This November, Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo will celebrate a decade of watch auctions with the Decade One (2015-2025) thematic sale at the Hôtel Président in Geneva. This landmark sale marks the successful first 10 years of the Phillips Watches department, reflecting on the remarkable watches, record-breaking results, and new scholarship that have shaped Phillips Watches since its inaugural auction in 2015.
– By Logan Baker
Fittingly for a sale that reflects both history and innovation, the upcoming Phillips Decade One (2015-2025) thematic auction includes a selection of one-of-a-kind prototypes – watches that capture ideas in their earliest form, often revealing details or solutions that never made it into production. Sometimes they feel experimental, other times nearly complete, but each one offers a direct window into a watchmaker’s process.
A prototype offers the opportunity to see a piece of horological history at its most candid. Several notable prototypes will be offered in the sale, from both established brands and contemporary independents.
Lot 66: A Circa 1995 Vacheron Constantin Saltarello ‘Prototype’ Ref. 43041 in 18k Yellow Gold
Estimate: CHF 30,000 – 60,000
Vacheron Constantin has been known for its experiments with alternative time displays for decades.
However, the Saltarello was the first wristwatch from Vacheron to combine a jump-hour aperture with a retrograde minutes display. Released in the late 1990s in a series of 500 watches, the present example is the original prototype, created around 1995.
This early watch tested a “brake system” to cushion the retrograde return, visible through an aperture at six o'clock on the dial – a detail later abandoned in the production series. The guilloché dial and engraved rotor also slightly differ from the final design.
Originally housed in a gold-plated case engraved Test N°1, it was later recased by Vacheron in 18k yellow gold and engraved Pièce Unique. Consigned by the watchmaker who developed the Saltarello for Vacheron, this prototype represents a rare opportunity to acquire the Saltarello at its inception – an essential piece of neo-vintage Vacheron Constantin history.
Lot 138: The 1984/86 André Beyner and Maurice Grimm Project P29 Prototype N°II in 18k Yellow Gold
Estimate: CHF 30,000 – 60,000
This experimental yellow-gold prototype, created by André Beyner and Maurice Grimm, was the first ultra-thin, self-winding tourbillon wristwatch.
Its movement, just 2.7mm thick, was integrated directly into the caseback and used a novel “hammer” winding system driven by a platinum oscillating mass. Audemars Piguet eventually acquired the project and, in 1986, launched the calibre 2870 inside the landmark ref. 25643.
The present prototype, accompanied by original technical drawings and correspondence, captures the moment when new machining technologies made such advances possible. This is one of the watches that helped reestablish the tourbillon as a showpiece of modern haute horlogerie.
Lot 183: A 2025 David Candaux DC12 MaveriK ‘Prototype' in Titanium
Estimate: CHF 45,000 – 90,000
Known for his tourbillons, David Candaux pursued a different path with the DC12, his first time-only watch – though one with a double escapement and differential.
He first encountered the system in the mid-1990s as an apprentice at Jaeger-LeCoultre, when a 1930s double-escapement pocket watch came in for restoration, the same watch that had inspired Philippe Dufour to create the Duality. By averaging the rates of two balances, the mechanism delivers greater precision.
Candaux began development of his own double-escapement wristwatch in 2008, but it wasn’t until 2025 that his vision was realized with the DC12.
Featuring a curved case and seven-level movement architecture, Candaux secured three patents for the new, in-house calibre C30. The present example, christened model α (Alpha), is the very first prototype and the only one to use a movement made from German silver (the production series will utilize titanium). It is offered in new, unworn condition.
Lot 72: A Circa 2024 Hajime Asaoka Tsunami 'Art Deco' Prototype in Stainless Steel, N°0/6
Estimate: CHF 40,000 – 80,000
Hajime Asaoka is considered a leader of contemporary Japanese independent watchmaking. A member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI), Asaoka is a self-taught watchmaker who produces a small number of handmade wristwatches each year in his Tokyo workshop.
His most well-known creation is the Tsunami, a time-only wristwatch featuring an in-house, manual-wind movement with an oversize 15mm balance.
He recently released the Tsunami ‘Art Deco’ Limited Edition, which was nominated for a 2024 GPHG award in the Men’s Watch category. The present example is the prototype of the limited series, number 0/6.
Lot 157: A 2024 Konstantin Chaykin Joker ‘Fiat Lux, Prototype’ in Stainless Steel, N°00/38
Estimate: CHF 20,000 – 40,000
Russian watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin has long charmed collectors with his playful Wristmons series, and the present “Fiat Lux” example (Latin for “let there be light”) is the prototype of his first openworked "Joker" model.
The watch reveals the mechanics behind its signature jester-inspired face: the eyes serve as sub-dials, with the left indicating the hours and the right the minutes, while the smile at six o’clock contains a moon-phase display. It was also the first Wristmon to feature an exhibition caseback.
Numbered 00/38 from a series made for Beijing retailer West Wood Time, this is the original prototype – the Joker that introduced the world to this openworked design.
Lot 55: A 2021 Cédric Johner Abyss Chronograph 30th Anniversary ‘Prototype’ in Stainless Steel
Estimate: CHF 15,000 – 30,000
Cédric Johner, a Geneva-based watchmaker and jeweler, celebrated the 30th anniversary of his independent career in 2021 with the 30-piece Abyss Chronograph, powered by new-old-stock Valjoux 23 movements.
The present prototype utilizes Johner’s signature tonneau-inspired Abyss case in stainless steel but differs from the production series in key ways: its movement decoration is more traditional, and the chronograph and central seconds hands are red rather than silver.
This prototype highlights Johner’s instantly recognizable design language in its most direct form: an inventive blend of jeweler’s craft and watchmaker’s precision.
You can view the complete Phillips Decade One (2015-2025) auction catalogue here.