If you are a real watch collector, you probably know who are some of the biggest watch collectors in the world. Then, most likely you’ve heard the name ‘Santa Laura’ or you might already be following him on Instagram. Santa Laura is one of the biggest watch collectors in the world —located in Asia— and also somewhat of a mysterious man that only a few have met in person. His collection of cars and watches is beyond impressive and he is a lover of brands like Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille, Patek Philippe, F.P. Journe, Vianney Halter, De Bethune, Harry Winston, and MB&F just to name a few. Without a doubt, he is a huge advocate for independent watchmaking and one of the things that I like the most about him is that he will call a spade a spade, just like I do.
Yesterday, —31 days before the ONLY Watch Auction takes place—, Santa Laura posted on Instagram about the ONLY Watch auction and brought up some very valid concerns about where the funds from this auction are going and if they are being used to help the research on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy which is the cause that this auction is meant to support.
ONLY Watch was created in 2005 by Luc Pettavino —whose son Paul suffers from DMD— auctioning one-off timepieces and shortly after, this initiative became a very awaited biennial rendezvous in the horology calendar for both brands and collectors. And just like Santa Laura, I agree that anyone participating in this auction —bidding or being involved in any capacity, call it volunteer, press, or watch collector— has the right to be able to see that the funds that are raised in the auction are allocated appropriately and fully destined to DMD.
After Santa Laura voiced his concerns on Instagram, ONLY Watch proceeded to state that their annual reports are filed with Monaco’s government and that they didn’t have to publish anything. Then, Zug_Gal —another avid watch collector— decided to ask Extended Monaco —the program related to the digital transformation of Monaco and a model resolutely Monegasque that advocates a responsible, protective digital technology that is at the service of humanity— to have someone from Monaco’s Department of Interior to review whether a public auditor has been appointed by ONLY Watch or if an official annual report has been issued.
Thanks to the efforts of Santa Laura and Zug_Gal, ONLY Watch has decided to post on Instagram today, that they’ve appointed an auditor named Bettina Ragazzoni from KPMG Monaco for this purpose. Along with that post, ONLY Watch has further explained their involvement and fundraising supporting Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and also posted about the origins of ONLY Watch, DMD, and how the auction benefits this cause. Additionally, they’ve added testimonials of doctors and researchers involved in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Honestly, it is sad to see that it was necessary for someone like Santa Laura to rock the boat and make ONLY Watch accountable. There is a very fine line when it comes to initiatives that involve fundraising and charity involvement, and I think that more transparency was needed in the first place to avoid watch collectors having to question or raise concerns. Below are the posts from ONLY Watch triggered by Santa Laura’s valid concerns.
Clearly, ONLY Watch had to post these on Instagram in order to bring some light and transparency into the picture and avoid any potential issues. Hopefully, there are past annual reports on file and the KPMG Monaco audit will come out without any issues. I am still not sure if I can consider this case closed and will remain attentive to any further developments. Hopefully, everything will be as clear as water, or as clear as sapphire crystal watch cases.
Below is the final post from Santa Laura regarding this issue. I am glad to see that there are watch collectors who still care about what happens in the industry and are not in it just to make a quick buck by flipping watches.
For more info on ONLY Watch click here.
