In collaboration with Aventi
The upstart Aventi draws interest at Sotheby´s
Aventi is a young company focused on uniquely designed watches with a tourbillon complication. In December 2022 their A15-01 Wraith model was sold at auction at the renowned auction house Sotheby's in New York.
Text: Albin Johansson
Picture: Aventi
Aventi is a young company with a focus on uniquely designed watches with a tourbillon complication. In December 2022 their model A15-01 Wraith was sold at auction at the renowned auction house Sotheby´s in New York. Eqotime became curious, and in collaboration with Aventi takes a look at the watch and hears their thoughts about the auction market for ”new” watch brands.
A look at the Aventi A15 Wraith
The watch that was hammered at Sothebys´s is an Aventi A15-01 ”Wraith”. A Tourbillon with a case in Aventi's own developed Saphite material.
It is a larger watch we are talking about, the case measures 44x49mm and is 14.5mm high. On the wrist it wears big and stands out on a white rubber strap with a buckle in titanium. The dial is partly skeletonised with a guilloche finish.
Despite the watch's complicated appearance, the only real complication in the movement is Aventi's characteristic tourbillon, which is placed at 6 o'clock on the dial.
The watch's also driven by a manual (GT-01S) movement with an impressive power reserve of 105h.
We have previously written about the model when it was released in 2022, which you can read about here.
Unique case design
Aventi wants, by its own account, to stand out properly with its case shape in order to push the limits for how a watch should look. They succeed well with this with the many-cornered case, which according to themselves is ”polygon-inspired” and a clearly modern design that you do not find at any other manufacturer in the same way. The light blue material in this model, called Saphite Paraiba, lets in light and the watch is experienced as livelier with its transparency.
Auction at Sotheby´s
The interest in Aventi's models has been high, and the A15-01 Wraith was made only in a limited edition and was allocated to customers who had registered their interest earlier. One of these watches was submitted to Sotheby´s ”Fine Watches” auction in New York, which was hammered on 14 December 2022.
At the auction 150 watches went for sale and it was everything from Richard Mille to Patek Philippe and Rolex. It is the first time Aventi is part of a larger exclusive auction and the expectations were high. The final sum for the Aventi with auction number 201 landed at 70,000 usd, this despite an estimate of 50,000 usd.
In conversation with Eqotime, Aventi holds that this is further proof that independent manufacturers and watch companies that present different, high-quality products are winning ever more ground on the watch market.
Aventi's business model is about selling direct to the customer and pushing down prices on materials and movements. The list price of an A15-01 Wraith is 24.500 CHF, which in watch contexts is considered good value for a Tourbillon with build quality and choice of materials like this. This goes hand in hand with Aventi's organisation, where the employees work from different parts of the world in a decentralised way without either shops or dedicated offices, something that is unusual but helps the manufacturer keep down the prices of the end product.
Eqotime believes that ever more watches from new interesting manufacturers will find their way out among the auction houses and the second-hand market to the collectors.
More information about the A15-01 Wraith you will find at Aventi.
