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Atlantis Tourbillon Piece Unique
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lot 21

Molnar Fabry

Atlantis Tourbillon Piece Unique

This lot has a reserve price
Estimate CHF 50 000 / CHF 100 000
Starting bid CHF 45 000
Hammer price CHF 90 000
Total bids 11
Buyer’s premium will not be charged
The Molnar Fabry brand is little known, which isn’t surprising since it produces no more than 20 pieces per year. A company with such a small production has a great advantage: it can afford to invest a lot of time in handwork and decoration of the watches. The result is very interesting specimens, which are by no means ‘ordinary watches’. This Atlantis Tourbillon, for example, has a special, I’d even say predatory character. The original movement, namely Christophe Claret’s magnificent tourbillon caliber with reversible hands setting and a mysterious peripheral hand winding mechanism, gives a unique feeling. Wheels with wolf teeth, a lot of sharp outer and inner corners, blue jewels, as well as mainplate engraved with Celtic ornaments – all this looks extremely delicious.
Alex Kutkovoy
More than 10 years editor in Revolution
Estimate
CHF 50 000 / CHF 100 000

Specification

CaseDamascus stainless steel case with a sapphire caseback & a Damascus crown at 3 o'clock
StrapBlack Stingray leather strap with a Damascus steel pin buckle, signed "Molnar Fabry"
DialOpenworked dial with a skeletonized barrel at 12 o'clock, true seconds Tourbillon at 6 o'clock & stainless steel arrow hands
MovementRhodium & ruthenium plated, hand-wound movement with a mystery winding system & a true seconds Tourbillon, blue jewels & mythical hand engravings of the gate of lost Atlantis
Cal.CCR97 Christophe Claret
Ref.51019
Case No.Piece Unique
D=44mm
Year2023

Condition report

Case:Brand new
Strap:Brand new
Dial:Mint condition
Movement:Very good, all functions working properly
Amplitude (Dial on top/Lift angle 52):Approx 290°
Accuracy (Dial on top):Approx +4 sec/day
Box:Yes
Papers:Yes

Details 

A unique, spectacular and attractive tourbillon wristwatch from the Molnar Fabry brand, founded in 2006 by Slovak goldsmiths Michal Molnár and Igor Fábry. Production year: 2019. Stainless Damascus steel case, diameter 44 mm, open-worked dial, sapphire caseback. Christophe Claret caliber CCR97, manual winding, with mysterious peripheral winding system, power reserve up to 110 hours. Functions – display of time in hours and minutes, tourbillon at 6 o'clock. Black stingray leather strap, Molnar Fabry pin buckle made of stainless Damascus steel. The present watch is made as a unique piece. 

Lot essay 

Molnar Fabry is the independent brand of Michal Molnár and Igor Fábry, two Slovak watchmakers who produce custom timepieces with Swiss-made mechanical movements. All the brand's production is intended for collectors and consists mainly of skeletonized watches made as unique pieces. According to the brand, the annual production is about 10 pieces, which are elaborately handcrafted. Therefore, the watches of the brand are extremely rare. The estimated total circulation for the entire period of the brand’s existence is about 100–200 pieces and is almost never offered at auctions. 

Molnar Fabry prefers to show the fine craftsmanship that goes into making all the watch components and even the movements, although the brand buys the movements for its watches. These are then finished and modified according to the wishes of the two masters. 

The meticulous finishing of the caliber with hallmarks of fine watchmaking such as polished bevels with numerous sharp inner and outer corners, a hand-engraved mainplate with the ‘Gate of Atlantis’ motif, blue jewels and an impressive and rare case made of stainless Damascus steel significantly increase the value of this watch.

The present example is a rare case in which the Molnar Fabry watch wasn’t made to order and according to the wishes of customers, but on the initiative of the brand founders, i.e. exactly as they wanted to realize their vision. The starting point was a rare and precious tourbillon movement from the complication atelier of Christophe Claret. The CCR97 caliber is interesting from a technical point of view, as it uses an unusual, mysterious hand-wound system with a peripheral toothed ring and achieves an impressive power reserve of 110 hours. Another remarkable feature of this movement is the reversed hands setting, which allows opening the tourbillon, barrel and most of the gear naturally from the dial side. The main feature of such a scheme is the hour hand, which is located above the minute hand, while in the standard design the hour hand should be below the minute hand. 

The CCR97 caliber is also very interesting from an esthetic point of view. Its finish corresponds to the tourbillon’s status as one of the most prestigious complications. The many sharp inner corners, formed by manual polishing of chamfers, evident in the finishing of the caliber parts, significantly increase the value of this watch in the eyes of the discerning collector. The blackened mainplate draws the eye to the magnificent tourbillon located under a carefully polished bridge, which in turn draws the eye to another rare feature of this watch. These are blue jewels used in place of the traditional red stones. The attentive connoisseur will surely notice that several main wheels – from the winding wheel to the intermediate tourbillon wheel – have wolf teeth. The wolf-teeth gear is a characteristic feature of some high-end pocket watch movements that were occasionally made by the best Geneva brands in the first half of the 20th century. Among them, first of all, was Patek Philippe. 

Molnar Fabry has made this rare caliber even more valuable by incorporating a skeletonized barrel bridge, also with sharp inner and outer corners, and handmade hands produced by the brand itself – a rarity in modern watchmaking. The watch is dedicated to the theme of Atlantis, so the back of the mainplate is carefully engraved by hand with the ‘Gate of Atlantis’ motif. The exceptional character of the Atlantis Tourbillon is further emphasized by the case made of stainless Damascus steel with its whimsical striped texture. 

Reasons to bid 

The Molnar Fabry Atlantis Tourbillon Piece Unique Ref. 51019 would appear to be a fine purchase for collectors looking for an unusual and extremely rare mechanical watch from a small creative brand specializing in collectible haute horlogerie watches. The fact that the watch was issued as a unique piece and is an unusual artistic project of the brand’s founders undoubtedly adds to the appeal of this lot. The meticulous finishing of the caliber with hallmarks of fine watchmaking such as polished bevels with numerous sharp inner and outer corners, a hand-engraved mainplate with the ‘Gate of Atlantis’ motif, blue jewels and an impressive and rare case made of stainless Damascus steel significantly increase the value of this watch. 

*Under the aegis of Maître Marco Breitenmoser, Huissier Judiciaire