Photo credit: Nathan Boder
This one will be quick. Maybe the shortest post ever on this blog since it started over six years ago.
The third edition of the Bienne Charity Watch Sale will be quite different from what we’ve done so far. It’s as if we went straight from infant to teenager. To be honest, those of us organizing it—an amazing group of passionate volunteers–are slightly overwhelmed. At least, I know I am! All stuff to be grateful for, but I must confess I’d grossly underestimated what the happy evolution would require.
The bump in workload as we prepare for the event is mostly due to two factors. And while extra work, both are wonderful additions we wanted to bring in based on learnings from the first two editions.
1. Unique pieces by Swiss brands from Bienne and beyond. On the theme a touch of orange, the color of Terre des hommes, you will soon see in our catalogue a dozen watches specifically developed or customized by participating manufacturers for this event. That means that by acquiring one, you will not only support children in need worldwide but also become the proud owner of a unique piece of Swiss watchmaking. One of one.
I’m incredibly thankful for the contribution from brands, but also discovered how working with them meant we had to up our game on fairly short notice. A huge thanks to the watch industry pros on our committee who made this possible, and to the manufacturers for their support and understanding as our project matured in real time!
2. Online bidding. We will not only have a true auction professional—Arthur Touchot, co-founder of Marteau & Co and early supporter of our initiative— in a beautiful venue—the Nouveau Musée Bienne. This year, anyone anywhere around the globe will also be able to bid online. In fact, for those of you unable to make it during the live auction, you will have the possibility of leaving an absentee bid so that we raise the virtual paddle on your behalf.
The online auction is something we hesitated to do until fairly late, precisely because we were afraid it was too risky for us to handle. We eventually found a strong partner and, critically, a new committee member, Jérémy, to make it happen. Now, the final sprint!
While the catalogue will take a couple more days—we are a bit delayed but almost there, you can already take a sneak peak at the brands that have participated. I’m very grateful and honored when I look at that virtual wall. Such high profile names who believed in us and played along with incredible contributions; I literally want to own every single one of them (the watches, not the brands; well, actually, for as long as I’m fantasizing…).
Finally, we received some amazing contributions again this year from individual collectors, including our first ever Rolex and Breguet. Along them, you’ll find a great mix from Grand Seiko to Panerai, Omega, Breitling and Cartier. And, in a very different but suitably Bienne vibe, many special Swatches for the fixed priced sale.
If you want to make sure to catch the latest ahead of the auction, you can follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or sign up to take part in the auction, virtually or in Bienne. In case of the latter, due to limited physical capacity, we’d appreciate it if you only register with the firm intention of attending. Thanks in advance for your understanding.
We can’t wait to show you the lineup!
