Phillips / Four Prototype Watches at the Geneva Watch Auction XXIII

Key Highlights

• Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo presents more than 200 timepieces at the Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII on 9 & 10 May 2026.
• Four prototype wristwatches by Theo Auffret, Ludovic Ballouard, Bernhard Lederer, and Urban Jürgensen trace key stages in independent watchmaking.
• Auffret’s Giverny “Prototype” Blue Train is one of five steel prototypes and the only version with blued indexes, with proceeds supporting charitable causes.
• The Ballouard × Atelier Blandenier Upside Down “Quel Homard Est Il?” and Bernhard Lederer Inverto “Prototype 00” appear as one‑off technical and artistic studies.
• An Urban Jürgensen Reference 2 “Prototype” in yellow gold, linked to the Baumberger–Pratt era, is cited as the only known prototype of its kind on the market.

A Geneva Stage for the Prototype

On 9 and 10 May 2026, Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo stages the Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII at the Hôtel Président Wilson, offering more than 200 timepieces. Four prototype wristwatches within the sale highlight how independents move from experimental watches into regular production.

Built ahead of serial pieces to test movements, aesthetics, and configurations, prototypes show each maker’s development process and often differ from later watches in materials, finishes, or dial executions.

The Auffret Paris Giverny “Prototype” Blue Train

The Auffret Paris Giverny “Prototype” Blue Train in stainless steel, Lot 101 with an estimate of CHF 60,000–120,000, marks an early chapter in Theo Auffret’s career after his 2018 F.P. Journe Young Talent Competition win. Introduced in 2025, the 36 mm time‑only Giverny uses an in‑house calibre inspired by mid‑20th century chronometer movements such as the Peseux 260, with a 13 mm balance at 18,000 vibrations per hour.

This watch is one of five prototype pieces cased in stainless steel and the only example fitted with blued indexes, earning the “Blue Train” nickname. A portion of the proceeds from its sale will support the Bertrand Scheck Foundation and SOS Préma.

Four Prototype Voices in Independent Watchmaking

The remaining three watches show how independent names and an established maison employ prototypes to trial artistic ideas, technical architecture, and future series production.

• The Ludovic Ballouard × Atelier Blandenier Upside Down “Quel Homard Est Il?” unique piece in platinum, Lot 103 with an estimate of CHF 100,000–200,000, carries a prototype dial of lobsters and lemons executed in grand feu enamel, miniature painting, hand engraving, and laser cutting.
• The Upside Down mechanism uses twelve rotating lobster‑claw discs to indicate the hours, and proceeds including Phillips’ buyer’s premium will benefit the charity Paint a Smile.
• The Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer Inverto “Prototype 00” in stainless steel, Lot 100 with an estimate of CHF 60,000–120,000, features twin independent gear trains with 10‑second constant‑force remontoires driving a pair of escape wheels and an inverted construction that turns the calibre into the dial.
• Production of the Inverto is stated to be around 15 pieces per year, and the watch offered is both the only functional prototype and the only example cased in stainless steel.
• The 1996 Urban Jürgensen Reference 2 “Prototype” in 18k yellow gold, Lot 146 with an estimate of CHF 40,000–80,000 and linked to the revival under Peter Baumberger and Derek Pratt, carries a dial marked “Proto” and movement number 000000, indicating use as a developmental piece ahead of serial production and cited as the only yellow‑gold Reference 2 prototype known on the market.

Why It Matters

For collectors across the GCC, these four prototypes at Phillips’ Geneva Watch Auction: XXIII offer access to rare references and documented stages in the work of leading independent watchmakers. In a market that values narrative, innovation, and clearly defined rarity, such developmental pieces provide a focused way to anchor a collection around the ideas shaping contemporary and classical horology.

They also underline how Geneva watch auctions remain a reference point for following the evolution of independent names from prototypes to recognised series production.