3 museum-quality watches to be auctioned in Toulouse
On March 14, Primardéco will be auctioning the personal collection of Edgar Bensoussan, French pilot, Resistance fighter and Royal Air Force lieutenant.
Born in Oran in 1919, Elie Edgard Bensoussan, known as “Loulou”, joined the Resistance in 1943, volunteering for the Free French Air Force. Although he continued his career with the Royal Air Force after the war, the aviator remained forever inspired by the spirit of adventure that animated the pioneers of aviation, from Mermoz to Saint-Exupéry. Fascinated by the great exploits of the 1930s, he collected everything connected with aviation heroes. Posters, period photographs, personal archives, medals and decorations – his collection comprises more than a hundred items chosen with care and attention to detail. Dispersed shortly under the hammer of auctioneer Jérôme de Colonges, this sale will feature 3 rare watches by Boucheron, Omega and Longines.
LONGINES
Commemorative watch gift to French aviator Dieudonné Costes
Famous for making the first non-stop flight from Paris to New York with Maurice Bellonte in 1930, Dieudonné Costes is one of the emblematic figures of French aviation. The pilot succeeded in flying from Europe to the USA in 37 hours and 14 minutes, and was presented with this 14k gold watch by the city of Philadelphia to mark this unprecedented achievement. Accompanied by its vintage case signed “S. Kind & Sons”, a legendary watch retailer established in Philadelphia since 1872, this watch is a moving Art Deco piece. Featuring a sober dial with tricolor lettering, a subtle reference to the colors of the French and American flags, this timepiece is equipped with caliber 17.89 and was invoiced on September 25, 1929 to A.Wittnauer Co., then Longines’ agent for the USA. The estimate of €2,000 to €3,000 will entice any great enthusiast to enter the auction competition.
OMEGA
Historic watch gift to French aviator Maurice Bellonte
Maurice Bellonte met Dieudonné Costes on the Paris-London route in 1923. After a first unsuccessful attempt in 1929, they succeeded together in doing what no pilot had done before: crossing the North Atlantic non-stop. The international press seized on their feat, and featured the portraits of these adventurers of the air on their front pages. The French daily Le Matin, one of the 4 largest pre-war French dailies along with Le Petit Journal, Le Parisien and Le Journal, presented Bellonte with this Omega watch to congratulate him on his achievement. Systematically relaying all aviation news from the beginning of the 20ᵉ century, Le Matin newspaper did not hesitate from the 1920s onwards to reward aviators with prizes and gifts. In 1923, for example, Le Journal even awarded aviator Georges Barbot the sum of 25,000 francs for his double crossing of the English Channel. At a time when civil and commercial aviation barely existed, crowds were eager to buy the press to follow the adventures and exploits of the most intrepid pilots. This craze, which benefited the big press bosses, was not lost on the directors of Le Matin. Employing almost 150 journalists at the time, and known for having welcomed the pen of Jules Vallès, Colette and even the great reporter Albert Londres, Le Matin is a legendary newspaper. This platinum watch, estimated at €1,500 to €2,500, testifies to the special bond that existed – and still exists! – The world of aviation and the French press.
BOUCHERON « Point d’interrogation »
Special order from the City of Paris for the French pilot Dieudonné Costes
The watch signed Boucheron is undoubtedly the most moving testimony to this collection. The name “Point d’interrogation” refers to the first claspless necklace designed by Frédéric Boucheron in 1879, but also to the Breguet aircraft in which Dieudonné Costes and Maurice Bellonte made the historic Paris-New York flight in 1930. Because a question mark was allegedly affixed by Breguet factory mechanics in 1929, in order to keep its future destination secret, the plane that made heroes of Costes and Bellonte took off from Le Bourget on Monday 1ᵉʳ September 1930 is now on display at the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace. To honor the 2 aviators, the city of Paris commissions the jeweler Boucheron to create 2 identical watches in white gold, whose two-tone enamel backs are delicately decorated with a diamond-set “question mark”. This refined motif, both a symbol of the House of Boucheron and an emblem of one of aviation’s greatest feats, makes this watch an exceptional collector’s item that combines jewelry, watchmaking and history. This watch, rediscovered by chance in Toulouse, the cradle of aeronautics where Toulouse engineer Clément Ader took off the very first heavier-than-air motorized craft in 1890, is undoubtedly the most fantastic piece in this sale. Note that on December 1ᵉʳ 2016, the auction house Tessier & Sarrou et Associés dispersed Maurice Bellonte’s estate at Drouot and auctioned the other example executed by Boucheron on commission from the city of Paris. In the sale catalog, a reference to our watch, the copy offered to Dieudonné Costes, stated that it was sold for 20,000 francs at Drouot on February 10, 1992 by Maître Leblanc, under number 87. Represented on March 14 with an estimate of €8,000 to €12,000, this historic timepiece will this time be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Boucheron’s heritage department.
