With a total of 62 lots being auctioned at the biennial Only Watch charity auction this fall, watch brand participation is at an all-time high.
The only requirement is for each brand to create something unique and donate it — with all proceeds going to support research on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (a genetic disease that concerns 1 in 3,500 boys and weakens progressively all their muscles) — making Only Watch a positive event for all involved.
Of the sixty-plus lots, there are some really nice timepieces and at least a few which foreshadow potential future development. Only Watch 2023 represents the fifth time the Genevan watchmaker has participated, and as typically one of the brands that command the highest dollar value, they did not disappoint.
Taking one of the company’s best sellers, the Chronomètre Bleu, and turning giving it a tantalum case with an integrated bracelet, a unique blue enamel dial with frosted numerals that are only visible with a reflection of light, an orange center seconds hand, and an open caseback revealing the hand-wound caliber 1522 18K rose gold movement which powers direct central seconds (for the first time) — is surely going to appeal to F.P. Journe and haute horological fans alike.
As if that’s not enough, there are moon phase and power reserve indications, integrated into the movement and visible only on the back. Moreover, the Chronomètre Furtif Bleu Only Watch 2023 is also likely a teaser of how F.P. Journe may expand the Chronomètre Bleu collection commercially in the future.
View the entire Only Watch 2023 collection, which will be auctioned by Christie’s on November 5th, 2023 in Geneva.
Photos by F.P. Journe.
