Author: watchmanila

Audemars Piguet (“AP”) is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Gerald Genta designed Royal Oak. The Royal Oak was launched in 1972 and it was the first of the iconic luxury sports watches people know of today. For proper context, the Patek Philippe Nautilus and the Vacheron Constantin were released in 1976 and 1977 respectively. During the release of its first iteration back in 1972, the Royal Oak courted a bit of a controversy as it was deemed to be very different from the traditional watch designs. Further, the Royal Oak was considerably oversized during that period. This led to the watch being nicknamed “Jumbo”.

For the first 20 years of the Jumbo, there was only one self-winding extra-thin model. With the release of the new Jumbo, it will be available in 4 materials: stainless steel, yellow gold, pink gold, and platinum.

Movement

The new Self-winding Calibre 7121 measures 3.2mm in thickness and took 5 years for AP to complete. The movement was designed to fit in the extra-thin 8.1mm “Jumbo” case. Power reserve has been improved to 55 hours from 40 hours.

Design

Aesthetically, the design remains true to the Genta DNA. There have been no major alterations in the new Jumbo. It appears that the philosophy is directed in perfecting a classic model. Watch enthusiasts and collectors will be happy because there is absolutely nothing wrong with the original design of the watch.

Stainless Steel

The stainless steel model is a tribute to the original Royal Oak from 1972. The dial retains the iconic Petite Tapisserie pattern and the Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 color. The model also retains the hour-markers and hands of the original. However, one major difference is that the new model has a sapphire caseback to display the movement with the anniversary oscillating weight.

Other Models

Aside from the classic stainless steel, the new Jumbo is also available in yellow gold, pink gold, and platinum. The gold models largely retain their previous designs. As for the platinum, it will be paired with a smoked green dial with a base which is decorated with a sunburst pattern. This design was selected as the best “iconic” timepiece during Geneva’s 2021 Grand Prix d’Horologerie.

Watch Specifications

Diameter: 39mm

Material: Stainless Steel, 18K Yellow Gold, 18K Pink Gold, or Platinum

Functions: Hours, minutes, and date.

Case: Glareproofed sapphire crystal and caseback, water-resistant to 50m.

Dial: Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 with Petite Tapisserie (Steel), Smoked grey dial with Petite Tapisserie (18K Pink Gold), Smoked yellow gold toned dial with Petite Tapisserie (18K Yellow Gold), Smoked green with sunburst base (Platinum)

Movement:

Self-winding Calibre 7121

Diameter- 29.6mm

Thickness- 3.2mm

Jewels- 33

Parts- 268

Min. Power Reserve- 55 hours.

Frequency of Balance Wheel- 4Hz (28,800 vibrations/hr)

For more information, you may visit http://www.audemarspiguet.com

Click here for Part 1 of this Article.

In this two-part article, Watch Manila highlights some of the notable watches auctioned off in November 2021. While the Patek Philippe x Tiffany & Co. Nautilus dominated the headlines in the last few weeks, it is important to note that watch afficionados still appreciate the watchmaking landscape beyond any hype.

Here are some of the other watches which have achieved success during the Geneva auctions last month:

9. Rolex Daytona in Platinum 

Auction House: Christie’s

Estimated Price: CHF70,000-170,000 (P3.8M-9.2M)

Price Sold: CHF200,000 (P10.09M)

Clearly, the fan favorite for the Daytona is the stainless steel variation with a “panda” dial. But Watch Manila notes that the prices of platinum Rolex watches have started to increase dramatically. There is an increased demand for this precious metal. The Rolex quality combined with the rarity of platinum has propelled this watch’s price above the estimates.

10. Rolex Day-Date “Rainbow” Ref. 18058

Auction House: Phillips

Estimated Price: CHF150,000-300,000 (P8.2M-16.4M)

Price Sold: CHF792,300 (P43.3M)

In today’s watch market, the “Rainbow” Daytona is very much sought after. Around 30 years before the Rainbow Daytona, Rolex released a possibly unique piece with “rainbow” colored precious stones on the bezel for a Day-Date. This “Rainbow” Day-Date is perhaps one of Rolex’ first rainbow inspired watches.

11. Rolex Oysterquartz Day-Date Perpetual Calendar

Auction House: Christie’s

Estimated Price: CHF100,000-200,000 (P5.4M-10.8M)

Price Sold: CHF250,000 (Almost P13.6M)

There are approximately 11 pieces made of this prototype Rolex. This Rolex Day-Date Oysterquartz does not appear visually different from the other Oysterquartz. However, an inspection of the movement reveals a more complex mechanism. Rolex tried to make a perpetual calendar which can be operated through the same crown used to adjust the time. This watch is incredible as it is one of the prototypes wherein the movement is fully functional.

