OnlyWatch 2023 - My Top 5 Picks

This year will once again mark another instance of biennial charity auction, OnlyWatch, where some of the major names in horology come together to produce a collection of unique timepieces which are auctioned for charity, funding research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. This year marks the 10^th edition of OnlyWatch, and there are 62 lots, with 73 brands contributing and an impressive 16 collaborations!

OnlyWatch was founded by Luc Pettavino in 2005 as a charity auction raising funds to support research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in memory of Luc’s son Paul, who sadly passed away in 2016. Over this time, Onlywatch auctions have raised over 100 million Euros, and increased awareness for the condition, which manifests as progressive weakening of the muscles leading to heart and respiratory problems.

For more information on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy or OnlyWatch, I have provided some links at the end of this article.

My Top 5 Picks from OnlyWatch 2023

With 62 lots to choose from, I have kept with my approach from looking at OnlyWatch 2021 and decided to pick my top 5 stand-out lots and look at them in a little more detail; I have also provided links to each individual lot at the end of the article as well so you can go straight to the page and check it out for yourself if you so wish. For now, here are my stand-out picks.

Andersen Genève – Jumping Hours OnlyWatch 2023

This stunning piece whilst at first glance may look like a black dial, it is in fact cut from pure Jade stone, cut to just 0.4mm thick with a flawless, flat finish. The Jade is then hand-coated in a black lacquer to complete the effect. This deep colour looks magnificent against the polished platinum case, which is also finished with a pink gold crown.

The Jumping Hours was launched in 2020 to celebrate Andersen Genève’s 40^th anniversary and is one of my favourite executions of the jumping hours complication – this particular reference with the deep black dial, polished platinum case and punctuated with the pink gold crown and minutes subdial at 6 o’clock provides a beautiful contrast of colour. Furthermore, the Frédéric Piguet 11.50 movement showcased through the sapphire caseback on the reverse is exceptionally well finished, with a blue ring around the circumference highlighting this as an OnlyWatch piece unique.

To my eye, this is one of the most beautiful and attractive lots this year. Svend Andersen is a master watchmaker and founder of the AHCI, and I was also fortunate enough to have been able to interview him previously as well – you can check out my interview with Svend Andersen here!

Andersen Genève Jumping Hours for OnlyWatch 2023 – photos, OnlyWatch

Bulgari – Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Marble

The Octo Finissimo collection from Bulgari has been a canvas for pushing and breaking boundaries for many years, with many “thinnest” world records broken along the way including the world’s thinnest minute repeater (6.85mm including case in 2016), automatic watch (5.15mm including case in 2017), and world’s thinnest automatic tourbillon (3.95mm including case in 2018). For OnlyWatch 2023, Bulgari have taken the Octo Finissimo once more as their canvas, and turned it into a true work of art.

The DLC titanium case has been coated with a 0.5mm layer of Verde di Alpi green marble, with no less than 110 facets of marble adorning the case, creating an overall effect which is truly nothing short of spectacular. The hands and indices on the dial are in gold and look ever opulent against the deep green marble – and I think looks very Bulgari.

The tourbillon is on show at 6 o’clock, part of the manually wound BVL268 calibre which is just 1.95mm thick (the watch itself in its entirety is 6.9mm thick), ensuring there is some horological finesse on show alongside the incredible 800 hours of development and production that went into the craftsmanship of the marble case, bracelet and dial.

Would I wear this one? In all honesty, no, however this is something that caught my eye immediately and I think it is an incredibly special watch that I am very glad exists!

Bulgair Octo Finissimo OnlyWatch 2023 caseback

Bulgair Octo Finissimo OnlyWatch 2023 marble

Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Marble for OnlyWatch 2023 – photos, OnlyWatch

Girard-Perregaux – Neo Constant Escapement OnlyWatch Edition

Another of the best-looking watches, at least to my eye, from OnlyWatch 2023 is from Girard-Perregaux. It is a brand that I have a lot of respect for, and I am a great admirer of what they do – one of the things I especially like to keep an eye on with them is their use of an innovative constant force escapement.

This escapement uses a silicon blade to ensure a constant force – think about holding a train ticket or business card between your thumb and finger, bending it into a slight curve, and popping it back and forth from bending out to in and back again. This ‘pop’ doesn’t ever happen more slowly or quickly, but instead occurs at a consistent force – with this innovative escapement, Girard-Perregaux harnesses this concept to ensure that the watch will deliver a constant force on each impulse.

