Auctions Three Seriously Collectable Watches Are Coming To Auction For The First Time [Rolex Daytona 'Le Mans', Simon Brette Chronomètre Artisans, And A Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing]

Certainly, the highest profile is a Rolex Daytona 'Le Mans' in yellow gold, a well-known reference in the watch enthusiast world, but it has never been mentioned or appeared in a Rolex catalogue or on its website. Roger Federer famously soft-launched the yellow gold version of this watch at last year's U.S. Open, and the reference has been rarely seen since.

Produced in 2024 as an off-catalogue successor to the extremely short-lived white gold version that launched in 2023 and was in production for less than a year, Ref. 126528LN features a black ceramic tachymeter bezel with the '100' marker in red. Housed in a yellow gold example of the latest Daytona case with a display caseback, the watch is perhaps best known for its dial featuring 'Paul Newman' or exotic subdials and a movement with a 24-hour counter rather than the usual 12, which is a nod to the vaunted 24-hour Le Mans race. Ben Clymer took his white gold version for a spin around this time last year for our Week On The Wrist column. 

Christie's, which is bringing the watch to sale at its Geneva auction this month with an estimate of CHF 150,000 to CHF 250,000, says these yellow gold Daytona references were only allocated to the ultimate VIPs of the brand, personally chosen by Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour. 

While this is the first time a yellow gold Le Mans has hit the auction block, Phillips sold a white gold version in December in New York that fetched $228,600. You can find the lot for this yellow gold Le Mans Daytona here. 

Next, in what might be the most telling result in ranking the desirability of one of the most promising young watchmakers, we have a Simon Brette Chronomètre Artisans Edition Titane making its auction debut. After stints at movement developer Chronode and MB&F, Brette started his brand in 2021 but burst into the wider watch consciousness in 2023 with the small production Chronomètre Artisans selling out instantly and winning the horological revelation prize at the GPHG. The titanium edition is a 60-piece limited production run follow-up to the dozen original souscription Chronomètre Artisans produced in zirconium.

The sale will test the open market appetite for a 39 millimeter watch that Mark Kauzlarich called the best timepiece he saw during Watches and Wonders in 2023, praising its above-the-rim level of finishing, hand polishing, movement construction, and overall attention to detail. At our House of Craft event last October, Simon told Ben Clymer that he's getting over thirty requests a day for his watches—you can watch that full interview right here.  

Selling at Phillips at its Geneva auction with an estimate of $73,400 to $147,000, the lot is, perhaps, reminiscent of when a Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain came to market for the first time in 2023. 

About as low profile as a watch can get (in physical form, that is), the Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing is a prototype that holds the title of the world's thinnest mechanical watch, with the independent Russian watchmaker besting production models from heavyweight brands including Bulgari, Piaget, and Richard Mille, vying for the king of the thins bragging rights. Unveiled at Geneva Watch Days last year, the timepiece is just 1.65 millimeters thick and, as James Stacey reported at the time, required the development of a special strap made out of alligator leather and elastic inserts with titanium supports to help absorb the shocks and strains to the ridiculously thin watch.

Selling at Phillips with a wide estimate of $429,000 to $858,000, the nickel-alloy cased ThinKing is being sold with a titanium PalanKing case that bumps up the thickness to a still incredibly svelte 5.4 millimeters while adding rigidity, automatic winding, and crown setting ability to the watch. For more details, visit the lot listing here.