In early March, Revolution Watch founder Wei Koh was frustrated with a feeling like he should do more to help Ukraine, but not knowing what or how. That’s when RedBar’s Kathleen McGivney messaged him about raising money, and the two decided to work with World Central Kitchen, a non-profit that had already set up multiple stations in Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Moldova, providing food to fleeing Ukrainia refugees. Using their platforms and connections, Koh and McGivney pulled together a catalog of 50 lots, many unique, in a matter of weeks. The resulting #WatchFamforUkraine Solidarity Auction was hosted by Loupe This and raised over $250,000.
anOrdain, the Scottish brand known for its enamel dials, created a custom wave pattern with the blue and yellow of Ukraine’s flag. If the unique dial weren’t enough, the Model 3 case in which it’s housed has yet to be released. It fetched $10,000 against its pre-auction estimate of $8,000 (for reference, the anOrdain Model 2 starts around $1,150).
Fears was relaunched in 2016 by Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, the great-great-great grandson of the brand’s founder, Edwin Fear, and has had a smashing run thus far. In my none-too-humble opinion, the Archival 1930 collection is the best offering from Fears, so I was excited to see this one-off in the catalog. A stark black-on-silver dial with inky hands made this lot stand out amongst the other Ukraine-themed pieces. It fetched $15,050.
Bamford took the theming to the next level, with every non-metal part made either in yellow or blue, including the striped textile strap. This model is typically not offered on a strap like this, so it’s a bit special as far as Bamford goes. Arguably the most in-your-face Ukraine themed watch offered, it raised $9,500.
Perhaps the least known brand in the catalog was Arcanaut, a Scandinavian microbrand founded in 2018 with watches that embody modern Scandinavian design. Despite being a relative unknown in a catalog with some very big names (there was a two-tone Rolex Submariner offered), I think the ARC II was one of the best watches available. A counterpoint to Bamford’s overt Ukranian theming, the Arcanaut used simple blue and yellow accents along the periphery of the dial to make this watch special. It took in a very respectable $7,500.
An undeniably attractive watch, the offering from Furlan Marri ended up puzzling me the most. Not because it was included, but because it yielded the best result: $37,000. Furlan Marri made a tidal wave of a splash when its 2021 Kickstarter campaign raised nearly $1.2 million for the brand’s first watch, a unique version of which was included in the catalog. It then went on to win the Revelation Prize at GPHG the same year. I have questions for whoever spent $37,000 on a mecaquartz Patek Philippe homage that retails for $330, but given the apparent marketing genius that went into the brand’s initial launch, there’s a part of me that isn’t entirely shocked.
The auction wasn’t just limited to watches, though. Amongst the other lots was a pair of yellow and blue watch winders, artwork, an Audermars Piguet grande tapisserie pen, and a private tour of the Grönefeld atelier—which I wouldn’t have minded winning. The #WatchFamforUkraine Solidarity Auction shows that doing good is not hard, and that as a community, the WatchFam is willing and able to do quite a lot (sometimes we just need a couple of leaders to get us organized). Bravo to Revolution, RedBar, Loupe This, and the entire watch community.