Possibly the most unexpected, most unassuming, and most beautiful watch on sale this weekend was this stainless steel time-only wristwatch with teardrop lugs. Made in 1947, it was sold two years later to Bittmann, a well-known Swiss jeweler based in the little alpine town of St. Moritz, to whom the Swiss manufacture sold several complicated wristwatches. I could tell you that a few people on our team were eyeing this watch before the sale, and apparently we weren’t the only ones.
Christie’s Lot 135 – A Square Full Calendar Watch
The very next lot was another rare replica Audemars Piguet that sold for even more. A full calendar in a precious white metal case with movable lugs, this is one of the sophisticated wristwatches Bittmann received from Audemars Piguet in the 1920s. It’s also one of Audemars Piguet’s first full calendar wristwatches, and one of the first full calendar wristwatches full stop.
This fake Audemars Piguet‘s museum has four of the nine known models (the only reason why it didn’t go after this watch itself), so the sale of this special example represented a rare chance for collectors to acquire one of the finest triple calendar watches of the 20th century. And that fact wasn’t lost on them. 
Phillips Lot 198Triple Calendar
One watch we always knew would do well is this yellow gold item provided by Phillips. Audemars Piguet made only 20 of these triple calendars, more than half of which are currently MIA. Isn’t it just beautiful? There’s so much open space on the dial, the typography is crisp and clean, and the indications are all really easy to read. It’s amazing, but not in a fussy way.
As a whole, these three replica watches sold for more than all of the Royal Oaks (nine in total, 10 if you count Offshores) from the Christie’s and Phillips sales combined.