Our final live auction of the fall 2023 season is here. The PHILLIPS New York Watch Auction: NINE takes place on December 9 and 10, at our New York headquarters. The auction includes more than 150 of the world's finest watches – including the inauagural appearance of a G-SHOCK in a PHILLIPS auction.
– Logan Baker
G-SHOCK is widely recognized as a leader in producing function-first timepieces that can stand up to anything. In recent years, the brand has grown from its strictly utilitarian roots with an emphasis on developing G-SHOCK's more premium segment.
These watches build on the tough-as-nails G-SHOCK platform with the use of higher quality materials, finishing techniques that often evoke traditional Japanese craftsmanship, as well as the brand's full suite of top-notch technical specifications.
The high-water mark of this segment came five years ago, when G-SHOCK introduced the “Dream Project,” a small run of 35 solid-gold G-Shock watches that carried an MSRP of approximately USD $70,000. However, this year, for G-SHOCK's 40th anniversary, they've pushed the limit even further.
The new G-Shock “Dream Project #2” G-D001 is a one-of-a-kind G-Shock crafted from 18k yellow gold with an exterior case designed with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Forty years of G-SHOCK data was provided to a custom AI system that generated a three-dimensional model optimized for factors including structural strength, material characteristics, and processing methods.
Through a back-and-forth process with human G-SHOCK designers, the result is the original, organic structure seen here. The unique design offers weight reduction and enhanced shock absorption abilities. The unusual precision-molded construction of the bezel and strap were crafted using a lost-wax casting process most often found in the world of jewelry. The components – all crafted from 18k yellow gold with zero resin buffering – were then hand-polished to achieve a gorgeous luster.
The dial is effectively transparent, revealing a first-of-its-kind movement construction for G-SHOCK.
Silicon gears and ruby bearings are visible within the brushed metal mainplate. High-efficiency solar cells are placed on the periphery of the dial to power the timekeeping. Need an extra light source? G-SHOCK even built a glowing red ring that can be activated at the press of a button to enable a perpetual internal power source.
While the internal movement modules of these watches may still be quartz, it's quartz that uses the brand's Multi-Band 6 timekeeping to receive signals from atomic radio towers around the world for to-the-second precision. The watch also says goodbye to G- SHOCK's conventional digital displays for a fully analog one using multiple independent handsets for the various complications (including dual time and elapsed time), resulting in an impressive amount of continuous kinetic action on the wrist.
The “Dream Project #2” unique piece is delivered inside a special display box in the shape of a tower with a front cover that can be removed to best highlight the one-of-a-kind wristwatch. The partially openworked box is further decorated with the model numbers of past and present G-SHOCK timepieces. An LED light is housed inside the box, offering indirect lighting to showcase the G-D001 in all its golden glory.
The watch photographed here is a functional prototype. The final version of the G-D001, customized for the buyer's location, is expected to be delivered to the buyer during the first quarter of 2024.
You can learn more, place a bid, and view the entire New York Watch Auction: XVII catalog right here.
About Phillips In Association With Bacs & Russo
The team of specialists at PHILLIPS Watches is dedicated to an uncompromised approach to quality, transparency, and client service. Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo holds the world record for the most successful watch auction, with its Geneva Watch Auction: XIV having realized $74.5 million in 2021. Over the course of 2021 and 2022, the company sold 100% of the watches offered, a first in the industry, resulting in the highest annual total in history across all the auction houses at $227 million.
About Logan Baker
Logan has spent the past decade working in watch-focused media, reporting on every aspect of the industry. He joined Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo at the start of 2023 as the department's Senior Editorial Manager. He splits his time between New York and Geneva.
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