Legendary Watch Collector Patrick Getreide Is Auctioning Off His Prized Pieces
Last spring, French businessman Patrick Getreide, the owner of OAK, one of the world’s largest and most valuable watch collections, took 168 of his 600 pieces on a world tour, beginning with an exhibit at the British Design Museum in London. To open the show, he threw a party for 700 industry insiders, collectors, and press, who were flown in for the event. That collection is now coming to Christie’s auction house, to be sold in several stages, the first of which is scheduled for November 23 in Hong Kong.
The watches in the OAK collection, which stands for One of a Kind, are either unique or from a small series, some of them new-old-stock. “My criteria for collecting the pieces [amassed over four decades] was that the watches had to be aesthetically beautiful and in perfect condition—like new, even if it’s 70 years old,” Getreide told me in an exclusive interview during the London exhibit, adding that he paid “world record” prices 25 times during the process of acquiring his pieces. The collection has been valued by various people at between $100 million and $300 million.
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“In the watch category, this could well be the largest collection that Christie’s has ever handled,” says Alex Bigler, head of watches for Christie’s Asia. “But some of the watches will start below $10,000, and some are in the $50,000 or $100,000 mark. There are pieces at all levels. It’s not just the million-dollar-and-above category.” Of course, there is that: there are plenty of grail pieces in the mix, including a one-of-a-kind Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 “pink on pink,” with a pink dial, pink gold case and pink gold bracelet made by Gay Frères. The 1518 in question is not in Part 1 of the sale, which starts with a few other star models, but will turn up eventually, as all 600+ watches in the collection will eventually hit the block at Christie’s. Watches in part one include:
Patek Philippe Ref. 992/108J-001
A unique 18-karat gold Patek Philippe pocket watch Ref. 992/108J-001, set with sapphires, with a cloisonné enamel dial depicting Lac Blanc, with a matching yellow gold and marble pocket watch stand. (Est: HK$2,000,000 – 4,000,000, approximately $256,000 – $511,000)
Patek Philippe Ref. 1436
A rare 18-karat gold Patek Philippe Ref. 1436 split-seconds chronograph wristwatch with black dial, made in 1950. Produced between 1938 and 1971, this model has only 120 yellow gold examples adorning the world. Today, a mere 59 are known to exist publicly, with fewer than half a dozen boasting a black dial. The allure of this particular watch lies in its unique dial configuration, potentially marking it as the only known example of its kind. (Est: HK$4,000,000 – 8,000,000, approximately $511,000 – $1,022,000)
Audemars Piguet Ref. 5516
An extremely rare 18-karat gold Audemars Piguet Ref. 5516 perpetual calendar wristwatch with leap year and moon phases indicator. Only nine ever produced—three in the first series and six in the second—which makes this timepiece is a rare find. Christie’s says the piece in the sale is arguably in the most pristine condition amongst the six known market examples of the reference. (Est: HK$6,500,000 – 13,000,000, approximately $83,400 – $1,661,000)
Kari Voutilainen Only Watch 2015
A one-of-a-kind stainless steel wristwatch with dual time and day/night indicator, made by Kari Voutilainen, known as the master of finissage, for Only Watch 2015. It is a GMT-6 model. (Est: HK$1,600,000 – 3,200,000, approximately $204,000 – $409,000)
Like most dedicated collectors, Getreide caught the watch bug early. In our interview, he shared that at the age of 12, when most boys are peering into the windows of candy shops, he was pressing his nose up against the glass windows of watch boutiques. (Such is the danger of attending boarding school in a city like Geneva.) Getreide passed by a particular store every day on his way to school, and began to covet one of the watches, an Omega. “I looked in the window 50 times, and on the 51st time, I went in, and announced that I wanted to buy the watch,” says Getreide. “Of course, I didn’t have the money. I had five francs per week for pocket money. But the guy liked me—he was impressed that a 12-year-old kid wanted to buy a watch—and he said ‘It’s fine.’ So, I was giving him five francs every week. It went on for weeks, and one day I called my father and I said, If I pay by five francs a week, it’s two years or more before I can own it, so my father paid out.”
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