Meet Aurel Bacs, the auctioneer who shot to stardom after selling Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona for US$15.5 million
Bacs has refined auctioneering to a performance art, and his sale of Paul Newman’s watch in 2017 earned him many admirers
A split-second decision to urge the raising of another paddle, or to hold a silence a little longer, can translate into tens of thousands of dollars for auctioneer Aurel Bacs. One half of the renowned Bacs and Russo watch auction house, which now actively partners with Phillips auction house to hold sales, Bacs has refined auctioneering to a performance art, the podium being his stage and the gavel his co-star. “It’s improvisation, like jazz or sometimes like stand-up comedy,” he jokes.
Each auction season, tens of thousands of people tune in live online to watch Bacs sell. He’s been an important name on the watch scene for years, but his sale of the world’s most expensive watch in 2017 catapulted him to superstardom among gawking hypebeasts and those simply baffled by the insane US$15.5 million achieved by a 1968 Paul Newman Rolex Daytona previously owned by the actor himself.
The rhythm of his performance on the podium took years to perfect, and Bacs understands the power of seizing the mood and the movement in a room. “You mostly have your instincts and your own experience to guide you. It is one moment after another where the auctioneer has to decide whether to push to accelerate, to raise his voice or go a bit lower, to smile or give extra time,” he says.
While it may take only a few minutes to break a world record, a reputation in the elitist watch industry takes decades to cultivate. To develop that reputation involves bringing to the game extensive knowledge of the subject matter. Lessons on timepieces began in early childhood for Bacs, when his father inspired his fascination with them. He has been passionately involved with the industry for more than 35 years.
A watch lover in the truest sense, Bacs has amassed a significant collection over the years that includes the greatest names in historic and contemporary watchmaking. However, he does not consider himself a watch collector because when it comes to buying watches he allows passion to overrule discipline.
“By discipline I mean, ‘Oh, I would like to have all the references made of such and such a brand in the 1960s’, or ‘I would like to have all the versions of that model from the 1970s’. That’s not me,” he says.