The 5 Most Stunning Timepieces from This Year's Only Watch Charity Auction

The biennial charity auction brings the titans of the watchmaking world together for a good cause — and it's also spawned a bevy of watchmaking marvels. We round up our 5 favourite pieces here.

Rare is the event that can bring brands in the watchmaking world together without feeling the need to compete with one another. The Only Watch charity auction is a happy exception.

Only Watch was set up in 2001 with 99 percent of the proceeds going to charity, namely, towards research to find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

This year's edition sees 54 brands — including the likes of Patek Philippe, Hublot, and Audemars Piguet, just to name a few — participating in the event. The actual auction itself will take place on November 6: Meanwhile, the entire collection of watches will go on a world tour to drum up press before the big day. The watches will be in Singapore from October 15 to 20, and will be on display at Malmaison by The Hour Glass.

The first sale was held in 2005, and every other year since then. Over eight editions, Only Watch has raised some 70 million Euros in funding for its cause.

Only Watch was set up in 2001 by Luc Pettavino, the former CEO of the Monaco Yacht Show. Pettavino's late son also suffered from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy; he passed away in 2016 at the age of 21.

It's undoubtedly a good and noble cause — and just because it's a charity sale doesn't mean watchmakers have phoned it in. We round up the 5 standout watches from this year's auction — scroll on to see them all.

To start, Patek Philippe offers a handsome desk clock inspired by a unique design from the 1920s. A gilt-encrusted case — made of sterling silver, American walnut inlays and vermeil decorative elements — houses an exceptional Grand Complication from the brand.

Inside lies the new calibre 86-135 PEND IRM Q SE, which features a perpetual calendar, a moon phase window, a week-number display and a 31-day power-reserve indicator — all beautifully laid out on a yellow-gilt opaline dial.

The desk clock was inspired by a unique piece created in 1923 by Patek Philippe for James Ward Packard, the eponymous founder of the Packard Motor Car Company and one of the brand's most notable clients. Today, the original resides in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.

Boucheron's Ajourée Masy le Caméléon

Animals have always been a point of fascination for Boucheron since its founding in 1858 — and this unique high jewellery watch is no exception.

A multi-coloured chameleon (made of sapphires, tsavorites and rubies) wraps its sinuous body around a delicate mother-of-pearl dial: It's an incredibly complex creation, given the curved nature of the watch. The white gold case is also paved with diamonds, highlighting the wonderfully prismatic chameleon and the dial it watches over.

TAG Heuer's Only Watch Carbon Monaco

TAG Heuer reimagines a classic collector favourite for its entry into the auction. The Only Watch Carbon Monaco is a riff on one of the brand's most famous watches from the 70s, the PVD Heuer Monaco — or the 'Dark Lord', as it collectors have affectionately named it.

Here, TAG Heuer uses carbon to great effect: On the stunning skeletonised dial, on the graphic case, and even in this unique version of the Heuer 02 calibre, which comes fitted with a carbon hairspring.

Hublot's Big Bang Tourbillon Only Watch

Trust Hublot to come up with a watch that will turn heads. This unique piece was cut in transparent and orange coloured sapphires: A nod to the Only Watch's official livery for the year.

Inside the striking skeleton watch is the Hublot calibre HUB6035, which features a self-winding system that promises a 72-hour power reserve, and a self-winding micro-rotor that can be seen from the dial.

Bulgari's Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar Tantalum

It's not just the watch's lengthy name that's caught our attention. Bulgari's gallant entry to the auction is made in tantalum, the exotic, ultra-rare material that's rarer than gold — and, given its high melting point, often difficult to work with.

But Bulgari's done just that with this impossibly slim and charismatic watch, with the BVL Calibre 305 at its heart. To complement the lovely blue undertones of the tantalum, Bulgari has worked in a lacquered navy dial that serves as a command centre for a retrograde date, day and month display and a retrograde leap year display — all laid out driving indicator style.