‘Tool’ watches continue to remain a core model offering across many of the premium watch brands emphasising their ongoing popularity. Whether they be divers watches, pilot watches, chronographs for motor racing and sports, or watches to take exploring these functionalist timepieces have a design aesthetic that appeals to buyers. Tool watches have also helped significantly shape the recent era of vintage wristwatch collecting as enthusiasts dived into acquiring examples of now classic models such as the Rolex Submariner or pilot watches such as the IWC Mark 11.
Rolex Submariner - Credit WatchGecko
This article features a selection of interesting tool watches that have sold at auction this year and asks the question are tool watches still as popular to collect? It’s a relevant question as the collecting market has expanded greatly to now encompass categories such as, independent watchmakers, the luxury sports watch category, and more recently ‘neo-vintage’ watches. Additionally, the current economic climate has impacted the hype that dominated elements of the secondary watch market. In the auction market we may see buyers becoming more discerning than ever in their bidding choices.
To help answer this question I spoke with Simon Sutton at Watches of Knightsbridge. Having followed Watches of Knightsbridge’s auctions over several years I was keen to get Simon’s take on the current market for vintage tool watches. What was most interesting from our Q&A discussion was the wider perspective that Simon provided about the changing vintage market and the broader tastes of today’s collectors.
Q&A - a watch auction specialist’s view of the market
Simon Sutton is a Director at Watches of Knightsbridge, a boutique independent auction house and vintage watch dealer based in Chelsea, London. This long-established family business specialises in fine, rare, and collectable timepieces including both vintage tool and military watches.
Question 1: How do you see the watch auction market in general?
‘The watch buying boom from around 2019 which accelerated during the Covid years created a tremendous boost for watch values at auction. We have now definitely come off that boom period. The peak of the market was probably around 2021. The downturn has been most noticeable for near new modern watches such as Rolex models, but it has had a knock-on effect in the vintage watch market. Not a crazy impact, but noticeable, particularly for more mediocre vintage pieces that are not in the greatest condition, maybe a 6 or 7 out of 10. Rare, special, and important vintage pieces will still obtain good prices as collectors have remained solidly interested in these pieces.’
Question 2: Talking specifically about vintage tool watches, how do you see this segment of the watch auction market?
‘If we are talking about vintage tool watches, such as diver watches, we have seen the market come off a bit for vintage diver brands that while known to enthusiast collectors are not so well known in the general market. Some examples might include Doxa or Enicar Sherpa watches to name a few brands. We saw this also with the vintage Heuer market. All the collectors jumped on the band wagon and prices went up, but once collectors had got what they wanted the market peaked as there wasn’t an ongoing wider buying market. It was always going to be an enthusiast collector’s market.’
‘Rolex still has an advantage in that it appeals to both to dedicated collectors but also to the broader public who might buy a vintage piece because it is a Rolex. Even so with the vintage Rolex Submariner, for example, we have noticed a recent slight drop off in enquiries for these models. This is not to say that there is any less interest in classic vintage tool watches but factors like condition and originality are now even more important than ever. Good patina such as a ‘tropical dial’ is still collectable, but buyers are really taking care and been selective and not just buying any watch.’
Question 3: With regard newer collectors entering the market, what trends are you seeing?
‘As much as anything it’s about the next generation of younger collectors coming through who are looking at other categories of collecting like ‘neo-vintage’ which has gained considerable pace and is now the new collectable. Neo-vintage encompasses often more dressy watches from the 70s, 80s and 90’s. This has resulted in a range of quality watches from this period, once ignored, now been seen as of interest to collectors. We are seeing demand for example for Piaget from the 70s and 80s, Daniel Roth from the 90s, and by far the best selling are watches, both vintage and neo-vintage, are from Cartier.’
Question 4: What about the current market for vintage military watches?
‘Interestingly the military watch category is still probably one of the strongest market segments of what might be termed the ‘old style’ vintage watch market. Military watches have always held strong interest and pieces have broadly remained more affordable, except for the rarest pieces. Additionally, while originality is key condition is not so important as these watches were subject to wear and collectors like this aspect. We are also seeing much more interest in more recent military watches that are gaining collector attention. A good example, which we sold in our 18 November auction, is the rare 80s, IWC Porsche Design Ocean 2000 Bund German military watch made for the Bundesmarine*’.
