Audemars Piguet has confirmed to WatchPro that it has cancelled its participation and watch donation for the 2023 edition of Only Watch.
No explanation was given for its withdrawal, but AP’s decision will fuel speculation that watch manufacturers are getting anxious about the charity auction.
A charity organization behind Only Watch, the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies (AMM), has been given control of spending that $100 million on scientific research and medical progress to advance treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).
That charity revealed last week that only $50 million has so far been allocated to organisations studying and developing treatments for DMD.
AMM says that it has financed more than 50 researchers around the world helped them collaborate.
It has also created two biotech organisations to own the DMD research. One of them, SQY Therapeutics, is currently launching a clinical trial on a muscular dystrophy drug of which the development has been entirely financed by Only Watch funds.
SQY Therapeutics is 49% owned by AMM. The remaining 51% is owned by parents and representatives of DMD patient associations, including Mr Luc Pettavino, the creator of Only Watch.
Mr Pettavino says that the $50 million that has not yet been allocated to research is “rigorously managed to ensure that we are ready for the next steps”.
Audemars Piguet had donated a unique Royal Oak Flying Tourbillon Openworked Only Watch Edition (pictured top), which was given a pre-auction estimate of CHF 300,000 to 500,000.
There are still 62 watches listed for sale on the websites of Only Watch and Chistie’s, which is hosting the auction in Geneva on November 5, but this does include Patek Philippe, which has not yet shared details of the one-off watch it intends to make and donate.
Patek Philippe provided a record-breaking timepiece for Only Watch in 2019 when a Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A sold for CHF 31 million.
