Update [24/4/23]: In what was one of the most hotly anticipated watch auctions of the year so far, the team at Monaco Legend Auctions put on one of its most successful sales ever, with a catalogue that featured one of the most unique modern Rolex watches in existence. Over two days of bidding, the biggest collectors and dealers in the world gathered at the Le Meridien Beach Plaza, Monaco, to bid on the 261 lots, but the star of the show was the Platinum Rolex Yacht-Master once owned by the CEO of Rolex, hammering for €1.82 million (AU$2.98 million).
It’s a strong result for such an important watch, with unique or custom Rolex watches all but disappearing from production over the last few decades as the brand tightened up its processes around special orders for its best clients. However, this specific timepiece was produced as a prototype at the request of the brand’s CEO to commemorate the 10 millionth chronometer-rated movement to leave the Rolex factory.
While this unique platinum Yacht-Master sold for just below its upper estimate, the result remains a strong one in the context of a slightly bearish market, with global economic conditions seeing a softening of the pre-owned and vintage watch markets that has really started to be felt over the last six months or so. With sales from other major auction houses set to take place in the northern hemisphere’s spring, we’ll have to wait and see how the market performs in the coming months.
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Original Article: In the world of rare Rolex collecting, it truly doesn’t get much better than this. Arriving at auction with the Monaco Legends Group is this absolutely wild platinum and gem set Rolex Yacht-Master, which isn’t just a unique piece but was also once worn by the late Rolex CEO Patrick Heiniger.
You can tell a lot about the person from the watch they wear and if you needed any convincing of the unbridled power wielded by the Swiss watchmaking boss of the biggest brand in the world, a bespoke solid platinum dive watch with sapphires and diamonds is about as powerful as it gets. The Buenos Aires-born Patrick Heiniger was the son of André Heiniger who worked for Rolex from 1948 and was a close personal friend of brand founder Hans Wilsdorf, who eventually took over the company as Directeur General de Rolex after Wilsdorf passed away in 1960.
This role saw the Heiniger family move to Switzerland where Patrick went to law school in Geneva, working as an intellectual property lawyer in New York before returning to Switzerland and following in his father’s footsteps when he took on the job of Director of Marketing for Rolex. It wasn’t long before he was offered the position of CEO that he filled from 1992 until 2008, seeing the Heiniger family lead the Rolex brand for more than half a century and steer it into the market-leading position it enjoys today.
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The reason the Rolex Yacht-Master had a special place in the heart of Patrick Heiniger was that it was the only new model introduced during his tenure, released during his first year as CEO. He had a particular penchant for wearing platinum Rolex models and this specific unique prototype watch was created to celebrate the milestone of Rolex manufacturing its ten millionth chronometer movement, commemorated on the dial with the text “Dix Millionième Chronometre”.
Sporty and luxurious in equal measure, this 40mm platinum timepiece is powered by the same calibre 3135 that was present in the Submariner at the time and features a custom engraved winding rotor that is also made from platinum. On the special shade of grey dial, the cardinal points are indicated by sapphires (apart from at the 3 o’clock date window) while the other eight hour markers feature diamonds set into them.
Truly one of the most unique and important Rolex watches ever made, the Monaco Legends Group offers this platinum Rolex Yacht-Master owned by the brand’s late CEO with a pre-sale estimate of €1 million – €2 million (AU$1.6 million – AU$3.2 million), but I’d be very surprised if it didn’t well-exceed its upper estimate by a significant sum. It’s set to go under the hammer at the auction house’s Exclusive Timepieces sale on the 22nd and 23rd of April, located at the Le Meridien Beach Plaza, Monaco.
