Alessio Zenga on Vintage Patek Philippe, and a $3.4 Million Cartier Story
Recorded in Milan during the Patek Philippe Grand Exhibition, John Reardon sits down with Alessio Zenga, a friend and a Lugano-based dealer with a deep knowledge of, and passion for, vintage Patek Philippe. Alessio talks about how he got into watches, the Italian collectors who helped shape the vintage market, and why he has always bought watches because he loves them, regardless of the reference or price.
The conversation begins with the steel ref. 565 on Alessio’s wrist and its hard enamel dial. He explains what makes these dials so special and why their signatures remain unchanged over time. Alessio also looks back at his childhood in 1980s Italy, when he queued for Swatch watches, and recalls how buying and selling watches gradually became a business, something his accountant had to point out to him.
John and Alessio also discuss a watch from outside the world of Patek Philippe, and for the first time on a Collectability Podcast, that watch is a Cartier. Alessio shares, publicly for the first time, how he came to buy a unique white gold Cartier Cheich directly from Cartier in 2023. One of the rarest watches in horological history, the Cheich was created in 1983 as the ultimate trophy for the Paris-Dakar Rally, conceived by Cartier president Alain-Dominique Perrin and rally founder Thierry Sabine, and awarded to anyone who could win the rally twice in a row in the same vehicle, a feat known as the Cartier Challenge. Only motorcycle legend Gaston Rahier ever managed it, winning back to back in 1984 and 1985. Designed by Jacques Diltoer to echo the shape of the traditional desert headscarf worn by the Tuareg, just four Cheich pieces were known to exist until Cartier made this unique white gold version for the important collector Giorgio Seragnoli in 2010. In September 2026, it sold at auction for USD 3.4 million. To learn more about the Cartier Challenge, watch here: • The Cartier You Couldn't Buy: the Mysterio...
The conversation ends with Alessio’s enduring interest in pocket watches, their quality relative to their price, and the way of looking at a watch as a work of art that he tries to pass on to other collectors.