Three unique pieces, three charitable causes…

While I’m sure most of you are by now familiar with the Audemars Piguet “Time to Give” celebrity watch auction (if not, see here), I’d like to bring light to another, albeit much smaller, charity auction that is going on right now.  But it is a charity auction nonetheless.  So thanks to Orologio Blog (in Italian), I was excited to learn that three, one-of-a-kind Maurice-Lacroix Pontos Décentrique GMT timepieces designed by three prolific designers are now up for auction.  You can view details on both the Maurice Lacroix and Wallpaper* (modern design and style blog/magazine) websites.  Bidding started on May 13 and concludes on June 19.   All proceeds from the auction will be donated to a charity of each designer’s choice (as I have noted below each watch).

Current offers for each watch are still near the opening price — €4,250 — for each watch.   I think that any one of these three fine unique pieces should could go for prices in excess of €10,000 — great watches for a great cause — bid high people!

Below is a preview of each watch, as well as a short video of each designer talking about his philosophy for his particular watch.  While all the watches are absolutely spectacular, my personal favorite is the piece by Arik Levy.  Which one is your favorite?

*****

“Raw and Essential” by Arik Levy

Unique Piece

Dial: Black gold, horizontally brushed; engraved hour markers on both second time zone; metal coated sapphire crystal over the day and night disk and date indication, black gold hands (hours/minutes/2nd time zone), luminous at night.

Case: Brushed stainless steel, 43mm

Levy plans to donate the proceeds of this summer’s auction to Sinjiya-Ton, a charity dedicated to the aid of Malian street children.

*****

“Five Continents”, by Gwenaël Nicolas

Unique Piece

Dial: Matt-black, with 5 circles, brushed/polished; glossy black printed hour markers; hands (hours/minutes/2nd time zone) luminous at night. Day-and-night display in black, sun and stars in polished silver.

Case: Polished and brushed, stainless steel, 43mm

Nicolas plans to donate all proceeds from this year’s auction, to human aid organisation, Médicins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).

*****

“Bonded Watch”, by Neil Barrett

Unique Piece

Dial: Completely clad in black leather; raised applied hour markers under the leather; metal coated sapphire crystal over the day and night disk and date indication, hands (hours/minutes/2nd time zone) luminous at night.

Case: Stainless steel completely clad in black leather

Neil Barrett plans to donate the proceeds of this summer’s auction, to world aid charity, Oxfam.

Again, you can visit http://www.wallpaper.com/mauricelacroix or http://www.mauricelacroix.com/#PARTNERSHIPS to place a bid!

Maurice Lacroix Reinventing the wheel?

This one will grab some attention!  Stay tuned for more details….

43.5mm case size, manual wind movement with 48 hour power reserve

This is a new color variation on a previously existing model that is coming in 2010 from Swiss-watchmaker Maurice Lacroix.  Maurice Lacroix says that the “Day Date” model is a best-seller within the Pontos collection, and I think that this new dial color – “solar blue” – as Maurice Lacroix calls it – is a nice extension to this lineup that should help the sales trend continue.  Notice that the dial also has a brushed look to it that radiates out from the center – it must look great under the right daylight conditions!

The stainless steel case is 40mm in diameter with nice curves.  It appears to be mostly polished but there are some satin-finished parts on it as well as you can see in the photos below:

If you look closely you will notice that the tips of the hour and minute hands are luminescent, as are the hour markers around the outer edge.

Otherwise there is not too much else to think about on this watch – just enjoy it!

You can keep an eye out for all of Maurice Lacroix’s new watches for 2010 here on Perpetuelle.com’s Baselworld 2010 Forum.  Actually there are already a few posted, so feel free to check them out now!