(*illustrated in the article below)
Recent examples of tool and military watches sold at auction
The great thing about exploring for watches to include in this article is the range of superb items that come up for auction. The hard part of course is in selecting just a handful to feature. So, I have tried to cover a broad range of watches sold this year including both rare vintage watches along with newer watches to reflect the diverse tastes of today’s collecting community. I have also included a few military watches for fans of this important tool watch collector category.
If you are new to collecting and want to start buying at auction, please have a look at my previous Watch Gecko Magazine article How to navigate vintage & luxury watch auctions in the UK for some thoughts. As always do your homework before you bid and know the auction fees. Conduct research to help build up your knowledge about the market, auctions, and watches. If you do have a particular watch in mind to bid on consider its condition, quality, and originality. Try and view the watch in person if possible, read condition reports, ask the auction house for more information if needed, and remember to know what your bidding limits are.
Past and present…. collaborations and classics
The recent Swatch collaboration between ‘Swatch X Omega’ to create the ‘Bioceramic MoonSwatch Collection’, and now the ‘Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms Collection’ between ‘Swatch X Blancpain’ have attracted extensive attention and coverage. What is interesting is that both collaborations within the Swatch Group have selected iconic tool watches in the form of Omega’s Speedmaster chronograph and Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms divers watch. One wonders if there would have been the same wide appeal if they had selected a dress watch instead?
Of course, for collectors of vintage watches the Omega’s Speedmaster and Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms have long been on the collecting radar. The example featured for this article is a very rare early stainless-steel Blancpain Fifty Fathoms diver’s wristwatch from the 1950s. This particular watch has a calibre 1361N automatic movement and is signed Blancpian Fifty Fathoms on the dial, case back and rotor. It is also signed ‘Rayville’ on the inner case back and movement. The watch was sold by Watches of Knightsbridge at their 20 May auction. Estimated at the £18,000 - 24,000 the watch hammered at £24,000, excluding buyer’s premium. © Photo courtesy of Watches of Knightsbridge.
Of note, Blancpain is celebrating this year the 70th anniversary of the launch of the Fifty Fathoms diving watch in 1953. Along with Rolex and their Submariner model, also launched in 1953, watch makers vied during the 50s to create watches for the emerging modern diving era for military, professional, and recreational diving.
Movies, stars, and their watches
Always an excellent combination when it comes to watch auctions and getting the attention of collectors and for potentially large sums to be achieved.
The two examples featured are both Omega watches, one of which has a James Bond connection but was not used in an actual James Bond movie. It was Pierce Brosnan, as 007, who first introduced Omega to the James Bond movie series. The film GoldenEye, (released in 1995) saw Brosnan wearing a blue Quartz Omega Seamaster 300M. However, these two Omega’s were owned by the famed English actor Sir Roger Moore (1927-2017). Sir Roger played James Bond in seven films including The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), For Your Eyes Only (1981), and A View to a Kill (1985).
The watches were both auctioned by Bonhams at their ‘Sir Roger Moore - The Personal Collection’ dedicated sale held on 4 October. The first of the two Omega watches to go under the hammer was an Omega Seamaster James Bond 50th Anniversary model, reference 212.30.41.20.01.005 from circa 2012 with a case diameter of 41mm. The folding clasp is engraved, "To Roger love from Michael and Barbara". Estimated at £20,000-30,000 the watch sold for £57,550 including buyer’s premium. © Photos courtesy of Bonhams.
The second Omega is the distinctive Speedmaster Automatic MK40, Reference: 38205300 from circa 1995 sized at 39mm diameter. The screw down back case personally inscribed 'ROGER MOORE 23-11-1996'. This lot certainly gained attention with an estimate of £5,000-7,000 it shot away to sell at £61,360 including buyer’s premium. © Photos courtesy of Bonhams.
Should bidders at the Bonhams’ auction have wanted a stylish dinner suit to go with their Omega watches one was available. A Douglas Hayward double-breasted mohair dinner suit made for Sir Roger Moore in 1984 sold for £25,600 including buyer’s premium at the auction. The suit was worn by Sir Roger Moore at the Royal Premiere for A View to A Kill in 1985.
Scientific wonders – rare early Rolex Milgauss makes £2 million at auction.
