Our final live auction of the spring 2026 season, The Phillips New York Watch Auction: XIV, takes place on 13–14 June at our Manhattan headquarters, bringing together more than 150 exceptional watches in a carefully curated sale. Ahead of the auction, we’ll be highlighting some of its most compelling timepieces and stories, including the lots featured in this article.
By Donald Kim
Isaac Slade is an American musician and songwriter best known as the former frontman of The Fray, the Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum band whose sound came to define the emotional landscape of the early 2000s.
Distinguished by his deeply expressive voice and introspective lyrics, Slade shaped a body of work that continues to resonate with audiences worldwide. Now embarking on a solo career, he talks to Phillips’ Donald Kim about his Rolex Milgauss that will be auctioned at Phillips New York on June 13-14.
Donald Kim: What initially drew you to this Rolex Milgauss, and what made it stand out among other watches you could have chosen at the time?
Isaac Slade: It was a metaphor that drew me to it. I had been going through a lot of emotional stuff, struggling with keeping correct boundaries with everybody – letting the close people in and keeping the far people out. At its core the Milgauss is all about shielding and all about preventing radiation and magnetic waves affecting the time. And I wanted something like that on my wrist everywhere I went, as I played shows, as I did interviews, as I met fans, as I faced critics. It served as a little touchstone to remind me that there's a metaphysical shield around me as I am dealing with all of these different situations and different people.
How did the design resonate with you?
I loved the Milgauss, but I didn't like the tritium glow-in-the-dark hands and markers. And when I discovered that the CERN dial existed, that the scientists there were such hardcore nerds that they were reaching out to Rolex for something without the glow-in-the-dark part. I got so embarrassingly giddy because the black on the silver looks so good.
I wanted something that was really special, but that flew under the radar. I sort of had a flashy job, so I wanted to offset that by a chill watch. In all the years that I wore it, only three or four people ever even noticed and commented on it, and they were all like watch nerds!
You also mention the CERN in one of your songs. Can you tell us about this?
One of my songs is called Munich, and we wrote it about CERN and the pursuit of the God particle, the Hadron Collider. The history of that place is just fascinating to me. I am really into science. My dad's an engineer. I was really into math. My 12-year-old son is an aspiring engineer. So, I was just thinking about getting a piece of history that CERN was a part of. That was so meaningful to me.
Do you associate this watch with a particular chapter in your life or career?
It was my come down watch. I had lived in a rock and roll rocket ship for two decades and had reached heights I never thought imaginable. This was my sort of coming to terms with what had just happened watch. We had just left Denver to live in a small island community just outside of Seattle. I was adjusting, struggling to adjust to normal life again.
I just needed something that reminded me of both the wonder and magic of life but also the mundane side of things. If I can hold on to both of these I can usually stay balanced. If I get lost in the mundane, I forget why I'm alive. But if I get lost in the magic. I forget to make my kids sack lunch! If I can hold on to both of these, everything usually goes pretty well. And that watch was a symbol of that as I came down from that big rock star red carpet life.
Are there any particular memories you have with this watch?
I played shows and concerts with it. I went on trips all over the world with it. I did a bunch of writing with it. It was my daily driver watch, and it had become a big part of the creative season that I'm in now because I'm starting my solo career. So that watch was like “Old Faithful.”
As someone immersed in music and creativity, do you see any parallels between collecting watches and creating music?
Absolutely, every watch is a blend of art and science; if either is left to its own devices, it loses its way a little bit. Science without the awareness of beauty becomes soulless and cruel.
When the two are together, it creates this inimitable dance between the masculine and the feminine that can create things that not only stand the test of time but also facilitate spiritual moments of presence. When an object manages to hold on to both of these things, it's a rare and incredible reminder of our own bodies’ simultaneous limitations and limitlessness.
You can learn more about these timepieces, place a bid, and view the entire Phillips New York Watch Auction: XIV catalogue right here.
About Phillips In Association With Bacs & Russo
The team of specialists at Phillips Watches is dedicated to an uncompromised approach to quality, transparency, and client service. Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo holds the world record for the most successful watch auction, with its DECADE ONE (2015–2025) sale having realized $83 million in 2025. The annual total for watch auctions in 2025 exceeded $290 million, marking the first time any auction house's Watches department has surpassed US$200 million in annual sales for five consecutive years.
About Donald Kim
Donald Kim is Associate Specialist, Watches at Phillips.
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