12. Rolex Deepsea Special

Auction House: Christie’s

Estimated Price: CHF2,000,000-4,000,000 (P109M-218M)

Price Sold: CHF1,890,000 (Almost P103M)

Unlike other watches in our list wherein the sale price exceeded the estimate, this one was slight below. However, it is worth taking a look at. Both Phillips and Christie’s offered Deep Sea Specials for the November auctions, However, the one being offered by Phillips is a commemorative edition made for the displays of the Rolex boutiques. This one offered by Christie’s was said to be used in the dive by Jacques Piccard’s bathyscaphe “Trieste” to 3,700 meters.

As Christie’s put it “This extraordinary watch can be considered as the most important Rolex diver’s watch to remain in private hands and without doubt one of the most desirable Rolex watches in the world.” 

There are only 7 known pieces of the Deep Sea Special. This piece is No.1. 

13. Philippe Dufour Grande and Petite Sonnerie 

Auction House: Phillips

Estimated Price: CHF1,000,000-2,000,000 (P54.5M-109M)

Price Sold: CHF4,749,000 (Almost P258.9M)

Philippe Dufour has clearly emerged as a leading independent watch maker. Its creations are sought after as the brand has demonstrated a near-perfection in crafting watches. The appeal of this watch is due to the fact that it is the first Philippe Dufour watch and the world’s first Grande & Petite Sonnerie wristwatch ever made.

Last time, Watch Manila featured another Philippe Dufour watch called “Simplicity” as it has no major complications. Despite the absence of complications, the Simplicity managed to do incredible as well in the auction.

14. F.P. Journe Chronometre a Resonance  “Souscription”

Auction House: Phillips

Estimated Price: CHF200,000-400,000 (P10.9M-21.8M)

Price Sold: CHF3,902,000 (Almost P212.7M)

F.P. Journe is one of the most recognized independent watchmakers in recent times. The watch shown here features resonating escapements and is the first out of a limited run of 20 pieces. The watch features a combination of platinum and pink gold case. It has been said that the Resonance of F.P. Journe was most likely inspired by A.L. Breguet.

15. Omega Speedmaster Broadarrow

Auction House: Phillips

Estimated Price: CHF80,000-120,000 (P4.3M-6.5M)

Price Sold: CHF3,115,500 (Almost P170M)

This is the most expensive Omega sold at an auction ever. This Omega carried the reference 2915-1 which makes it part of one of the first production runs of the historic Speedmaster. The dial features a tropical color which has aged. As a note, none of the preview ads of the auction even mentioned this lot. Most of the people were surprised at the result of this lot.

16. Richard Mille RM27-04 Rafael Nadal

Auction House: Phillips

Estimated Price: CHF800,000-1,600,000 (P43M-87M)

Price Sold: CHF1,663,500 (P90.7M)

Richard Mille continues to be polarizing. Nevertheless, it has established itself as a strong brand in terms of value. This RM027-04 was built to withstand the shocks during professional tennis matches of up to 12,000 Gs. And yes, it has a tourbillon. 

To visit part 1 of this article, click here.

Images are courtesy of the auction houses: Antiquorum, Christie’s, Phillips, and Sotheby’s.

“Success is not about money. Success is what you have done and accomplished.” These are the words Gerry Santos lives by. The founder and CEO of the highly successful Mr. Freeze Tube Ice Inc., Gerry has never equated success with financial gain. For him, it’s all about community building, helping out, and pursuing one’s passion. Money, he says, will come naturally.

Gerry was not born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. He worked for his father, an ice distributor, while studying in college and right after graduation. After several years working for his dad’s business, the younger Santos resigned and decided to put up GJS Cars, an automotive buy and sell business. Cars were a passion for Gerry, and he was able to grow his business to a considerable degree. 

After a while, he took a look back at his father’s business and saw that it’s gone stagnant. He saw this as an opportunity to go back to the ice biz. This time, however, in order to assure growth in the industry, he came back as an ice manufacturer. Armed with some capital saved from his automotive business and with a bank loan, he put up the first Mr. Freeze ice plant in 2005. The rest, as they say, is history.

One can assume having several ice plants is the most impressive aspect about Mr. Freeze. But looking beyond the business side, the most impressive thing is Gerry’s effort to involve and grow entire communities surrounding his ice plants. For him, the growth of the business won’t mean a lot if the community around it will not feel the positive effects of the plants. 

Gerry seeks to uplift the quality of living around the areas of his ice plants through partnerships, creation of jobs, and through projects. The man truly is passionate not just with his business but with the positive impact it creates with the people he partners with.

Outside of his passion for work, Gerry is well known for his passion for cars. But what many are not aware of is that Gerry also loves to collect watches—which he feels are just apt for his lifestyle. The watches are his companions and are witnesses to his community-building. The watches—and cars—are also constant reminders for him that hard work and selflessness pay off big time.

Gerry was kind enough to allow Watch Manila a peek into his watch collection.

Similar to construction magnate Alice Eduardo and numerous others, Gerry’s first substantial watch was a Rolex Datejust in stainless steel and yellow gold. The Datejust is the most popular Rolex within the business community, especially prior to the 2010s. Not long after, Gerry purchased a steel Rolex Datejust in white face.

