A huge treasure trove of items formerly owned by now disgraced $50 billion-or-so Ponzi scheme ringleader and provacateur Bernie Madoff will be up for auction this weekend in New York.  Sure there will be all the furs, diamonds, and sports memorabilia you can handle (and even a few vintage duck decoys) – but my interest in this one-of-kind auction is, of course, the watches.  Now, being a man of means – that is, a man of means with OPM (other people’s money) – ole’ Bernie managed to assemble himself quite the watch collection.  In fact, The Wall Street Journal reports today that:  “A collection of more than 40 watches, including some women’s watches, 17 Rolexes and several Audemars Piguets, Franck Mullers and Jaeger-LeCoultres, will be auctioned off. ”  The Journal actually singles out one of the more notable big ticket watches, “an 18-karat yellow gold, black-faced vintage men’s Rolex, the Monoblocco, valued between $75,000 and $87,500…” and went on to quote Antiquorum Auctioneers SA Watch Director and Expert Julien Schaerer as saying “It’s a pretty rare watch and it’s pretty desirable” suggesting that an all original timepiece could fetch as much as $75,000 to $100,000.  Not bad for a Ponzi-scheme’s work, eh?

After just a few minutes reviewing the lineup one will see that Madoff had an incredible collection of vintage Rolex watches (I wonder what my vintage Rolex-wearing friends at Hodinkee think?), but he also had quite a few other nice modern and vintage watches as well – Patek Philippe, Blancpain, Hublot, Frank Muller, IWC, JLC….the list goes on and on.  As for all these, I can make not attestations to their authenticity (do you really want to take Madoff at his word?), nor what kinds of prices they may fetch (but don’t expect to steal any of them at bargain prices)…and so while online bids will be allowed, I would highly recommend you preview these watches in person before making a purchase.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the lots that look interesting, shall we?

LOT 237- ROLEX:

Gents 18ky vintage Rolex O.P. “Monoblocco” chronograph wristwatch; aka “Prisoner Watch”; domed plastic crystal; black dial w/ rose tri-sticks &; Arabic numerals; gold hands; polished bezel; 35mm round case; dk brown alligator strap (tang); Model 3525; 17 jewel Rolex mechanical winding mvmt; Serial 380223 (1945).

The meaning of the moniker “Prisoner Watch” – Rolex offered similar timepieces to prisoners of war in Germany during World War II, including those involved in “The Great Escape.”

LOT 235- ROLEX:

Gents 18ky vintage Rolex Oyster chronograph wristwatch; Monochrome motif; gold dial w/ luminous sticks &; Arabics, 3 gold sub-dials; 35.1mm round case; Brown stitched Alligator strap (tang); 17 jewel Rolex Geneve mechanical winding mvmt; Case 4048; Serial 58105 (1935). Note: Professionally restored.

LOT 255 Audemars Piguet

Gents st.steel Audemars Piguet chronograph wristwatch; silver dial w/ 2 sub-dials (at 3 &; 9 positions); 38.81mm round case; brown alligator strap w/ AP deployant buckle; Automatic mvmt; Serial D99198.

LOT 253- Patek Philippe

Gents 18kw Patek Philippe Annual Calendar wristwatch; black dial w/ silver Roman numerals; date at 6 position; 3 black sub-dials; syn saph crystal front &; back; 36.95mm round case; black alligator band w/ 18kw deployant buckle; Model 5035G; 35 jewel Patek Philippe automatic mvmt, Cal. 315/198, Serial 3059777.

LOT 254- Audemars Piguet

Gents 18ky Audemars Piguet Huitieme chronograph wristwatch; crème colored dial &; sub-dials (3); date at 3 position; gold hands; 40.4mm round case; dkBrown alligator strap w/ 18ky AP double deployant clasp; Automatic mvmt; Serial C54966.

LOT 265- Jaeger-LeCoultre

Gents st.steel Jaeger-LeCoultre wristwatch; Master Control Collection, Master Geographic model (discontinued); 38mm round case; silver dial, day at 3/24 hour GMT at 6/power reserve at 10; polished bezel; brown crocodile band w/ deployant buckle; automatic mvmt; Case 142.8.92; Serial No 1401

All pictures and lot information from Gaston and Sheehan.  I would also note that the auction is being conducted by Gaston & Sheehan Auctioneers on behalf of the U.S. Marshal’s service (not Antiquorum), and I could not yet confirm if all the watches listed are Madoff’s or if other lots are also included (will let you know if not the case).

If you happen to go to the auction, would love to hear your thoughts.

The King of Watch Brands

Did you know that of the Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, Rolex is the only brand that is solely dedicated to luxury watchmaking?  According to BusinessWeek magazine, publisher of this annual ranking  for many many years now, the total brand value of Rolex is $4.6 Billion, down just slightly from its 2008 assessed brand value of $4.9 billion.  This puts Rolex at #68, up 3 spots vs. last year (#71).

