Two hundred and seventy-two thousand eight hundred euros. This is the price at which Ettore Bugatti, founder of the legendary automobile brand, was auctioned on Saturday at an auction at the Château de Lasserre near Toulouse.
Shaped like a horseshoe, like the famous grille of Bugatti luxury and competition cars, the “boss’s” watch was initially estimated at between 80,000 and 120,000 euros.
“This is a record for a Mido watch”, a famous Swiss watch manufacturer. “Today, when there is a provenance of a celebrity, the price is increased tenfold”, explains to AFP the expert watchmaker Alexandre Léger, who presented “this exceptional piece” under the hammer of auctioneer Stanislas Machoïr.
The history of this gold watch dates back to the late 1920s, the heyday of motor racing, recalls Mr. Léger.
Anxious to thank his pilots and his mechanics, Ettore Bugatti will at this time order from the Swiss watch manufacturer Mido some dozen gold watches with a leather strap.
After his death in 1947, his son Michel inherited one of these watches: the one his father wore himself. In 1967, he decided to have the leather strap replaced by one in yellow and white gold braided, known as “Milanese mesh”, says Mr. Léger, pointing to the reference in Milan where the famous founder of Bugatti automobiles was from. .
The watch will then pass through the hands of several collectors after its sale by Michel Bugatti in the 1980s, continues the watchmaking specialist, mandated with Jean-Christophe Guyon by the VWS (Vintage Watch Story) expertise firm.
“Buyers from all over the world had expressed their interest to us, including the Bugatti brand itself and the Swiss watchmaker Mido”, assures the independent expert.
“The worldwide influence of this sale” is notably due to a “unique” photo shoot at the Cité de l’Automobile in Mulhouse, where Ettore Bugatti’s watch and his personal car, “the most expensive in the world”, were brought together. , emphasizes Alexandre Léger.
In parallel with this watch “which will remain in Europe”, according to Mr. Léger, other luxury watches were auctioned on Saturday at the Château de Lasserre, in Montastruc-la-Conseillère (Haute-Garonne), as well as “exceptional” vehicles.
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