Our first live auctions of the fall 2023 season are here! The PHILLIPS Geneva Watch Auction: XVIII, takes place on November 3 and 4, at La Réserve Genève, and the Hong Kong Watch Auction: XVII, takes place on November 24 and 25, at our West Kowloon headquarters. The auction includes more than 180 of the world's finest watches – and naturally, there are a number of extraordinary Cartier pieces to drool over, including the cult-favorite Monopoussoir CPCP (one in Geneva; one in Hong Kong). To celebrate the upcoming auctions, we're republishing one of our favorite Patek Philippe stories, which highlights all the world-time references you need to know at Patek Philippe in the modern era.
– Interview by Arthur Touchot
Arthur Touchot: In 1989, you set up shop in Sainte‐Croix to launch Techniques Horlogères Appliquées (THA) with two other important names in modern independent watchmaking ‐ François‐Paul Journe and Vianney Halter. Can you tell us about meeting these two watchmakers, and how the three of you worked as a team?
Denis Flageollet: François‐Paul had his workshop in Paris, we had met a few times, and he wanted to develop a business of haute horlogerie in Switzerland. He contacted me to set up the workshops and technical support. Vianney joined us later, I don’t recall him working on the chrono-monopoussoir, I believe he had left THA beforehand. But in any case, we were young, we had no doubts and we created incredible objects together that would be difficult to make today.
AT: Together you developped important complications and prototypes for several major brands, including Breguet, and Cartier to name just two. How did you react when Cartier contacted you to create a new single‐push chronograph for the Tortue CPCP?
DF: We had actually already worked for Cartier, we had made many mysterious clocks and watches. At the time the heads of product did not have extensive knowledge of their heritage. We gave them the idea to remake the chrono-monopoussoir Tortue.
AT: What were the issues that you encountered with this piece, and the solutions brought by THA? Do you remember a key moment in the design of its movement? An anecdote that remains with you since its launch in 1998?
DF: The movement is relatively simple, it didn’t pose any particular problems, it just took a little time to adapt to achieving the calibres that corresponded to Cartier’s watchmaking standards. The biggest difficulty was to get Cartier's technicians to understand that they had to have less security on the casing to match the spirit of the original watch and avoid creating a monster!
AT: You then left THA to start De Bethune with David Zanetta, and re‐used the chrono-monopoussoir's Caliber 045MC in one of your new pieces. Is it fair to say that you are very attached to this movement?
DF: It was not exactly the same, but it's a type of movement that I knew well and I trusted its reliability, plus it could be transformed into a 6h minute counter which allowed us to create the DB8.
AT: Many major brands have relied on small independent structures to offer new and innovative mechanisms, especially during the 90s and 00s. What lessons did you learn from this experience, and how did it serve you at De Bethune?
DF: It helped me gain confidence in the development of calibers and casing, in managing the production, qualification and certification of series of watches. These experiences helped me build a entire vertical manufacture, from R&D to the delivery of a finished watch. It was also the difficulty of working with these big brands, who in the early 2000s thought it was good to focus solely on profitability to the point where they lose their own essence, which drove me to building my own brand.
AT: More than 20 years after its release, can you explain the success of the Monopoussoir CPCP ?
DF: I think that the tastes of collectors are more refined and their knowledge is greater, and in the next few years, they will be able to discover other interesting pieces that went unnoticed in the early 2000s.
You can learn more, place a bid, and view the entire Geneva Watch Auction: XVIII catalog here, and the Hong Kong Watch Auction: XVII, 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 Geneva Watch Auction: XIV having realized $74.5 million in 2021. Over the course of 2021 and 2022, the company sold 100% of the watches offered, a first in the industry, resulting in the highest annual total in history across all the auction houses at $227 million.
About Arthur Touchot
Arthur Touchot is a former journalist who specialized in the luxury market. Having earned a master’s degree in journalism at Northwestern University, Arthur combined his love of watches and words by becoming a regular contributor to The New York Times and the Financial Times at the start of his career, later becoming senior European editor at Hodinkee. In 2017, Arthur joined Phillips as International Head of Digital Strategy to lead the global content and digital marketing strategy of the auction house’s watch department, and has been involved in bringing some of the world’s rarest timepieces to auction.
Recommended Reading
An Overview Of De Bethune's Original Three Chronographs
Rexhep Rexhepi Reflects On The Original Chronomètre Contemporain, Five Years After Its Debut