Borna Boschunjak
After the whirlwinds that were at the Geneva Watch auctions in April and May, the wheels of the world of vintage watches continue to turn, looking next to the June auction by Knightsbridge watches. There are many to choose from, with around 200 lots numbered. Like most auctions, Steel Sports Rolex may continue to dominate, but with only 23 total, there will be plenty of time left to get into the spotlight for a piece worthy of other highlights. As always, we chose several headlining lots, but also some hidden gems that you might have overlooked.
Cartier carrying “London” on the dial is very special, and the same goes for this medium-sized Sintere. Though the shape of the cintret was imagined in the 1920s, the creativity of the brand’s London front post base in the 1960s simply couldn’t bypass its (dare I say) iconic curved cases and dials. Instead of repeating the Art Deco shape, Cartier London modernized the Cintret with elongated Roman numerals, forming a neat rectangle in the center of the dial, replacing the “old-fashioned” Breguet’s hands with a sword handset. This particular London Sintre is separated by its white gold case. The white gold case is clearly rarer than the yellow counterpart and the original black dial. It is engraved with a movement number indicating the year of production in 1968, and features a rectangular, manually wrapped jaeger-lecoultre caliber K840.
Estimate: £30,000 – £50,000
We are still in the realm of Cartier, but we’ve moved forward for about 20 years and completely changed the direction of our design. The 1980s meant a major change in Cartier’s modus operandi as they no longer operated individually from their offices in Paris, London and New York. However, unification did not halt design advancements. To make this vision come true, Cartier recruited Gerard Ghent, a now-famous watch designer, to create a pasha. One of the designs was this: a permanent calendar minute repeater. The 38mm case with a symmetrically placed Cabocon set crown (technically pusher, fine) had a busy dial with the very important Lapis lazuli and Gold Moon Phase.
The design certainly exists there and remains to this day, but one of its most notable features is its movement. This is an automatic variant of the ultra-thin genta (using a Cartier branded skeletonized rotor) that was brought to the market for his references in 1982. The G2015 was developed in-house by Michael Golay and has intricate carvings on all the bridges. It was also technically impressive, measuring just 2.72mm with a hand-winding variant, and its repeater was activated at 9am with a pusher instead of a slider. This example dates back to 1988 and isn’t as uncommon as the five-piece run in platinum, but the original box, winder, correction tools and warranty documents are still visible. Furthermore, this is an example of making the best watches from past times, combining some of the most respected names in the industry.
Estimate: £15,000 – £25,000
The next lot on the list will move forward in just a few years, but will do 180 again in terms of style. With the instantly recognizable Oyster case, the Rolex Explorer has long considered many to be the perfect all-around everyday. ref. 14270 What we are seeing here was notable in two things. First of all, it was a watch that took over from the Explorer Ref. By doing so by clearly distinguishing itself as a modern, luxurious watch with applied numbers and high beat calibers, despite the introduction of 1016, 1989 already 36 years ago. As I’m getting older with everyone, the first run of 14270 is especially desirable because it has unbranded 3, 6, and 9 numbers. Therefore, it is the nickname “Blackout”. As it is the e-series, the watches provided by Knightsbridge watches are considered to be the rarest blackout variant, especially with the original second hand with more room pips towards the time markers.
Estimate: £8,000 – £12,000
Not all Patek Philippe clocks are fortresses of hype. ref. The 3406 was produced in the 1950s and 1960s, and its square cases usually have an index that stretches the Arabic “12.” However, this particular example has a frame-like layout with four indexes pushed into very corners. Apart from looking like a great Nick, most 3406S boasts yellow gold cases, so I don’t even remember seeing this white gold layout appear recently. It features a manually damaged caliber 23-300, a respected movement used in many of the brand’s small pieces from the mid-1950s to the 70s.
Estimate: £5,000 – £7,000
It’s this stunning rectangular Ardmar Pig dress watch that comes from a time when recognizable reference numbers and model names were not the norm today. It is given the “Crysta Roll” nickname for its stepping stone bezel, which came from the similarly styled dressy Cartier, Monica’s original custodian. With a hidden lug, this is actually about the case, but the slim case hides the movement that manually hurts Ardmer’s Piga.
Estimate: £5,000 – £7,000
When you think about Jaeger-lecoultre, you probably think of Reverso, or one of the many high-end complications of the brand. However, Master-Quartz does not feature Heliotourbillon. In fact, there is no mechanical movement. Instead, it came from a time when Quartz seemed like the only advancement. Despite being part of the CEH developing Beta 21, Jaeger-Lecoultre ended up using the Girard-Perregaux 352 on the Master Kurtz, due to its excellent dimensions that allow for a sensible case size of 38mm.
As far as this particular Masterkurtz is concerned, the case is not a more popular oval type, but I chose it for the dial. That clear pattern is usually called the “Buzzsaw” dial. This is the style that Universal Geneve has gained popularity for use in Unison. Both watches are rare and unique examples of alternative motion techniques that eventually fled in the gorgeous segments and once again mechanically give way. For me, estimation alone deserves a dichotomy between a respected mechanical motion maker and a third-party quartz caliber.
Estimate: £500 – £1,000
