Miller & Miller's Nov. 20 Watches & Jewels Sale Features Wristwatches By Cartier, Rolex, Tudor

By Author: Justin Miller
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Miller & Miller Auctions’ bi-annual Watches & Jewels sale returns on Saturday, November 20th, starting at 9 am Eastern time, with a high-impact offering of luxury watches and fine jewelry, featuring rare and desirable vintage and collectible wristwatches from names such as Rolex, Tudor, Omega, Patek Philippe, Corum and Panerai.

This will be an online-only auction, with no in-person event to attend, but bidders can tune in to the live webcast on November 20th at www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com to watch the lots close in real time. Internet bidding will be provided by the Miller & Miller website, as well as the popular platform LiveAuctioneers.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted.

In all, 215 lots will be sold. They will include wristwatches, pocket watches, rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings and pins. An expected top lot is the Cartier Pasha minute repeater watch (Ref. W30012), featuring the calibre 179 18 kt gold movement with 26 jewels designed by Gerald Genta. The minute repeater, perpetual calendar with day-date-month, moon phase and leap year indicator all work in harmony ...
... in a watch that’s expected to sell for $75,000-$85,000.

All prices quoted in this report are in Canadian dollars.

Right behind the Pasha is another Cartier beauty: a Diabolo Tourbillon wristwatch, a rarity that was produced in limited numbers through the mid-to-late-1990's and has only been going up in value as watch collectors scramble to add unique pieces to their collections. This example was serviced and refinished by Cartier in Switzerland in December 2018. Its many attributes make it more a work of art than a watch (estimate: $40,000-$50,000).

The name that will be most frequently called on auction day is Rolex. “Rolex dealers continue to leave buyers on a five-plus-year waiting list for their new sports models, resulting in significant unsatisfied demand,” said Justin Miller of Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. “This has driven many buyers to rely on the secondary market and, in some cases, opened their eyes to vintage examples of popular contemporary models such as the Submariner, GMT and Explorer.”

Two Rolexes certain to attract attention are a circa 1972 GMT-Master watch (Ref. 1675), the only GMT model produced by Rolex from 1959-1980, with the iconic red and blue “Pepsi” bezel insert and an excellent matching patina on tritium lume; and a circa 1978 Explorer II “Steve McQueen” watch (Ref. 1655), its Italian nickname being “Freccioni” (for “big arrow”, which accurately describes the large hand). Both of these Rolexes carry estimates of $25,000-$30,000.

Three dazzling diamond rings, all with $35,000-$40,000 estimates, will be offered, to include:

- A platinum 15.45 carat diamond cocktail ring with a claw-set marquise-shaped cut diamond, fancy yellowish brown, weighing 4.32 carats, VS-1 clarity, plus 32 claw-set round brilliant cut diamonds having an approximate total weight of 5.93 carats.

- A platinum hand-assembled custom-made carat diamond solitaire engagement ring with a high-polish finish, with one claw-set 4.28 carat round brilliant cut diamond, SI-2 clarity, K color, plus four bead set single cut diamonds totaling 0.05 carats.

- An 18kt white gold lady’s hand-assembled custom-made diamond engagement ring with a high-polish finish, having a claw-set round brilliant cut 4.91 carat diamond, VS-2 clarity, L color, and 10 claw-set round brilliant cut diamonds, 0.56 carats.

An elegant and feminine circa 2018 Swiss Vacheron Constantin 18kt diamond Egerie lady’s watch (Ref. 25541) is expected to slip onto a new wrist for $25,000-$30,000. The dial of the watch has a wonderful sun ray pattern that mimics ripples of water that spread out to the sides of the 18kt white gold case where the ripples transform into a cascading waterfall of diamonds. The stunning watch comes with its own Vacheron Constantin box.

Returning to men’s Rolexes, a Ref. 116710 GMT-Master II watch with a stainless-steel case on stainless steel oyster band, ceramic bezel, an arrow-tipped 24-hour hand and a 24-hour, graduated bezel for telling time in an alternate time zone, should hit $16,000-$18,000); while a circa 1990 Ref. 16713 GMT-Master II watch in 18kt yellow gold and steel, with a Jubilee bracelet creating a refined look, has an estimate of $14,500-$17,000.

A Rolex Ref. 18038 Day-Date President Florentine watch with 18K gold case and band and featuring Quickset date, Florentine textured lugs and outer links and a Champagne dial, fitted to an aftermarket 18kt gold President bracelet, should reach $14,000-$16,000; while a circa 1966 Rolex Ref. 16613 Submariner Date watch, stainless steel with 18kt center links and bezel, plus a tritium dial, also carries an estimate of $14,000-$16,000.

Rounding out the short list of many Rolexes in the sale expected to do well is a circa 1991 Ref. 16570 Explorer II watch, an intrepid chronometer built to accompany explorers in extreme challenges. A distinctive red hand displays the time in 24-hour format to distinguish between night and daytime, even when journeying to the center of the Earth, through polar nights or sitting by a campfire. It is expected to gavel for $12,000-$15,000.

Lest we forget, Tudor watches are also hugely popular with collectors. This sale features a rare Tudor Ref. 7928/0 Oyster-Prince Submariner, produced only in 1967, with an open minute track that extends to the outer flange of the dial, tritium hands and number plots that have turned to an appealing mustard bronze (estimate: $12,000-$15,000); and a circa 1978 Tudor Ref. 94110 Submariner with stainless case and rolled link oyster band, plus a bi-directional rotating bezel and unusual “snowflake” hands (estimate: $12,000-$15,000).

Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. has one more online-only auction lined up for the rest of 2021: a Petroliana, Breweriana & Advertising that is scheduled to take place on Saturday, December 4th. To learn more about Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. and the firm’s calendar of upcoming events, visit www.millerandmillerauctions.com.