Cartier wristwatch that belonged to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis broke a new world record for a Cartier Tank when it sold for $379,500 (£300,00 approx) at the Christie’s Rare Watches and American Icons auction in New York. The 18-caratgold Cartier Tank replica watch was made in 1962, a year after Kennedy became First Lady of the United States, and a year before the assassination of her husband JFK.
It was estimated to sell for between $60,000 and $120,000 (£47,000 – £95,000), the fact that tripled the higher prediction reflects its illustrious provenance. It would have originally cost a few hundred dollars and similar examples in the vintage market sell for around $3,000, according to John Reardon, Christie’s international head of watches.
The luxury Tank fake watch was a gift from Kennedy’s brother-in-law Prince Stanislaw “Stas” Radziwill in 1963. Its caseback is engraved with: “Stas to Jackie 23 Feb. 63 2:05 AM to 9:35 PM,” a reference to the start and stop times of the 50-Mile Hike in Palm Beach in 1963, which Radziwill completed alongside his friend Chuck Spalding and secret service agent Clint Hill.
The hike was part of a nationwide public health initiative spearheaded by President Kennedy, who was concerned that Americans were becoming “soft”. The First Lady had challenged Radziwill – who was married to her sister at the time – to complete it, which he did in under 20 hours.
The watch is accompanied by an original painting of Radziwill and Spalding walking, created by Kennedy to celebrate their successful hike and as a thank you for the gift. The painting bears the matching dedication “February 23, 1963 2:05 am to 9:35 pm / Jackie to Stas with love and admiration”. The painting has never before been seen in public.
The watches are square-shaped exquisite Cartier Tank Ordinaire fake watches, one of only three of its kind produced in 1963. It was a favourite of the First Lady; she can be seen wearing it in several photographs.
According to Christie’s, the watch and painting are two of the most important personal artifacts from the Kennedy presidential era.
“The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Cartier Tank series are copy watches with white dials full of emotion, love and history,” said Reardon. “Together with Jackie’s painting, these two objects capture the spirit of another era, a time where friendship and the ‘can-do’ optimism of the generation seemed to make anything possible.”
The private seller will donate a portion of the proceeds to the US National Endowment for the Arts.
The Christie’s sale also included a 1946 Jaeger Le-Coultre that belonged to Bob Hope which sold for $32,500; gold black crocodile straps Cartier fake watches engraved with “To Bumpy from Babe, Dec 25th, 1937”, a gift from baseball star Babe Ruth to New York gangster Bumpy Johnson which sold for $18,750; an asymmetrical Hamilton watch owned by President Lyndon B Johnson which realised $18,750; and three watches that were in the collection of Joe DiMaggio.
The world of high-end watches has always been a playground for men.
Toys for boys: that is the favoured descriptor for the high-tech, complicated gadgets men flaunt on their wrists as status symbols.
This is borne out by the avalanche of models that watch companies trot out for men, compared with the trickle of pieces designed for women.
Things, however, are starting to change. In a market challenged by a turbulent global economy and the advent of smart watches, many brands are tapping into their feminine side.
It is a strategy which is not only necessary, but also critical. The global market for women’s luxury watches, according to Euromonitor, is worth more than US$10 billion (S$13.8 billion) a year. Meanwhile, market analysts Bain & Co estimate the share of female watches in the luxury watch market to be more than 30 per cent.
There are other reasons brands are out to attract women. One is their increased spending power. A study by the Boston Consulting Group predicts that women’s consumer spending will hit US$28 trillion next year.
Women’s taste in copy watches with self-winding movements is also changing. No longer are they interested only in smaller sizes and pretty designs. Many women are gravitating towards pieces which are not just beautiful, but also mechanically complex.
A spike in jewellery sales has also crossed over to the luxury watch market. Women usually treat a luxury watch like a piece of jewellery.
Not surprisingly, watch companies have, of late, started introducing not just models, but even lines targeted at women as well.
Audemars Piguet made a splash with the introduction of its women’s Royal Oak in frosted gold. A. Lange & Sohne made headlines with its Little Lange 1 Moon Phase, which packs complex mechanics in a feminine rose-gold case; and Piaget launched Limelight Stella, which boasts its first complication designed for women.
IWC Da Vinci Replica Watches With White Dials
And then there is IWC Schaffhausen, which recently turned its Engineered For Men tagline on its head with the new Da Vinci collection. The range is an update of the first iconic IWC Da Vinci fake watch, released in 1969.
The collection has 14 models. Eight are targeted at women, two are unisex models and the rest are for men.
Ms Franziska Gsell, IWC’s chief marketing officer, said: “With the Da Vinci Collection, we are trying to anchor the brand in the minds of women, who account for a significant proportion of watch lovers.”
The brand embarked on this approach in 2014 when it launched the Portofino 37 collection. A huge hit, the collection included watches designed for smaller wrists.
At the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie trade show in Geneva in January, the watchmaker ditched its traditionally masculine booth for a palace to unveil the Da Vinci replica watches with steel or golden cases.
The timepieces had their Southeast Asian launch last week in Bangkok, at the inauguration of the Da Vinci Exhibition at Siam Paragon mall. Supermodel and IWC ambassador Karolina Kurkova opened the exhibition, which showcases historical timepieces from the brand’s archives – including the Lady’s Wristwatch from 1967 and Lady Chronograph from 1995 – as well as the new pieces from the Da Vinci collection.
