Frankenwatch is the poetic term watch industry insiders use to describe a vintage watch that is sold as authentic in mint condition, but has been “pepped up” by replacing a part or two from another watch or even faked components. The most notorious case of Frankenwatches concerned a Swiss component maker who was eventually jailed for fraud back in 2007. The story was well documented and can be read here.
Despite that high-profile case, Frankenwatches are still in circulation today thanks to the very high prices that certain vintage watches claim today. Auction house Christie’s high-profile
Yesterday, the news broke that pop star John Mayer, an avid watch collector, is suing a well-known watch dealer based in Los Angeles – a longtime “expert” in vintage and ultra-high-end timepieces – over seven very expensive timepieces sold to him, which Rolex confirmed as containing “non-authentic” components. Meaning the dials, which are the most important components of sought-after vintage timepieces. After months of trying to sort the situation out personally, Mayer now seeks to recover $656,000, the price of the seven watches allegedly containing non-original components. You can read the entire lawsuit here.
I had the honor of serving on the jury of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève with Mayer just this past November, which you can read about here and here. The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève is the most prestigious award in watchmaking, and the members of its jury come from just about every area of the industry: collectors, retailers, watchmakers, designers, gemologists, and – naturally – journalists.
This was the first year that “celebrities” were invited to take part in the jury, and I will admit having been unsure as to what to expect. What I did find in all cases of the collectors involved was that they were extremely knowledgeable about their particular specialty areas of collecting. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Mayer knows far more about collecting Rolex and Patek Philippe wristwatches than I could ever hope to, even after two decades in the watch industry. You can hear him talk about his collection and show some of the timepieces he owns in this video.
This, of course, has a lot to do with hands-on experience. Mayer has been seriously collecting wristwatches since 2007 and has meanwhile acquired a sizable collection of well over 100 first-rate timepieces in his preferred categories. He also writes about these watches for serious website Hodinkee as a contributor. However, as anyone in the vintage wristwatch scene will attest, no one is truly an “expert” when it comes to vintage Rolex, which is an exceedingly tricky subject. It is precisely this “trickiness” that makes it so enjoyable and addictive to the people who are in a position to partake.
It should also be noted that the watches in question were purchased by Mayer several years ago, and as anyone who is a collector of anything knows, one doesn't start life as an astute buyer; you learn by making mistakes.
What is important to remember for the budding watch collector today is that education in the topic is an absolute must. Frankenwatches indeed continue to be a real problem, and only Rolex can authenticate vintage watches made by the company. What happened to Mayer can theoretically happen to anyone, even a seasoned collector. And: this shouldn’t have happened because he had his “expert” dealer to counsel him. Which raises a whole different issue…
Elizabeth Doerr is the editor-in-chief of Quill & Pad, an online magazine that keeps a watch on time.
