Don’t believe the hype about hype watches. Not all collectors are attracted by the same watches. Many are showing interest in independent watchmakers and as a growing number become aware of the quality and scarcity of the watches made by these contemporary artists, they seem to naturally gravitate towards their earliest work.
Why, you ask? I think there are several forces at play, and the answer could vary depending on the collector you ask. But I think that rarity is one factor. In most cases those watches are intrinsically rarer since they were made when these watchmakers worked alone or in small teams that restricted the production numbers.
These watches are perhaps also “purer” in their design because they are closer to the watchmaker’s germinal idea of a brand, before any bias from the collecting community can influence his or her later work.
Finally, and to a lesser degree, I think there’s a desire to catch up to those who subscribed to that initial concept and bought the first models to show credibility within that group. You’re late to the party, but you’re there.
Of course, what nobody has, not even the brand’s first client, is a prototype. Until one becomes available, no one knows if they even exist but of course they do. Watchmakers have to test their ideas and refine them before launching a movement, a case, a dial, and other components into production.
The Geneva Watch Auction XIV has not one, not two, but four official “prototype” watches from different brands which reveal the development process for any watch.
Let’s start with the oldest and perhaps the most well-known of this group.
Rolex Day-Date Prototype in stainless steel
One of the first hard and fast rules you learn when you start diving into vintage watches, and vintage Rolex watches specifically, is that all Day-Date models were made in gold. So if you see a Day-Date in a white metal, it is either white gold or platinum.
This is inconsistent with the majority of watches made by Rolex, but having developed some of the most technically advanced sports watches during the first half of the 20th century, Rolex decided to shift into “luxury” watches for the second half, and this was most notably underlined by the introduction in 1957 of the Day-Date, a model which has been made in gold exclusively until this day.
But there are exceptions, in the form of prototype watches.
Before introducing the Day-Date in a gold case, Rolex had a few placed in cheaper, stainless steel cases, to be worn by the watchmakers during the testing phase of the watch’s newly developed cal. 1555, the first in-house Rolex movement featuring the Day-Date complication.
The present watch (movement no. DD14749) is only the fourth stainless steel prototype discovered, after the one featured in John Goldberger’s Rolex “bible” 1000 Superlative Rolex Watches (movement no. 0004547), and two others sold by PHILLIPS in 2018 (no. 0005073) and in 2019 (no. DD411420).
All these four prototype examples were originally gifted to Rolex’s watchmakers at the end of their career and they all have the same Roman numerals dial style.
MB&F LM1 “Longhorn” prototype in stainless steel
The Legacy Machine 1 “Longhorn” is another stainless steel prototype, but it was made to test more than just a new reference. Indeed, what Max Büsser would learn from this model would be used to create one of the very first watches under his own brand – MB&F.
More than ten years have passed since the birth of the “Longhorn”, and MB&F are now a very well establish independent artisanal brand with several models added to the Legacy Machine family, but this one stands out among them for several reasons.
The most obvious is the length of its lugs. As the name suggests, these are longer. In fact, Max Büsser and designer Eric Giroud decided to shorten them in the end to place the strap closer to the edge of the case.
Another unique element that did not make the cut are the glossy black sub dials. Instead, MB&F chose to create white lacquer subdials which have become the signature of the Legacy Machine and feature in every model in that family. Furthermore, the bridge holding the balance is also different from the original version and more organic.
Kari Voutilainen Vingt-8 Inversé in platinum
Launched ten years ago, the Vintg-8 is without a doubt the hero piece in Voutilainen’s catalogue, with several very interesting spin-offs introduced since.
One of them is the Vingt-8 Inversé, which presents the watch’s incredible movement on the dial side. It has to be said, the beauty of Voutilainen’s movement is deserved to be seen, and this particular version shows the Finnish watchmaker’s craftsmanship to the highest degree.
In order to flip the calibre however, and to show its unique construction, Voutilainen had to revisit its architecture, which meant returning a previously tried-and-tested movement into a new testing phase.
The present watch is that very prototype, assembled for presentation purposes we presume, and which ultimately proved successful and led to another 26 models, including 10 in tantalum, 8 in titanium and 8 in platinum.
Ulysse Nardin Freak prototype P°001
You might think the Freak is a nickname given to this watch because of its crazy appearance, but it is in fact the name chosen by former Ulysse Nardin CEO Rolf Snyder to announce a game changing watch model.
It very suitably prepared people for a watch that was very different from everything else being made in Switzerland at the time, and it immediately caught the attention, and in all honesty, shocked the industry when it came out in 2001 in Basel.
This was the first watch to use silicon components in its movement, a material now widely used in the industry, even by Rolex (Tudor) and Patek Philippe. Specifically, this very watch is the first prototype, n°P001.
The Freak most notably introduced a new kind of dual direct escapement with two escape wheels operating alternatively and giving two impulses per oscillation.These escapement wheels needed to be as light as possible, thus the novel and ground-breaking use of silicon which has the further advantage of not needing lubrication.
Way ahead of its time, this watch remains underappreciated for what it is, and I would highly recommend that collectors with a focus for engineering, innovation and history need to take a serious look at this piece.
Unlike other watches previously featured in this article, this prototype was cased in the brand’s final choice of metal – pink gold – with only a small plaque on the case band clearly differentiating it from first generation production models.