The two key women’s exquiste IWC fake watches – of which there are several references or variations – in this collection are the Da Vinci Automatic 36 and Da Vinci Automatic Moon Phase 36. Both are 36mm in diameter.
Like the Portofino, the Automatic 36 is feminine, with rounded crowns and a recessed inner circle on the dial. The movable lug makes for a comfortable fit around the wrist.
There are different versions ranging from $8,150 to $57,300. One has a bezel set with 54 diamonds totalling just under a carat. Others come in gold cases or leather straps in colours such as raspberry and bronze.
IWC’s signature moon phase display takes visual centre stage in the Automatic Moon Phase 36, priced from $12,900 to $24,800.
The moon, in gold or silver, moves clockwise against a dark blue sky. The watch comes with a Caliber 35800 and automatic movement with a 42-hour power reserve.
Like the Automatic 36, it also has Da Vinci’s “the flower of life” pattern engraved on the case back and comes with IWC’s new butterfly clasp. The clasp has three fold-out wings, so the wearer can take off the watch without opening the strap or bracelet.
Women who prefer something bigger can opt for the 40mm Da Vinci Automatic. Designed as a unisex watch, it has a minimalist dial with large Arabic figures and Lancet-shaped hands.
Although women come first, men have not been forgotten. Also part of the IWC collection are the Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph and Da Vinci Tourbillon Retrograde Chronograph.
The Perpetual Calendar Chronograph is the first watch from IWC to combine the well-known mechanical chronograph with a perpetual moon-phase display on a subdial in a new complication module.
The Tourbillon Retrograde Chronograph, meanwhile, has an unusual combination of a classic tourbillon with a retrograde date and a sporty chronograph on a single dial.
Finally, the collection includes the Da Vinci Chronograph Edition Laureus Sport For Good Foundation, a special edition with part of the proceeds going to the Laureus foundation. The organisation helps youth overcome social issues such as violence and discrimination.
In keeping with tradition, this timepiece comes with an etched reproduction of a child’s drawing in an annual competition run by Laureus. The drawing is a self-portrait by Hou Ye, a 12-year-old Paralympian at the Special Olympics East Asia.
IWC launches new Portofino replica watches with white dials, watches symbolizing the laid-back Italian lifestyle. After the Portofino Hand-Wound Tourbillon Retrograde, we are introducing today the Portofino Automatic Moon Phase 37.
IWC Portofino Replica Watches With Black Crocodile Straps
The brand has updated this model as it is now available with a silver-plated dial instead of a mother-of-pearl dial, making it blend even more harmoniously with the overall image of the exquisite IWC Portofino fake watches. The top-of-the-range model, with a case and Milanaise mesh bracelet in 18-carat red gold, is adorned with a total of 78 diamonds.
Two other models are also being released with 66 diamonds on the bezel and 12 on the dial: one in an 18-carat red gold case with gold-plated hands and the other with a stainless-steel case and rhodium-plated hands. The fourth variant has a stainless-steel case, gold-plated hands and 12 diamonds on the dial. These IWC copy watches with self-winding movements are fitted with high quality alligator leather straps by Santoni.
The original Rolex Paul Newman Daytona replica wactches have long been one of the world’s most sought-after watches – a holy grail of horology, as rare and remarkable as the man who gave it its name. After years off the grid, Newman’s personal timepiece has resurfaced and will go on the block in New York on October 26. It is expected to exceed a US$1 million bid.
For as long as man has admired vintage copy watches with white dials, collectors have speculated over the location of Newman’s legendary Rolex Daytona Cosmograph. The timepiece was a gift from the actor’s wife, Joanne Woodward, purchased for US$300 in the late 1960s. The back is engraved with the phrase “Drive Carefully Me”, a warning and well wish for Newman as he pursued his racing career.
The Rolex fake watches with steel cases remained with Newman until 1984, when he gave it to his daughter Nell Newman’s close friend and former boyfriend, James Cox. According to Cox, Newman once asked him for the time, to which he replied, “I don’t know—I don’t have a watch.” Newman then pulled the ultimate cool rich guy move: he handed Cox his Daytona and said, “Here, here’s a watch. If you wind it, it tells pretty good time.”
Cox claims he didn’t know how valuable the gift was until he attended a trade show and a man who spoke little English tapped him on the shoulder, saying ‘Paul Newman watch, Paul Newman watch.’
“I thought, What the heck? How does this guy know I’ve got Paul Newman’s watch?” Cox told WSJ Magazine in the June/July 2017 issue. “He obviously was a watch enthusiast and saw that I had the Daytona model. That kind of clued me in, so I did a little research.”
Now fully aware of the watch’s legendary status, Cox told WSJ Magazine he decided to sell it because “If Paul were alive, and I went to him and said, ‘Hey, you know that watch you gave me years ago? Turns out it’s super iconic and valuable,’ I think his response would be, ‘Well, what are you going to do with it, kid?’’”
Rolex Daytona Replica Watches With Black Crocodile Straps
His loss is the rest of the watch-loving world’s gain. We’ll have to wait until October to find out how much this piece of horological history will fetch, but we do know one thing: in keeping with Newman’s legacy of philanthropy, a significant portion of the proceeds will go toward the Nell Newman Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 2010 by Nell following her father’s death from lung cancer in 2008.
