On 2 December, Bonhams will be selling watches from the Private Collection of the Porsche Family in its ‘Fine Watches & Wristwatches’ auction in New Bond Street, with proceeds donated to charity. The 49 lots of Porsche family watches include pieces by Eterna, Porsche Design, Rolex, Panerai, Eberhard, Jaeger LeCoultre, Breitling, Chronoswiss and Omega.

Of particular interest are the prototypes and unique examples of Eterna and Porsche Design watches made especially for the family. Among these is a fine 18ct gold chronograph by Eterna (one of the few remaining independent watch-making companies – and which itself belongs to the Porsche family), presented to Dr. Ferdinand Oliver Porsche for his 40th birthday. The estimate is £4000-6000.

Lot 136 is an automatic prototype wristwatch by Porsche Design. It was made to ‘explore the possibilities of different colour accents in dial design of the Dashboard line’, inspired largely by watches of the 1960s and 70s. It carries an estimate of £1800-2200, while lot 137 is another Porsche Design prototype, the Dashboard PTR-Titan Rattrapante. This is unique in its rattrapante dial with white Arabic numerals. Estimate: £3000-5000.

The KonTiki Anniversary Limited Edition, lot 143, is number 13 of 50 timepieces made by Eterna in 2008 to celebrate the 50th birthday of the KonTiki model. This watch was presented to Oliver Porsche, as the date of his birthday is the 13th. Together with its carved wooden presentation box, the estimate is £2500-3500.

Other notable lots include the Rolex Explorer II, made c.1987, and the Jaeger LeCoultre Memovox Polaris, a stainless steel automatic wristwatch with alarm, made c.1960. Both carry an estimate of £5000-7000.

The sale takes place on 2 December 2009, starting at 2pm in the Bonhams showrooms in New Bond Street. For further details, see www.bonhams.com. (The Porsche family watches comprise lots 136 to 184.)

Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photos: Bonhams