买一块有收藏价值的手表！ALPHA AND OMEGA

Watch brands have a love-hate relationship with auction houses. On the one hand, they see every wristwatch that comes under the hammer as a potential threat to the sale of a new one; on the other, they enjoy the marketing boost that usually accompanies an exceptional price.

钟表品牌与拍卖行的关系总是爱恨交织。一方面，拍卖行将每只拍卖锤下的腕表，都视为下一只的潜在威胁；另一方面，它们又热衷于往往伴随着高昂售价的营销宣传。

There is no doubt that worldwide awareness of leading high-end makes such as Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin has dramatically improved during the past decade because of the saleroom performance of certain “vintage” pieces that have sold for huge sums. The knock-on effect is that when a vintage watch sells at auction for six or seven figures, the credibility and desirability of the brand is enhanced.

毫无疑问，在过去十年中，全球对于百达翡丽(Patek Philippe)和江诗丹顿(Vacheron Constantin)等领先高端品牌产品的认知度显著提升，因为某些“典藏”款式的售价很高，销售业绩很好。其连锁反应是当一款典藏表在拍卖会上以6位或7位数（英镑）的价格卖出时，这个品牌的信用度就会有所提高，人们也更想得到它。

In some cases, values can become artificially inflated, especially when a wealthy brand pays whatever it takes to buy back part of its heritage. But once the precedent of a high price for a certain wristwatch has been set, the chances are that the next comparable one to come up for sale will make as much, if not more, and therefore firmly establish the brand as “collectable”.

有时，价值能被人为地提高，特别是当一个奢侈品牌为购回其部分传统而不惜付出任何代价的时候。但是，一旦有先例说明某款腕表以高价售出，那么很可能发生的是，下一款类似产品的价格，就算不会提高，也会保持同样水平，从而稳固地确定了该品牌属于“值得收藏”品牌的地位。

The auction house that has probably been most responsible for enlarging the collector base of many historic watches is Geneva-based Antiquorum. It piloted the concept of what it calls “thematic sales” with its 1989 “Art of Patek Philippe” event that grossed Sfr25.4m.

至于历史名表的收藏者队伍越来越庞大的现象，总部设在日内瓦的安帝古伦(Antiquorum)拍卖行可能要负最大责任。它在1989年首次提出了所谓的“主题拍卖”理念，举行了“百达翡丽艺术”(Art of Patek Philippe)拍卖会，交易总额达2540万瑞士法郎。

Packed with lavish illustrations and meticulous research , the catalogue came to be regarded as a reference work among Patek collectors and, in the past 18 years, Antiquorum has held 21 further such sales, some focusing on specific makes and others on niche areas including limited editions and one-owner collections.

拍卖目录中全是大量的说明插图和精细的调查，在百达翡丽收藏者中，它被视为一本“参考书”。在过去18年中，安帝古伦举办了另外21场此类拍卖会，有些关注于特定产品，有些关注于限量版和独一无二的藏品等狭小领域。

Its latest theme sale, entitled “Omegamania”, will, as its name suggests, concentrate on the watches of Omega – a surprising choice because Swatch Group-owned Omega is a mass-producer of quality watches rather than a low-volume producer of haute horlogerie. Most of the auction offerings should, therefore, be affordably priced, with some expected to sell for as little as £1,000.

安帝古伦最近一次主题拍卖会名为“Omegamania”，正如其名，此次拍卖会将集中于欧米茄(Omega)钟表——这个选择出人意料，因为瑞士斯沃琪集团(Swatch Group)属下的欧米茄是优质钟表的大批量生产商，而不是低产生产商。因此，大多数拍卖品的价格都应是人们可以承受的，有些的预计售价仅为1000英镑。

Antiquorum chairman Osvaldo Patrizzi says a sale like this is not just about achieving giant sums for individual watches. “The real point is to extract the interesting historical aspects and the savoir-faire of a watch manufacturer because that is what collectors appreciate,” he says.

安帝古伦董事长奥斯瓦多•帕特里西(Osvaldo Patrizzi)称，像这样的拍卖不只是为了将每块手表以高价售出。他表示：“真正的目的在于看看有趣的历史以及钟表制造商的精湛工艺，因为那是收藏者所欣赏的。”

Patrizzi adds: “It gives collectors the chance to gain some in-depth knowledge about a brand's philosophy and cultural heritage. The watch manufacturers recognise the importance of these sales from a promotional point of view and help us with the research process – for previous thematic sales, Cartier and Vacheron Constantin supplied us with certificates of authenticity for important pieces, and for this forthcoming sale Omega has agreed to provide a two-year guarantee on every watch offered.”

