Thirty years ago in 1994, Michael Schumacher won the first of his record-breaking 91 Formula 1 wins, a record that was only beaten by Lewis Hamilton in 2020. To commemorate that event, Michael Schumacher’s family are auctioned eight watches that highlight various milestones in the revered Formula 1 driver’s career. Yesterday the eight watches sold for an incredible CHF 4 million.
The watch collection also included a unique and rare F.P. Journe Vagabondage 1 that was given to him in 2004 by Scuderia Ferrari in celebration of his championship win that year and was sold for an incredible CHF 1.497 million. The platinum cased watch features both Schumacher’s helmet as well as the Ferrari logo on the dial.
Also included in the sale was Schumacher’s white gold Royal Oak chronograph. The bespoke dial features Ferrari’s famous prancing horse emblem on the subsidiary seconds dial at 6 o’clock, the numeral ‘1’ in the 30-minute register dial surrounded by 6 stars representing his 6 world championship victories between 1994 and 2003. While the 12-hour sub dial at 9 o’clock features Schumacher’s famous red racing helmet.
This incredible piece of F1 memorabilia also bears an engraved personal gift dedication from his Ferrari mentor Jean Todd on the back of the case that records the six F1 world championship wins that Schumacher achieved for the team.
Schumacher has a personal affinity to watches and took a keen interest in the Omega Speedmaster, a watch launched by the Swiss brand in 1996 when the racing legend was a house ambassador. Michael Schumacher made his Formula One debut with the Jordan team at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1991 and won his first Drivers’ Championship in 1994 while driving for Benetton.
His move to the Ferrari team in 2000 coincided with the first of his five consecutive drivers championships from 2000-2004. Schumacher is revered as the most complete driver in Formula 1, his only rival being Lewis Hamilton. He retired from racing in 2012 and the following year suffered a severe brain injury in a skiing accident which has kept him out of the public eye.
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