Article | Pucci Papaleo Collection Vintage Rolex Chronographs Part I Phillips Geneva Watch Auction Xxiv November 2026

Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo is delighted to present The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV, a live auction taking place on 7–8 November 2026 at the Hotel President in Geneva. Featuring more than 220 exceptional luxury timepieces from leading makers including Patek Philippe, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Cartier, and F.P. Journe, the sale includes the Pucci Papaleo Collection of Rolex Chronographs: Part I featured in this story.

One day, some 30 years ago, when I was a young specialist in my mid-twenties, a man walked into our office in Milan.

In every sense of the word, he was different from all the other clients I had met the same day for valuations: more casual, less pretentious, but already, some three decades ago, more passionate and more interested in discussing watches beyond their basic appearance, model name, and reference.

He was hungry to discuss hands, fonts, hallmarks, satin finishes, and even original buckles. And if you just did the math, you will realize that Pucci Papaleo entered my life before my wife Livia and I even met.

At first, Pucci’s world was new to me. But his delicate and articulated language and carefully chosen words – delivered in a subtle but melodious Roman accent (that was equally new to me!) – opened my ears, eyes, mind, and heart to a world I did not know existed: the search for knowledge and perfection.

Friendship and Scholarship

Over the years, our friendship grew, my understanding of vintage Rolex chronographs deepened, and so did our trust. I discovered the man behind the scholar: Pucci Papaleo, the author, researcher, and go-to person for any collector, dealer, or auction-house specialist searching for an answer when faced with an impossible question.

Thirty years later, none of the sparkle in Pucci’s eyes when he sees a great watch has diminished. If anything, his curiosity and enthusiasm have only grown, together with his extraordinary knowledge of the subject.

Fast forward to 2013, when it was one of our greatest honors to host the first auction dedicated entirely to the Rolex Daytona. Not only was it some sort of a farewell auction from our previous position, but it was also the harvest of years of hard work, during which Pucci taught the world not only about bezels, pushers, links, calibers, and fonts, but also about just how important the differences in quality, condition, and originality truly are.

And we could never have hoped for a better guide at our side: Pucci Papaleo – the man who made it all possible thanks to his vision, scholarship, contacts with other collectors, and the well-deserved trust the community placed in him.

Defining Moments

It was at that auction that, for the first time, a vintage Rolex Daytona achieved USD 1 million, paving the way for an unprecedented level of curiosity and appetite for vintage Rolex chronographs, as well as for sports models and many other iconic watches from the venerable Geneva manufacture.

Some three years later, in 2016, by which time Livia and I were already with Phillips, Pucci Papaleo was the first person outside the innermost circle at Phillips whom I approached with the greatest secret we had carried with us professionally until then: the rediscovery of Paul Newman’s “Paul Newman.”

We brainstormed about its significance, the research it would require, and, only marginally, its value. Pucci could easily have spoiled the secret months before the press announcement went out. Instead, he proved not only to be an irreplaceable consultant, but also a friend with whom we could entrust the most valuable secret we had ever held professionally.

The rest of “Paul Newman’s Paul Newman” story has, of course, been told countless times in the press and on social media. But Pucci’s love for watchmaking goes much further. Without his knowledge, his generous introductions to collectors, his guidance, and the support of his friends – including Fabio Santinelli, who is probably the world’s most gifted photographer in the field of watches – our own journey would not have been the same, not even closely.

We have shared late nights debating dials and details, but also some of the most wonderful moments when the market joined us in celebrating great vintage watches.

A Collector’s Eye

What few people know, however, is perhaps Pucci’s most intimate and personal horological pleasure: the extraordinary collection of vintage Rolex chronographs that he quietly assembled for himself over many years.

Pucci has never been a man impressed by price tags or by how ostentatious a watch might be. He could find as much – and most often more – excitement in a small Rolex chronograph from the 1930s, measuring less than 30mm in diameter, at a time when others were looking for 40mm diamond-encrusted watches.

For Pucci, that small chronograph might reveal an immaculate two-tone dial, a seductive retailer signature, or some tiny, almost imperceptible detail that told a story. Even the smell of an original strap could give him goosebumps and add another dimension to his journey through vintage chronographs.

What for all those years seemed destined to remain together forever, almost like the collections of the great museums of Rome, Paris, or London, has now entered a new chapter. Pucci has made the very personal decision to consign his collection in its entirety to auction.

The reasons are many and, during the countless days and especially evenings we have spent together, I have heard him ask questions such as: “Where can I go from here?” or “Do you think there is still a perfect, mint, rare reference out there that I haven’t seen?”

And then came the inevitable question: “And if it ever came up, would I still be able to afford it and compete?”

The Next Chapter

After 30 years of friendship, it is an incredible honor for us to accompany Pucci in this next chapter. He remains a friend and a scholar second to none: someone whose curiosity is as alive today as it was when he first walked into our office in Milan, and who continues to extend a hand to anyone reaching out to him for advice, insight, or guidance – or, at times, simply to someone who needs a sympathetic ear for the questions, obsessions, joys, and even frustrations that come with collecting watches.

Collectors should not underestimate the privilege of what is now taking place. Quite likely, the world’s most comprehensive and, in terms of quality, finest collection of vintage Rolex chronographs has been entrusted to us in its entirety.

This catalogue marks Part I of that journey, presenting the first 16 watches from the Pucci Papaleo Collection. Further chapters will follow in forthcoming seasons, allowing us to tell the story of this remarkable collection with the depth, attention, and respect that both the watches and the man who assembled them deserve.

There has never been anything quite like it on the market, and it is difficult to imagine there will ever be again.

The Archivio Pucci Papaleo

Every watch from the collection is recorded in the Archivio Pucci Papaleo, an independent initiative founded by Pucci Papaleo and Luca Balella, open to collectors wishing to register and preserve their own watches, dedicated to the documentation of vintage and historically significant timepieces.

Drawing on Pucci Papaleo’s more than twenty-five years of experience in horological publishing, research, and photography, the Archive was conceived as a permanent documentary heritage for future generations.

Each watch accepted into the Archive is carefully photographed and documented in detail, creating a record of its individual identity and condition at the time of registration. The resulting dossier, produced both digitally and in print, is accompanied by an archival certificate bearing the date and registration number.

By bringing together significant watches within a carefully curated documentary corpus, the Archivio Pucci Papaleo seeks to preserve their individual histories and constitute a lasting and verifiable point of reference for collectors and future scholarship.

All 16 watches presented in Part I, like the entire collection consigned to auction, have been recorded in the Archivio Pucci Papaleo, ensuring that their individual characteristics are documented and preserved as part of this growing horological record.

To consult the digital archive record for each individual watch, please consult www.archiviopuccipapaleo.com. A printed copy of the archive record will also be available to the buyer.

You can learn more, place a bid, and view the entire Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV catalog here.