More than forty watches owned by the renowned Italian expert and collector will be presented during Phillips' upcoming auction, The Geneva Watch Auction: XIX, May 11-12, 2024
Phillips has just announced that Guido Mondani, a well-known Italian collector and publisher in the watch industry, has made available more than 40 wristwatches from his private collection, which will be offered during Phillips' upcoming auction, "The Geneva Watch Auction: XIX, featuring The Guido Mondani Collection." The auction will take place on May 11 and 12, 2024, in Geneva. A collector, pioneer and leading voice in the industry for nearly four decades, Guido Mondani founded in 1992, a Publishing House, in order to share his expertise and knowledge in the field of watches, while at the same time becoming a recognized trend setter in the field of vintage Rolex wristwatches. Part of Mondani's vintage Rolex collection was auctioned in 2006, with memorable results, including two record adjudications, for that period. It will return, therefore, to auction, in Geneva, next May, in collaboration with Phillips, with a series of sought-after and highly prized specimens: a celebratory occasion of the four decades during which Mondani has established himself as a watch collector of reference on the international level.
The Mondani 2024 Collection Guido Mondani is a collector of fine watches. His books and guides have attracted the attention and fueled the enthusiasm of generations of watch enthusiasts. Mondani is a highly respected expert in international collecting circles, especially in his home country of Italy, where he is known to provide advice and share his knowledge widely.
Mondani will, therefore, once again open the doors of his private collection during the Phillips - The Geneva Watch Auction: XIX, featuring The Guido Mondani Collection, scheduled for May 11-12, 2024 in Geneva. The collection consists of more than 40 wristwatches purchased by Mondani during his lifetime, including the very first watch he bought for himself, a Cartier, along with a wide range of timepieces from Eberhard & Co., Longines, Patek Philippe, and Rolex. In fact, after selling some rare and sought-after timepieces at auction in 2006, Mondani has continued to add models to his collection because of his insatiable interest in exceptional watches.
The selection, which is the subject of the upcoming auction, includes, among others, the 1985 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona - Ref. 6269 - in 18-karat yellow gold (estimate: CHF 600,000 - 1,200,000), which Mondani bought as a birthday gift for his wife while she was on vacation, and two contemporary Rolex "sportsmen," bought to celebrate the birth of his grandchildren. And, again, here is an 18-karat rose gold Rolex chronograph from 1955 - Ref. 6036 "Jean-Claude Killy" - (estimate: CHF 400,000 - 800,000), purchased after a friend asked him for advice on the matter. And, then, a 1938 Eberhard & Co. Rattrapante chronograph in 18-karat yellow gold stands out, added to his collection in 1988, purchased from a former Eberhard & Co. salesman during their last day on the job. Now in his seventy-ninth year, Mondani has decided to part with these 40-plus wristwatches, celebrating his past and encouraging subsequent generations of enthusiasts to build their own personal collections.
Guido Mondani, collector and founder of Guido Mondani Editore, said, "I chose to sell the remaining part of my collection to relive the emotions of the first Mondani auction in 2006, which, without a doubt, left a mark in the history of thematic watch auctions. I now feel ready to part with watches that I felt were too special to be sold 18 years ago. This occasion is further confirmation of the great satisfaction that my continued research and acquisition of quality watches, has brought me. I am thrilled to see watches that have marked important moments in my life, find themselves in the hands of important collectors from all over the world." The entire collection will be displayed at Phillips headquarters in Milan on March 20, 2024, in the presence of Guido Mondani and his entire family, who will be delighted to greet friends and collectors.
About Guido Mondani
Guido Mondani was born on October 29, 1945, in Genoa, Italy. He never wore watches as a child, but after purchasing a Cartier in the 1970s, he wore it every day. His collection of timepieces took a more concrete turn in 1986 after he received a moon-phase Rolex as a birthday gift from his wife Franca. From the beginning, Mondani interpreted collecting in a thoughtful way. In this sense, he devoted a lot of time to acquire as much knowledge as possible, before making any purchase and never bought a watch for his collection, of which he was not 100% sure, in terms of prestige and historical value. In short, he never traded his interest in quality, for quantity. "Collecting Rolex Wristwatches," in 1992, was Mondani's first published book. Since then, he has sold more than 100,000 copies of books published by his family's publishing house, "Guido Mondani Editore." His publishing library is composed, mainly, of monographs, concerning, for example, various Rolex and Patek Philippe models, or steel chronographs.
It should be emphasized again, that the first auction of Mondani's collection, held by Antiquorum in 2006, is considered one of the turning points, both in the universe of vintage Rolexes, and for watch collecting as a whole. The "white glove" sale included, exactly, 309 Rolex wristwatches, with a total result of 11,037,278 Swiss francs, including a number of models that achieved world records at the time: we recall, in this regard, a Rolex - Ref. 4113 - Chronograph Rattrapante and a Rolex with a black dial - Ref. 6062 "Stelline".
