John Goldberger's Story

We present the story of John Goldberger, a man known for owning one of the rarest watch collections in the world and an expert in the field.

John Goldberger, whose real name is Auro Montanari, is a writer with a passion for watchmaking, classic style, and automobiles.

He notably published the book "Time to Race" with his friend Cesare Maria Mannuci, a motor racing journalist, to highlight the relationship between drivers and the world of watchmaking.

This book tells the story of René Dreyfus, a French pilot who wore a split-seconds chronograph watch with articulated lugs.

Also noteworthy is the Daytona Paul Newman 6239, the oldest Rolex Daytona awarded to a Daytona 500 winner, Cale Yarborough

Besides his writing hobby, Auro is first and foremost a collector. Now considered one of the world's greatest collectors, he owns several rare models from renowned brands such as Patek Philippe, Cartier, Omega, and Rolex. Here are a few examples:

Rolex 6062 triple calendar in steel. Only 200-300 steel 6062 references were manufactured between 1950 and 1953. (>€500,000)

An extremely rare Omega CK2039, in impeccable condition. It is one of the first models produced in 1938-39. On the left is Auro's watch, on the right another 2039 sold for 72,000 CHF at Phillips.

A white gold Nautilus 3700, made for the Sultanate of Oman, with Khanjar daggers at 6 o'clock. The tradition of His Majesty presenting watches began after the defeat of the Dhofar rebellion, and all watches made for him since then bear this symbol. (>€600,000).

Among his pocket watches, he owns the same Patek Philippe reference 658 that President Franklin Roosevelt presented to the Dalai Lama in 1943. The watch features a perpetual calendar with minute repeater, split-seconds chronograph, and moon phase indicator. (>€200,000)

As a Patek Philippe is never alone, he also owns a 605HU with a cloisonné enamel dial depicting North America, a jewel of unparalleled rarity. Indeed, production began in 1937 and fewer than 100 models were produced over the course of 30 years.

You're probably wondering what could possibly make a man who has such beautiful pieces in his collection dream anymore?

In a long interview for Phillips (Auro is an advisory member alongside Aurel Bacs, Jean Claude Biver, Jason Singer, Livia Russo), Auro talks about 2 horological Holy Grails he is looking for.

This is James Schulz's platinum perpetual calendar chronograph with minute repeater. At the time, it was the most important and expensive wristwatch of the 1930s, and there isn't even a brand name on the dial.

The second is a Patek Philippe 1463 in steel. Along with its ultra-rare sister model, the reference 1563, it is the only vintage Patek Philippe chronograph model equipped with a waterproof case and round chronograph pushers.

This concludes this thread. We hope you learned a little more about the famous Goldberger (or perhaps discovered something new). More articles about famous collectors are coming soon!

Fun fact: This summer, Auro's Instagram account was hacked, and the hacker demanded a ransom to regain access. Since then, Auro has returned, and her community is still delighted to see her beautiful photos of watches and landscapes.

Instagram.com/goldberger