As noted, Rolex is the only brand solely dedicated to luxury watches on the list.  Other brands that make some nice watches but are primarily focused on lother luxury goods are also on the list, including:

• Louis Vuitton – #16, Brand value $21 billion
• Gucci – #41, Brand Value $8.2 billion
• Chanel – #59, Brand Value $6.0 billion
• Hermes – #60, Brand Value $4.6 billion
• Tiffany & Co – #76, Brand Value $4.0 billion
• Cartier – #77,  Brand Value $4.0 billion
• Burberry – #98, Brand Value $ 3.1 billion
• Polo Ralph Lauren – #99, Brand Value $3.1 billion

You can check out the entire “100 Best Global Brands” on BusinessWeek’s website by clicking here.

It is always an interesting list to review!

Perpetuelle.com Moderator James Bond recently attended a splendid “Get Together” (or “GTG” as the hard core watch enthusiasts refer to them) in Boston, MA.  The watches in attendance at this GTG were phenomenal and I wish I could have been there to enjoy them (I’m sure the people were nice, too).  In addition to a beautiful Rolex Red Daytona, the lineup of vintage watches was amazing.  I am sharing a couple teasers below, but you’ll need to click here to check out Mr. Bond’s full report on the Perpetuelle.com World Watch Forum.  Partial Listing of Watches in attendance include: Rolex “Red Daytona”, Vintage Ulysse Nardin, Vintage Omega Seamster 300, Vintage IWC, Pink dial Minerva, Omega Seamaster Broad Arrow, Chopard, Breguet Type XX, Omega SMP, (Vincent?) Calabrese.

Thanks for the great GTG report, James!

Rolex Red Daytona

Photo: James Bond

“Group Shot”

Photo: James Bond

Again, click here to check out Mr. Bond’s full report on the Perpetuelle.com World Watch Forum.

Advantage? You decide (leave a comment below)

Check it out – a Rolex DEEPSEA, and the new Oris ProDiver, both at work in the North Sea! I am pretty sure these are two separate occasions, or else we might have seen the clash of these 2 titans unfold before our very eyes

First, here is a video of what purports to be “The First Rolex deepsea to undergo an operational commercial saturation dive. 2000 hrs gmt 25 Nov 2008 from dive support vessel Technip Wellservicer working for British Petroleum. Working depth 125 Meters North Sea”  WARNING: aside from having a Rolex DEEPSEA in it, this movie is extremely boring. Even the footage in which the diver shows off his Rolex (I think that is an official “Rolex #1” diver’s hand signal, right?) is rather lackluster – so just watch between minutes 1:00 and 2:00 - And use your imagination people, this is the North Sea they’re in!

Next we have the new Oris Pro Diver, as worn by Oris “Ambassador” (a perfectly fitting description of this rugged looking fellow) Roman Frischknecht. In these few pictures, Roman is 200km of the north east coast of Scotland – in the 10 degree North Sea – at work as an underwater welder. You can see the massive size of the ProDiver -51mm- but it is probably surprisingly light as it is made of Titanium metal.

There is also a video by Oris – a bit more interesting than the Rolex production above, but you’ll have to visit the Oris website to view it (click here to watch).

Tale of the Tape

Are these highly customized “all black” watches a fad or here to stay?

_____Black-out concept _________________________________Bamford & Son___

I have seen some news and Internet discussion (see here-PW, here-Selectism, here-Business Montres, here-Hodinkee) over the past couple years about 2 companies operating in “aftermarket” watch customization of a very specific kind – that is, the creation of “all black” watches – so I thought I would take the opportunity to give you a quick run down.   Bamford & Sons of Sloan Square in London first offered their all black Rolex Daytona, all black Rolex Submariner, and all black Rolex GMT in 2007, and have since expanded their offering to include an all black Rolex Milgauss, all black Rolex Explorer II, all black Rolex Yacht-Master, and most recently an all black Tag Heuer Monaco.  Black Out concept, based in Switzerland, was created in 2007 and showcases a variety of all black watches on their website as well as some pretty sweet looking exotic automobiles, too.

Interestingly, these two companies have quite a different approach to their “all black” watches, which I have compared and contrasted for your here:

Although Bamford & Sons seems a bit more “polished” in their presentation (fancier, more functional website, etc.), I have to give the edge to Black-Out concept for their “edge” and attitude when it comes to an aftermarket all black watch. I also like that the Black-Out concept is reversible (or so the company claims), and you can use a watch from your existing collection (or any watch , really) whereas Bamford is limited to just two selections the Rolex Submariner and the Tag Heuer Monaco.  And finally, I like some of Black-out concept’s other work as well, namely this blacked out Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano

But I digress!  As for me, well….the traditional watch enthusiast in me finds many of these “customised” “all black” watches, particularly the Rolexes, to be very unsightly.  In many ways it makes the watch look like a cheap counterfeit.  But hey, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?  And if someone wants to “black out” their Rolex Milguass, Submariner, GMT, Deepsea, or Daytona, then by all means go for it!  Undoubtedly the demand for these watches is small – which is why the brands do not and are unlikely to ever produce their own – well, some brands do offer “all black” models, but I think the attraction here is actually the whole “aftermarket” concept and being able to mod your luxury watch just because you can!

So, are customized “all black” watches a fad or will they be yesterday’s news before we know it?  Feel free to post a comment below and let me know what you think!