As Gerry started to get deep into watches, he explored more models from Rolex other than the Datejust. Gerry purchased a Rolex Submariner with reference number 14060. This watch is a famous diving tool for professionals and was also known as the watch of James Bond.

Aside from the Submariner, Gerry has two Rolex GMT-Masters. He has the models with the black and blue bezel and the golden brown and black bezel, respectively known in the watch collecting community as the “Batman” and the “Rootbeer”. Gerry loves the Batman as it has a relation to the character of “Mr. Freeze”. The Batman also has the subtle design elements which are most associated with the brand. The GMT-Master was developed initially for Pan-Am Airlines pilots who needed watches which could show the time in two different timezones simultaneously.

Gerry also keeps in his collection one of the most sought-after watches today, the Rolex Daytona with the ceramic bezel. The version which Gerry has is called the “Panda”—due to the contrast of the black and the white which makes it resemble the colorway of a panda. This is the latest iteration of the classic Rolex Daytona. This model has a waitlist time of over several years with authorized dealers. The watch is popular on the racing circuits as it has the ability to track lap times.

Apart from Rolex, Gerry collects from other brands. One of his more memorable watches is his Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra. He vividly remembers that during one of the golf tournaments he joined, the second prize for the raffle was the Omega and he whispered to himself that he would win it. As luck and fate would have it, his name was called as the winner of the Omega. He considers this as one of his lucky watches.

Gerry also has a Hublot Big Bang Ferrari which is limited to 1,000 pieces. He loves the design of the watch and always pairs it with the appropriate car in his stable. The watch looks very sporty and is made of ceramic and titanium.

The watches in Gerry’s collection are reminders of his life’s most valuable lessons. Here they are: 

1. Be content.

One of the keys to happiness is to appreciate what you have in life rather than than what you have yet to possess. There will always be people who will have more than you and less than you. Gerry is never pressured to buy a watch simply because “the other guy has it.” He buys a watch when he likes it. He understands there will be people with nicer watches than he does,  and that’s totally fine. Gerry is happy with his collection and happy for the collection of others. For him, turn any envy into a motivation to achieve what one wants. One day, with hard work, you will be able to reach your goals as well.

2. Learn how to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Gerry believes that the success you’re experiencing is because of your hardwork. Learn how to enjoy the benefits which come with the success. Gerry is a firm believer that having money doesn’t mean you have to live large. But he also believes that, occasionally, you should spend some of your hard-earned money on things which you are passionate about. For him, he loves spending on cars and watches, among others.

3. Give back.

Everyone regards Gerry as a very generous person. The guy believes that those who are truly blessed are those who share the most. For him, financial success is meant to be shared and not kept to oneself. No matter how big or small, when you share, it goes back to you a hundredfold.  

4. Treat everyone with respect regardless of their status in life.

Gerry believes the world has been so kind to him because he’s treated everyone with high respect. His success has never made him arrogant. For this businessman, everyone plays an important role in society, regardless of your occupation or status in life.

Unlike the Mr. Freeze in Batman who was a villain, this Mr. Freeze, Gerry Santos, is a hero in the communities he builds. He’s gone beyond business in order to make an impact in society. Going further, he has already involved his children in Mr. Freeze to instill in them the importance of giving back to society. Now that’s one truly timeless legacy one can pass on to the next generation.

A version of this story was published by ABS-CBN.

Patek Philippe has already had quite a year. It seems as though they are not yet finished. Earlier in the year, we witnessed the discontinuation of the sought-after Nautilus 5711 with blue dial and the introduction of the new Nautilus 5711 with green dial. The latter performed exceptionally well in auction as it sold for EUR 416,000. Aside from the 5711, Patek has introduced several new variants in many of its model lines including the Aquanaut, Calatrava, Twenty-4, and Grand Complications.

In the new releases for Patek, there are two noteworthy matters, among others: the introduction of another watch in stainless steel bracelet and the doubling down on the “Green” theme.

Ref. 5905/1A-001

The new 5905 boasts of a flyback chronograph and an annual calendar, which means you only have to make one correction on the date per year (on March 1). This watch features an integrated stainless steel bracelet and a sunburst olive green dial. The watch measures 42mm in diameter and has a self-winding mechanism with a power reserve of up to 55 hours. The SRP for the watch is P3,000,000.

Ref. 5204/R

The new 5204 is a grand complication watch which packs with it a split-seconds chronograph and a perpetual calendar. Aside from the two highlights, the watch features a moon phase indicator, a leap year indicator, day and date, and small seconds. The case size is 40mm and is made of 18k rose gold. The watch features a manual winding mechanism with a power reserve of up to 65 hours. The SRP for the watch is P15,720,000.

Ref. 5930/P

The new 5930 is a beautiful world time watch in platinum and in green. Aside from the world time, the watch features a flyback chronograph. The case of the watch measures 39.5mm. Previously, the 5930 was available in white gold and in blue accents. The SRP of the watch is P5,100,000.