Auction Phillips Presents Remarkable Prototypes at the ‘Decade One’ Auction

This November, Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo will celebrate a decade of watch auctions with the Decade One (2015–2025) thematic sale at the Hôtel Président in Geneva. This landmark auction marks the first 10 years of the Phillips Watches department, highlighting the remarkable timepieces, record-breaking results, and pioneering scholarship that have defined its success since the inaugural sale in 2015.

Decade One will feature a selection of one-of-a-kind prototype watches that capture ideas in their earliest form, pieces that often reveal design details or technical solutions never carried through to production. Some feel experimental, others nearly complete, but each offers a rare and candid insight into the watchmaker’s creative process. Encountering a prototype is, in essence, witnessing horological history in its rawest state. Among the highlights are notable prototypes from both established manufactures and contemporary independents.

Vacheron Constantin Saltarello ‘Prototype’ Ref. 43041, Circa 1995

Estimate: CHF 30,000 – 60,000

The Saltarello was Vacheron Constantin’s first wristwatch to combine a jumping hour aperture with a retrograde minutes display. Released in the late 1990s as a series of 500 pieces, the present example is the original prototype, created around 1995.

This early version tested a “brake system” designed to cushion the retrograde hand’s return, visible through an aperture on the dial, a feature later abandoned for the production model. The guilloché dial and engraved rotor also differ from the final design. 

Initially housed in a gold-plated case engraved Test N°1, it was later recased by Vacheron in 18k yellow gold and engraved Pièce Unique. Consigned by the watchmaker who developed the Saltarello, this prototype offers a rare opportunity to acquire the model at its inception—an essential piece of neo-vintage Vacheron Constantin history.

David Candaux | DC12 MaveriK ‘Prototype’, 2025

Estimate: CHF 45,000 – 90,000

David Candaux took a different direction with the DC12—his first time-only watch, yet one that incorporates a double escapement and differential. His fascination with this mechanism dates back to the mid-1990s, when, as an apprentice at Jaeger-LeCoultre, he encountered a 1930s double-escapement pocket watch, the same one that inspired Philippe Dufour’s Duality. By averaging the rates of two balances, the mechanism achieves superior precision.

Candaux began developing his own double-escapement wristwatch in 2008, but it wasn’t until 2025 that his vision materialized with the DC12. Featuring a curved case and seven-level movement architecture, the watch’s in-house calibre C30 is protected by three patents. The present example, christened Model α (Alpha), is the very first prototype—and the only one to feature a movement made from German silver (the production versions will use titanium). It is offered in new, unworn condition.

Konstantin Chaykin | Joker ‘Fiat Lux’ Prototype, 2024

Estimate: CHF 20,000 – 40,000

Russian watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin has long delighted collectors with his ingenious Wristmons series. The present “Fiat Lux” prototype—Latin for “Let There Be Light”—is the first openworked Joker model, revealing the mechanics behind its playful, jester-inspired dial. The eyes serve as sub-dials, with the left indicating the hours and the right the minutes, while the smiling mouth at six o’clock displays the moon phase. It was also the first Wristmon to feature an exhibition caseback.

Numbered 00/38 from a series produced for Beijing retailer West Wood Time, this is the original prototype, the Joker that introduced the world to Chaykin’s openworked design language.

Cédric Johner | Abyss Chronograph 30th Anniversary ‘Prototype’, 2021

Estimate: CHF 15,000 – 30,000

Geneva-based watchmaker and jeweler Cédric Johner celebrated the 30th anniversary of his independent career in 2021 with the 30-piece Abyss Chronograph, powered by new-old-stock Valjoux 23 movements. The present prototype, housed in Johner’s signature tonneau-inspired Abyss case in stainless steel, differs from the production version in several key aspects: the movement decoration is more traditional, and the chronograph and seconds hands are red instead of silver.

This prototype underscores Johner’s instantly recognizable design languag, a fusion of jeweler’s artistry and watchmaker’s precision in its most authentic form.

The Phillips Decade One (2015–2025) watch auction will be held on 8–9 November 2025 at the Hôtel Président in Geneva, offering collectors an unprecedented opportunity to discover and acquire timepieces that not only define Phillips’ first decade but also illuminate the broader history of watchmaking.

For more information visit Phillips official website.