give us an example of such a watch?
AB: The reference 6062 – an extremely rare Rolex from the early 1950s that was only made for five years. It was owned by the Vietnamese emperor Bao Dai. It’s yellow gold and has a black dial with diamond markers on the even hours. I sold that watch for the first time in 2002 for $235,000. The highest price ever achieved for it was $5m ( 1). MH: One journalist described that rise in price as “pretty insane”. AB: Actually, I don’t think it’s insane. What was an Apple or Amazon share worth in 2002? And what is it worth today? The people who buy these watches have even outperformed their asset investments.
MH: How do you hear about watches such as the Bao Dai?
AB: Well, I discovered that one when a friend said, “I know one of the sons of the final emperor of Vietnam, and he’s got a very special Rolex.” He was very discreet. He just said, “Come to Paris and look at it.” All I knew was that it was yellow gold, but it could have been a yellow gold Rolex Datejust, not even worth $5,000. We went to the most beautiful bank vault I’ve ever seen. It was like a scene from a movie. He opened the box and pulled out that watch. I looked at it and said to myself, “Oh, my God. This is just amazing.” It’s gorgeous. Really, an amazing watch.
MH: How do you go about verifying a watch like that?
AB: There are multiple ways to vet a vintage watch. The first step is simply to give it a general check-up. But there is some research that you just can’t do at a client’s country house. It would need to be looked at by a watchmaker, various experts and an advisory board.
MH: How often are you surprised by a watch? After a record-breaking sale, do you start to increase your initial estimates?
AB: I would say that I’m a little on the conservative side when it comes to estimates – perhaps that’s just how I was brought up. But never in a million years would I have believed that, one day, I would sell a Rolex Paul Newman Daytona for $18m ( 2). MH: What was going through your head as you stood at the rostrum, while the price went up and up and up? AB: I mean, the $10m bid that came in at 10 times the opening bid would already have been a world record for a watch. I don’t think your distinguished publication can print the precise word that came to my mind. My first reaction was that I probably hadn’t heard it correctly. When I realised that I had, I thought, “What am I going to do next?”
MH: What did you decide?
AB: Do you know that auctioneers can – without providing any reason – refuse or ignore a bid? On one hand, there’s nothing better for an auction house than to sell a Paul Newman watch for $10m, but what an anticlimax! One bid – sold. People had travelled across the world to see a battle, and it would have been over in an instant. To me, it felt as if I was dialoguing with myself for an hour, but I continued and said, “We start the bidding at $10m.” Thankfully, there were multiple phone bidders. I felt five pounds lighter, my palms dried and my body temperature returned to normal.
MH: What was the first watch you owned?
AB: My first proper mechanical watch was a 1980s IWC in steel. I still have it and I’m extremely fond of it. I have perhaps 5-10 watches that would be the last I’d want to give away, and that would be one of them. MH: You obviously have an extensive collection of watches… AB: I don’t know. Do I? I mean, how would you know?
MH: I made an assumption based on the fact that you own at least 10 watches you’d never give up.
AB: First of all, my wife and I love watches – but we don’t think of ourselves as collectors. I don’t know what the word “collector” means. For me, somebody could be a collector with five watches, but they could also own 100 and not be one. I’ve got 100 ties. I’m not a tie collector.
MH: That’s a fair point. Do you ever get recognised?
AB: I can’t go incognito to a watch show or shop. So, the reality is, yes, I’ve been recognised at impossible places around the world. I’ve been approached in Cambodia by someone who said, “You’re the guy who sold the Paul Newman for $18m.” Those are humbling moments.
MH: Finally, do you think that spending $18m on a watch can ever be justified?
AB: Let me ask you the same question first. If you really want to have a Picasso in your home, you can do it for £5 by buying a poster, or £50m by buying the real thing. Can you justify the difference? There is no rationale. Watches, to me, are a form of art. Everybody is free to spend their hard-earned money how they please – and there are far crazier ways to spend $18m than on a watch.
“I DO LOVE WATCHES – BUT I’M NOT A COLLECTOR. I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT WORD MEANS”