帕特里西补充称：“这使收藏者有机会深入了解关于一种品牌的哲学和文化传统的知识。钟表制造商从推销的角度看待这些拍卖的重要性，因此会帮助我们进行调研——在以往的主题拍卖活动中，卡地亚(Cartier)和江诗丹顿给我们提供了某些重要产品的真品证明书，对于即将到来的这次拍卖会，欧米茄已同意为每只表提供一份为期两年的保用证。”

Patrizzi believes that the many interesting vintage watches produced by Omega are currently undervalued, partly because big-spending collectors still tend to concentrate on the three or four top brands. “This often makes for an unrealistic market and causes frustration among collectors when they can no longer afford to buy what they want,” he explains. “We felt it was necessary to act before the market collapses due to a limited number of ‘quoted' brands – the collectors need new stars. Omega offers quality and collectability at a more affordable price, but it would not surprise me if important models, such as particularly fine examples of the Seamaster, the Speedmaster line and the Flightmaster, double in value as a result of this sale.”

帕特里西认为，欧米茄制造的许多有趣的典藏钟表目前都被低估了，部分原因在于出手阔绰的收藏者仍倾向集中于三、四个顶级品牌。“这往往会导致市场的不切实际，并在收藏者买不起他们想要的东西时造成失落情绪，”他解释称，“我们认为有必要在市场因待售品牌有限而崩溃之前采取行动——收藏者需要新的明星。欧米茄以人们更能承受的价格提供高品质、值得收藏的产品，但如果一些重要的款型——如海马(Seamaster)、超霸(Speedmaster)系列和Flightmaster等特别精湛的表款——由于此次拍卖其价值上涨一倍，我不会感到惊讶。”

Since more than 1.5m Speedmasters have been sold since the model was launched in 1957, examples are not exactly rare and can be bought for as little as £700, but around 250 different versions have been produced, some of which are now highly collectable. “Omegamania” will include the most sought-after types, such as two of the first with “Broad Arrow” hands that are expected to fetch up to £15,000 each and variations of the so-called Speedmaster Moon Watch that has been worn by numerous astronauts in its capacity as official wristwear of the US space programme since 1965.

由于超霸自1957年推出以来，已卖出了逾150万只，因此这种款型并不稀有，而且仅以700英镑的价格就能买到，但这一系列生产了大约250种不同版本，因此有些版本现在非常值得收藏。“Omegamania”拍卖会将包括最受追捧的款型，比如两只首批生产的“阔箭”指针腕表，预计每只价格高达1.5万英镑，和几款所谓的超霸月相表(Speedmaster Moon Watch)，许多宇航员都戴过这款表，自1965年以来它已成为美国航空项目的官方腕表。

The sale will also include Formula One star Michael Schumacher's personal, yellow-dialled Speedmaster and several rarities from Omega's entry into electronic watch production at the dawn of the quartz age in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

此次拍卖会还将包括一级方程式赛车(Formula One)明星迈克尔•舒马赫(Michael Schumacher)私人的一款黄色表盘超霸表。欧米茄于20世纪60年代末、70年代初石英时代开始时进入电子钟表生产行列，此次拍卖会还将拍卖当时生产的几款珍品。

Historic pieces dating back to the first use of the Omega name in 1894 will also be included among the 300 lots on offer, the earliest of which is a pink gold minute-repeating pocket watch that is estimated to fetch around £15,000. Early wristwatches include one of the brand's first – a silver-cased model with a winding crown at nine o'clock – and two examples of the rare 1930s double-cased Marine that was the first water-resistant watch to be tested to a depth of more than 70 metres.

1894年首度使用欧米茄名字时的几款具有历史意义的珍品，也将包括在此次的300件拍品中。其中最早的是一款玫瑰金属壳、三锤音乐三问怀表，估计价格约为1.5万英镑。早期腕表包括该品牌首批腕表中的一只——银质“百年左手用非自动腕表”——和两只上世纪30年代的“航海腕表”(Marine)，这是首款防水表，曾在水下70米深度进行过测试。

In its modern-day context, however, Omega is probably best-known as the supplier of the watches that have been used in every James Bond film since 1995. The sale includes the Seamaster worn by Pierce Brosnan during the filming of Tomorrow Never Dies and both the Seamaster Professional and the Seamaster Planet Ocean that appeared on Daniel Craig's wrist in Casino Royale. The latter is being sold caked in mud and with a few scratches as a result of the knocks and scrapes it sustained during the film's opening stunt sequences, but the buyer can rest assured – Omega has still agreed to honour its warranty

然而，在当代，欧米茄最为知名的，可能是自1995年以来它的手表会出现在每部詹姆斯•邦德(James Bond)的电影中。此次拍品中包括皮尔斯•布鲁斯南(Pierce Brosnan)在摄制《明日帝国》(Tomorrow Never Dies)时佩戴的海马，以及在《皇家赌场》(Casino Royale)中出现在丹尼尔•克雷格(Daniel Craig)手腕上的海马专业(Seamaster Professional)和海马Planet Ocean(Seamaster Planet Ocean)。这款海马Planet Ocean在拍卖时会有些泥，还有一些划痕，这是由于电影开始时拍摄特技镜头留下的磕痕和划痕，但可以向买家保证该表的其它品质——欧米茄已同意尊重其保用书。