Summary of the 87th Auction

SUMMARY OF THE
87TH AUCTION
SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013
SHERATON HOTEL, FRANKFURT AIRPORT
Lot 115*, Pierre-Etienne Buron
Lot 106*, Barraud Nr. 9102
Lot 108*, Fazy & Fils Nr. 8972
Lot 1, Panerai, Ref. 3646
BOXES OF DELIGHT
Visitors on the gallery of the large conference room at the Sheraton Airport
Hotel at Frankfurt were treated to a fascinating view of the bidding floor and the
auctioneer’s stage. To the left of the room a group of company representatives
looked after the numerous national and international clients who had chosen to
bid by telephone. Many of the German buyers had used the public holiday of
Ascension (which fell on the Thursday before the auction) for a short getaway but
still wanted to participate in the auction – so the number of telephone bidders
was higher than ever.
The auction catalogue had been sent out about three weeks earlier, after the
Dr. Crott team had worked up to the last moment to comprise this collection
of more than 600 lots. The gripping afternoon at Frankfurt was peppered with
highlights and only broke for a short interval after lot 282.
Lot 103*, enamel box „Hector bidding
farewell to Andromache“
SPECTACULAR POCKET WATCHES
Lot 2, Panerai, Ref. 3646
KICKING OFF WITH WRISTWATCHES
Right from the start auctioneer Stefan Muser went off at a good pace; the
Paneristi in the room and on the telephones held their breath as lot no. 1, a
military divers watch, easily sailed past its estimate of 20,000 euro and was
knocked down at 43,000 euro. Tension rose and telephone lines ran hot when
another Radiomir (ref. 3646, lot no. 3) was knocked down at an impressive
74,500 euro and the third Panerai (lot no. 4) went through the roof: the extremely
rare Radiomir ref. 6152 (we know of only ten of these watches) in outstanding
condition was knocked down at 159,000 euro.
Lot 4, Panerai, Ref. 6152
One of the great surprises of the 87th auction was certainly the strong interest along with a high price level – in the 18th century enamel boxes Stefan Muser had
collected; the exquisite little treasures wowed the viewers with their finely painted
miniatures and their excellent condition. An oval snuff box by Geneva artist JeanGeorges Rémond with its motif „Hector bidding farewell to Andromache“ was
purchased by a connoisseur for 122,500 euro; a finely engraved square box with
five enamel miniatures by Parisian artist Pierre-Etienne Buron portraying Minerva
as mother of the fine arts fetched as much as 230,500 euro. The remarkable
price of 115,500 euro for a pocket watch by London watchmaker Barraud is in
all likelihood due to the marvellous enamel painting decorating the case of this
piece, at its time created for the Chinese market.
Lovers of fine wristwatches did not have to wait long for the next highlight –
a fascinating collection of different Rolex sports watches and chronographs.
Bidding started slow but soon exploded over four rare Daytona watches
to culminate in a record-breaking 94,500 euro for a Daytona „Paul Newman”
(Ref. 6265).
High quality timekeepers of distinguished provenance are always highly sought
after but on that day collectors were spoilt for choice with the large range of fine
pocket watches from all eras that were on offer. The incredibly well preserved
minute tourbillon with roller lever escapement by Charles Frodsham that had
passed the 1919 chronometer tests at Kew with distinction fetched an amazing
94,000 euro. A quarter repeater by Piguet & Meylan with enamel miniatures and
pearl borders originally produced for the Chinese market was knocked down at
over 200,000 euro.
The star attraction of the auction, however, was without doubt the pocket
watch by Fazy & Fils (lot 108) with its blue enamel case back; the front of the
watch shows the beautiful portrait of a young lady in a plumed hat with set
diamonds. The hat lifts on the press of the button and shows the digital hours.
This exceptionally rare piece estimated at 66,000–80,000 euro was originally
part of the collection of King Farouk I of Egypt and was finally knocked down at
260,000 euro after a fierce bidding war.
Lot 153, Rolex, Ref. 6265
Lot 525*, Frodsham Nr. 09364