Passion for watches with a history
Mr Aurel Bacs, a grandmaster of watch auctions, grew to love vintage timepieces after trading in them
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Mr Aurel Bacs is an arresting presence, an articulate fellow with great sartorial flair, a stylish stubble beard, a rich baritone and charisma in spades. He is also a man with a grand passion, one who loves horology so much he lives, breathes and makes a handsome living out of watches. In the world of watch auctions, Mr Bacs is a record-breaking grandmaster.
He is the man who bought, on behalf of a client, the world's most expensive watch - the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Super Complication, a pocket watch - for US$24 million in 2014. Last year, he sold Paul Newman's personal Paul Newman Rolex Daytona (yes, a Paul Newman Rolex Daytona owned by the late actor himself) for a staggering US$17.75 million (S$23.2 million), making it the most expensive wristwatch ever sold.
He is also the man who ran auction house Christie's watch department for 10 years until 2013, increasing annual watch sales from US$8 million to about US$130 million during that period. Together with his wife Livia Russo, also a watch specialist, the 47-year-old Zurich native now runs consultancy Bacs & Russo, which is contracted to manage the watch department of British auction house Phillips.
Mr Bacs dismisses suggestions that he is influential.
"I'm just a catalyst, one which can provoke a chemical reaction between a buyer and a seller," says the star auctioneer, who was in town recently to present an exhibition organized by The Hour Glass and Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo.
Held at Malmaison in Orchard Road, it featured highlights from two upcoming Phillips auctions, including a vintage white-gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, known as The Unicorn; and a unique Patek Philippe (reference 2499), the only one known to have a champagne-coloured dial.
Mr Bac's passion for old timepieces started when he was 12, just when vintage watches were beginning to become popular. His engineer father, an avid watch collector, often took him to flea markets and antique shops to hunt for interesting timepieces. It was not love at first sight for Mr Bacs.
"I saw how my father sometimes bought a watch from one dealer, only to have other dealers or collectors offer him $30, $50 or $100 more. And I thought to myself, 'Wow, that's several weeks' worth of pocket money."
So he broke his piggy bank and with the help of his father, invested in a couple of pieces which he traded later. Over time, he learnt a lot about models, movements and horological history.
"In the beginning, it seemed easy. You just paid some money and hoped that someone else would buy it off you for more. But I soon learnt that if you didn't check the movement and pay attention to details, you might have to fix it for more money than it was ever going to be worth. The movements could be rusty or might not be original," he says.
"The worst enemy of a vintage watch is not extensive wear, it is thoughtless, harsh restoration."
He realized he was truly bitten by the watch bug when making money became secondary. "The emotional relationship, the dialogue with the watches became more important," he says.
Asked why vintage watches make him tick, he replies: "I love everything which is well-made. It's sad we now live in a world where many objects of our daily lives have become $2.99 products - you buy, use and throw then throw them away."
Good watches, he says, incorporate engineering, precision and aesthetics. "I believe that anything which is built to last, in quality and design, shouldn't be out of fashion. If it lasts beyond a generation, it becomes something more and should be treasured."
Vintage watches, he says, beckon collectors to unearth their stories, making the exercise meaningful. "Sure, fast food is convenient, but we love meals cooked by our grandmothers because they are so much more meaningful."
Serendipity turned his addiction into a career. He was in his third year at university reading law when he chanced upon a magazine advertisement by an auction house seeking a watch specialist. "After the third or fourth interview, one of the interviewers showed me a tray of vintage watches and asked me to write a commentary on each watch, estimate how much they were worth and say which components were original and which had been replaced. You couldn't cheat because there was no Google then," he says with a laugh.
Not long after, he received a call from the chairman of Sotheby's asking him: When do you want to start?" Although his finals were just three months away, the then 23-year-old decided to take up the offer.
"There were only 12 people in the world who held such a position. To be one of the 12 makes you as rare as an astronaut."
It has been a sterling two decades for Mr Bacs who, prior to co-founding Bacs & Russo in 2014, also worked at Phillips and Christie's. It is a competitive industry, he says. Whether auction houses get rare pieces in their catalogues depends on the talent and reputation of its staff.
He says: "As an auctioneer and watch specialist, the only things that you have is your knowledge, reputation and track record. All these take decades to build, but you can lose them through one unfortunate mistake... The pressure is to deliver consistently."
He is coy when asked how big his own collection of watches is. "More than I need," he says with a grin. He has a few favourites which he calls his evergreens, but the one watch he always falls back on and which has never let him down is his Patek Philippe Nautilus, which he bought more than a decade ago.
He adds: "It's been to every continent with me. I've worn it in the jungles, up in the mountains and swimming in the sea. It's been with me when I was happy or sad and when I celebrated great moments."
And that is the advice he would give to anyone looking for a watch. "Look for quality. Follow your heart and get something you will enjoy. Don't get a watch primarily as an investment, but think about the pleasure it can add to your life."
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- by Wong Kim Hoh