Only Watch is a biennial charity auction of unique wristwatches, founded in 2005 by Luc Pettavino on behalf of the Monaco Association Against Muscular Dystrophy (AMM). Pettavino founded the AMM in response to his son's diagnosis with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic muscle-wasting disease that is currently incurable and typically fatal in young adulthood. The auction's purpose is to fund research into Duchenne; Only Watch grants funds to research projects in Europe, the United States, and Asia, focusing on gene therapy, dystrophin-restoration mechanisms, and cardiac complications.
The auction format is strict and consistent: every two years, approximately 50 of the world's top watchmakers are invited to each contribute a single unique piece, generally a one-of-a-kind variant of one of the brand's flagship references with a special dial, case, or complication. Brands cover all costs of production and donation; 100% of the auction proceeds go to the AMM. The auction is publicly catalogued in the year preceding each edition, with a global pre-auction tour taking the watches through Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, New York, London, Dubai, and Geneva.
"Each watch is unique. Each watch funds research. Each auction sets a record. That is the formula, and it is the only one of its kind in our industry."- Luc Pettavino, founder of Only Watch
The participating brands span the entire watch industry hierarchy. Independent makers (F.P. Journe, Akrivia, MB&F, Voutilainen) sit alongside haute-horlogerie houses (Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, A. Lange & Söhne) and industrial luxury (Rolex, Omega, Tudor). Many brands enter their only ever unique-piece variant into Only Watch, making the lots category-defining: a unique-dial Submariner, a unique-dial Daytona, or a unique Patek Nautilus does not exist outside Only Watch.
The most famous Only Watch result is the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A-010 in the 2019 edition. Patek contributed a steel-cased version of its 20-complication grand-sonnerie reference (the Grandmaster Chime is normally only made in precious metals). The watch sold at Christie's Geneva on 9 November 2019 for CHF 31,000,000, the highest auction result ever recorded for a wristwatch. The previous record (also Patek, the steel ref. 1518 perpetual chronograph at CHF 11M in 2016) was beaten by nearly 3×. Other notable Only Watch results: a unique Patek Nautilus 5711A at CHF 6.2M (2021), a unique AP Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon at CHF 1.85M (2017), an F.P. Journe Astronomic Souveraine at CHF 1.8M (2019).
Only Watch operates on a two-year cycle. Editions held to date: 2005 (1st), 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2023 (delayed from 2021 due to COVID). The 2024 edition was postponed to 2025 after a transparency review of the AMM's grant disbursements; the review confirmed the funds had reached approved research projects but added new oversight provisions. Each edition typically auctions through Christie's or Phillips Watches, with the auction event held in Geneva at the Hotel Beau-Rivage or the Hotel des Bergues during November.
For collectors, an Only Watch lot is one of the strongest provenance markers a watch can carry. The combination of unique-piece status, charity origin, auction-event sale, and (for some lots) brand-impossible specifications (steel Patek Nautilus, steel Grandmaster Chime, etc.) means Only Watch lots typically realise significantly above regular-production secondary-market prices for the same brand. For the brands themselves, Only Watch participation has become a category-marketing exercise; it demonstrates technical capability, charitable engagement, and brand cooperation in a single visible event.