For OnlyWatch 2023, this escapement has been used in a 45mm sandblasted pink gold watch which is based on the iconic Bridges collection, and I think it looks both contemporary, stylish, and simply put – awesome.

Girard-Perregaux for OnlyWatch 2023 caseback

Girard-Perregaux for OnlyWatch 2023 macro

Girard-Perregaux Neo Constant Escapement for OnlyWatch 2023 – photos, OnlyWatch

Petermann Bédat x Auffret Paris – Chronomètre d’Observatoire

I am a keen admirer of independent watchmakers Gaël Petermann and Florian Bédat, as well as Theo Auffret, so when I learned that they had collaborated on a piece unique for OnlyWatch I was excited to see what it was! For the time being, however, they are keeping us on tenterhooks with only a sketch of the watch and a vivid description to go on.

Taking the design languages of Peterman Bédat and Auffret Paris, being a huge fan of each in their own right renders me especially excited to see the photos of this watch when they release them. From the description, these have been combined in the movement by taking the signature hallmarks from each, an engraved silver dial with rose gold indices and hands, with a blued steel seconds hand – which are all bound to be stars of the show given the watch itself is a three-hand chronometer.

This unique piece for OnlyWatch 2023 has been designated reference 1342 – I can’t help but wonder if there is another secret reason behind this, as I know from speaking with Gaël and Florian previously that this is something they like to do, as they did with their recent 2941 release of a monopusher rattrapante chronograph – you can check out my interview with them here!

Peterman Bédat x Auffret Paris for OnlyWatch 2023 – photos, OnlyWatch

Baltic Experiments – Premier Quantième Perpétuel

And last, but by absolutely no means least, is the submission from Baltic. Their 1/1 monopusher chronograph was in my top 5 picks of OnlyWatch 2021, and I love that they have smashed it again with this year’s submission of the Premier Quantième Perpétuel, which introduces Baltic’s new fine watchmaking line, Baltic Experiments.

Baltic have worked with the team at Maclef, the movement is based off of a Vaucher 5401 and put the perpetual calendar into a steel and titanium case that is just 37mm in diameter, and 9.8mm thick (albeit this doesn’t include the glass).

The layout of the perpetual calendar on the dial uses a big pointer date, with the odd numbers placed around the edge of the dial, with the day indicated on the 9 o’clock subdial, with the month and leap year indicator at 3 o’clock. There is also a running small-seconds and moonphase complication at 6 o’clock.

Set against a purple dial I think this watch looks absolutely fantastic, and also is testament to what a smaller watch brand can do. I am really excited to see what comes from this new Baltic Experiments line in future!

Baltic Experiments Premier Quantième Perpétuel for OnlyWatch 2023 – photo, OnlyWatch

The OnlyWatch 2023 Collection

In addition to these 5 picks which stand out to me, there are another 57 lots in the collection, including other as-yet-unreleased contributions from the likes of Patek Philippe and Rexhep Rexhepi. Below I have listed out each of the OnlyWatch contributors and provided the links to their listing on the OnlyWatch website, for anyone interested in exploring the collection further.

In Summary

I really enjoy seeing the new announcements for OnlyWatch, it grows every year as more and more brands get involved, and it’s great to see so many unique collaborations as well. It is especially exciting to see what happens when the shackles come off as it were in terms of regular catalogue designs, as certain brands will really push the boat out and come up with really off the wall pieces which are great fun to see.

The shackles also seem to come off with the bidding and results, with multiple world records coming from OnlyWatch auctions!

It seems again that the Christie’s World Tour of the OnlyWatch collection is not visiting London, so I won’t be able to see these watches in person, but the tour will be visiting Los Angeles, New York, Monaco, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai and Geneva, ahead of the auction on 5^th November 2023. If you’re able, I would highly recommend going along to check them out in person!

For any questions, please get in touch via our Contact page, or via our Instagram.

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For more information on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy or other Muscular Dystrophy conditions, visit www.musculardystrophyuk.org, or www.mda.org

For more information on OnlyWatch, visit www.onlywatch.com

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OnlyWatch 2023 – My Top 5 Picks