This May, Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, at their Geneva Watch Auction: XVII offered an extremely rare Rolex Milgauss, reference 6541 from circa 1958. Originally developed by Rolex for scientists and engineers the 38mm diameter stainless-steel watch was designed to resist magnetic fields up to 1,000 Oersted. As catalogued the name Milgauss is from the Latin word ‘mille’, which means 1,000, and ‘gauss’, the unit of a magnetic field. The reference 6541 is the very first version of the Milgauss hence its rarity for what was a low production volume model. Commenting on the watch Phillips’ noted that the watch was ‘probably the best preserved and complete example of a reference 6541 to ever grace the auction market’. With its distinctive honeycomb dial, red-triangle bezel and lightning seconds hand all combine to make this watch instantly recognisable. Estimated at CHF 500,000 - 1,000,000 the watch sold well above estimate for a superb CHF 2,238,000, (approximately £2,011,350), including buyer’s premium. © Photo courtesy of Phillips.
Breguet, maker to royalty, nobility ... and divers
The name Breguet is synonymous with beautifully finished high horology timepieces reflecting the history and tradition of the firm’s legendary founder Abraham Louis Breguet, (1747 – 1823). Now part of the Swatch group, (since 1999), the maker also produced a small number of dive watches during the 1960s. This example from 1962 was offered by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, at their May Geneva Watch Auction: XVII. Listed as ‘incredibly rare’ the watch carried an estimate of CHF 40,000 - 80,000 and sold at CHF 120,650, (approximately £108,430), including buyer’s premium. Measuring 37mm in diameter with a stainless-steel case and period rotating Bakelite bezel, plus large luminous indexes on the dial. The watch was accompanied with its Breguet Certificate. © Photo courtesy of Phillips.
For those interested in seeing a display of very rare historic Breguet timepieces, including items on loan from the British Royal Collection, the Clockmakers’ Museum, housed at the Science Museum, in South Kensington, London has a current exhibition. Titled ‘Abraham-Louis Breguet: The English Connection’ the exhibition will run from 12 September 2023 until 8 September 2024. www.clockmakers.org
Military watches continue to march on into the modern era
These three examples of military watches are all from 70s and 80s and reflect growing collector interest in more recent military watches. This includes the rare 80s, IWC Porsche Design Ocean 2000 Bund German military watch refenced by Simon Sutton in our discussion at the start of this article. All three watches sold at Watches of Knightsbridge auctions.
This stainless-steel US Military special forces Benrus automatic type II wristwatch is from 1973. The 42mm watch has an automatic movement with hacking seconds, matt case finish, fixed bars and a numbered 12 hours rotating Bakelite bezel. The case back is inscribed with issue markings ‘MIL-W-50717 TYPE II CLASS A BENRUS 6645-225-1741 X7951 DAAA25-72-C0658 MAR 1973’ with a serial number and ‘U.S’. Selling at Watches of Knightsbridge’s 20 May auction the watch was estimated at £2,500 - 3,500 and hammered at £ 3,800 excluding buyer’s premium. © Photo courtesy of Watches of Knightsbridge.
Listed as a very rare stainless-steel South African Air Force Lemania 5012 pilot’s chronograph wristwatch from circa 1981. Featuring an automatic calibre 5012 movement within a 41mm case. The watch has a screw back case with issue markings AF 11846 and a 60-minute rotating bezel. Selling at Watches of Knightsbridge’s 18 November auction it was estimated at £5,000 - 7,000 and hammered down at £6,000 excluding buyer’s premium. © Photo courtesy of Watches of Knightsbridge.
This very rare sought after Titanium German military IWC Porsche design Ocean 2000 Bund anti-magnetic mine divers wristwatch reference. 3519 AMAG is dated 1988. As catalogued only 52 pieces were produced for the Bundesmarine (German Navy). The watch is accompanied with its original box, textile strap, IWC archive extract and a badge of the German mine hunter boat 'Bad Rappenau' The movement is an automatic calibre 3755 AMAG. The watch is 42mm in diameter and signed IWC International Watch Co with BUND issue markings on the case back and features an IWC Porsche Design titanium bracelet. Sold at Watches of Knightsbridge’s 18 November auction the watch was estimated at £12,000 - 16,000 and hammered at an above estimate price of £20,000 excluding buyer’s premium. © Photo courtesy of Watches of Knightsbridge.
