We’ve given plenty of Andy Warhol’s replica watches their 15 minutes of fame here on our site, and now another one of the Factory founder’s pieces is up for auction.
Warhol, a leading figure in Pop Art and avant-garde filmmaking, had a wide-ranging interest in luxury fake watches. The Gumby watch gifted to friend and fellow artist Keith Haring is at one end of the spectrum. Most famously there’s the Cartier Tank he left unwound. And he also had a traditional perfect fake Patek Philippe Calatrava ref. 2526, which used the company’s very first automatic caliber. We covered it when it came up at auction in 2013.
Another Swiss fake Patek Philippe Calatrava with Warhol provenance is hitting the virtual auction block this June at Christie’s New York. It’s a double-signed Patek Philippe ref. 570 copy with gold case formerly owned by the wig-wearing artist. Sold by the Roman retailer Hausmann & Co (and bearing the Hausmann signature), it was previously offered by Sotheby’s in the 1988 auction of “The Andy Warhol Collection,” Christie’s says. Included with the watch are an extract from the Swiss made fake Patek Philippe archives and a copy of the 1988 Sotheby’s catalog showing the watch as lot 264.
A round, 35mm Patek Philippe Calatrava replica dress watch with classic proportions and applied yellow gold markers, it’s about as classic as a watch can be.
In terms of sheer horological thrill, a yellow gold aaa fake Patek Philippe Calatrava ref. 570 might not be the most exciting thing one’s likely to find, but this example has something going for it beyond the Warhol connection. Throw in the second signature by a cool Italian retailer founded in the late 1700s, and you have something special on your hands.
Lot number 73 comes with a pre-sale estimate of $45,000 to $95,000 and leads an online sale of 124 lots. The sale commences at 10 AM ET on 8 June and ends at 10 AM ET on 22 June.