Omegamania

Omega reaffirms its position as a collector’s brand on April 14 and 15, 2007 when renowned Swiss auction house Antiquorum holds its Omegamania theme sale in Geneva with a live satellite link to the Baselworld watch fair.

The Omegamania auction has been meticulously prepared and no detail has been overlooked to attract the widest circle of bidders. To reassure first¬time and on¬line bidders, Omega has taken the unprecedented step of offering a two¬year factory guarantee for each of the 300 lots in the catalogue — even the most ancient pocket¬watch.

Antiquorum’s catalogue also plays its role in making this sale as accessible as possible, conveniently organizing more than a century of Omega watchmaking into eleven product categories, each with an insightful introduction.

The Omegamania auction comes in response to a growing trend in watch collecting towards contemporary brands and the increased rate of turnover at auction as collectors sell last year’s new model to compete for the latest limited edition.

Heavyweights with a proven track record in holding their value at auction, such as Patek Philippe and Rolex, are getting beyond the reach of many in the growing circle of watch enthusiasts, and Antiquorum hopes that Omega fill the gap with a more accessible blue¬chip stock. Antiquorum also hopes that the Omegamania sale will shift attention to the brand’s often neglected historical production, especially its precision watches. Omegamania comes 18 years after Antiquorum’s first thematic sale devoted to a single brand.

Among the top¬lots of the coming sale is the extremely rare pocket watch Three¬Hammer Carillon (1883) by Louis Brandt Frères (estimate €22,000–28,000). Carillon Minute Repeater (1894, Louis Brandt Frères) is expected to fetch €7,500–11,000. The unique watch Ras Tafari Omega (Usine de Genève) with the enamel portrait of the Ethiopian monarch in the lid is estimated at impressive €20,000–25,000.

The selection of woman’s watches includes a fine Art Nouveau piece «Coquettish lady» by R. Carassale Montevideo (circa 1900, estimate €750–1,100). Stylishly decorated watch with a watch guard «Cupid and Psyche» (early XX century) is put up for a sale with the estimate €4,400–5,700. Other highlights of the section include pocket watch «Dragon» (early XX century, €2,000–2,500), «Schutzenfest Bern 1910 — Montre de tir» specially produced for the shooting competition in Bern in 1910 (estimate €3,800–5,000), and extremely elegant gold Omega watch with brooch and ring by Gilbert Albert (estimate €7,500–10,000).

Bidders will also have an opportunity to compete for the pocket watch selection «Speedmaster Missions Collection» containing twenty¬three pieces produced in 1998 and cased in the specially designed box. According to the organizers of the event, those watches «visited» the Moon. The estimate of the unique lot is yet undefined.

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