Tornek-Rayville - TOKI: Watch Auction Hong Kong Friday, November 22, 2024 | Phillips
  • Manufacturer: Tornek-Rayville
    Year: Circa 1966
    Reference No: TR-900
    Case No: 0885
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. AS 1361, 17 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Nylon NATO
    Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel pin buckle
    Dimensions: 41mm diameter
    Signed: Case, dial and movement signed; Inside case back engraved “RAY ANDRADE 1-5-67 VIETNAM”
    Accessories: Delivered with Japan Blancpain Service Warranty dated 8th November 2022.

  • Catalogue Essay

    The celebrated Tornek-Rayville reference TR-900 is modelled after the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, the only design that conformed to U.S. military specification MIL-W-22176A, a feat that not a single U.S. manufacturer could achieve in the early 1960s. Since the U.S. Navy could not directly commission Swiss-made Blancpain watches under the 1933 "Buy American Act", Allen V. Tornek, a New York-based diamond dealer, created a small local testing laboratory so that Blancpain watches could be tested and certified on American soil.

    According to scholarship, 780 pieces of the refence TR-900 were initially delivered to the U.S. armed forces in 1964, while a second batch of 300 examples subsequently made in 1966. They were strictly government property reserved for military use, and to prevent these watches from falling into improper hands, once they had served their purpose, a large portion of the TR-900 were discarded in the early 1970s and sent to the bottom of the sea in concrete-filled boxes, along with other low-level atomic waste such as uniforms and badges, contributing to the TR-900’s exceeding rarity. It is estimated that only approximately 30 examples are still around in the hands of collectors today.

    The inside case back of the present watch is engraved “RAY ANDRADE 1-5-67 VIETNAM”, indicating that the timepiece likely originally belongs to a US Army veteran who saw duty in the Vietnam War in 1967.

    The dial of the present specimen is beautifully well-preserved, with the humidity indicator having turned to two attractive shades of light pink. The PM147 luminous material on the indexes has aged evenly to manifest an alluring hue of caramel, matching the luminous hands. The present timepiece is further delivered with a Japan Blancpain Service Warranty, confirming the timepiece has been fully serviced in November 2022.

Property of a Japanese Collector

75

Ref. TR-900
An extremely rare and historically important stainless steel anti-magnetic diver's wristwatch with humidity indicator, made for the U.S. Navy

Circa 1966
41mm diameter
Case, dial and movement signed; Inside case back engraved “RAY ANDRADE 1-5-67 VIETNAM”

Estimate
HK$120,000 - 200,000 
€14,100-23,500
$15,400-25,600

Sold for HK$444,500

Contact Specialist

Thomas Perazzi
Head of Watches, Asia
+852 2318 2030
WatchesHK@phillips.com

Gertrude Wong
Head of Sale, Hong Kong
+852 2318 2045
gertrudewong@phillips.com

TOKI: Watch Auction

Hong Kong Auction 22 November